Paul Skenes blazes into history with rookie strikeout record

Bailey Falter leaned over in the Pirates dugout and casually asked Paul Skenes how many strikeouts he racked up that night. Skenes squinted at the Kennametal strikeout counter, pretending to count them up one by one before finally breaking into a grin.

“Seven…eight…nine,” he murmured under his breath, as caught on the SportsNet Pittsburgh broadcast.

Nine K’s on the night, but it was that first one that etched Skenes’ name into the record books. With that punchout, he passed Cy Blanton for the most strikeouts by a rookie in franchise history. By the time he handed the ball back to the bullpen, he’d thrown six solid innings, allowed just one run, and helped guide the Pirates to a tight 3-2 win over the Marlins.

151 strikeouts now. That’s how many Skenes has to his name this season, and it puts him in some rarefied air. Only a handful of pitchers in history - guys like Kerry Wood, Hideo Nomo, and Dwight Gooden - have hit that many strikeouts in their first 20 games. It’s a special list, but don’t expect Skenes to wax poetic about his place in it.

“It’s a game,” Skenes said, when asked about his record-setting year. “I think the biggest thing is focused on being in the moment and staying present. All that other stuff is cool, but I think that’s a product of being in the moment and staying present over the course of the season.”

That kind of focus has paid off. Skenes isn’t just having a great year by rookie standards; he’s making history, pure and simple. A quick glance at the Pirates’ record books shows just how dominant he’s been compared to some of the greatest pitchers the franchise has ever seen.

Take strikeouts. He’s already topped the charts, surpassing Cy Blanton’s 142 back in 1935. And when it comes to strikeout rate - well, Skenes is head and shoulders above the rest. With 11.3 strikeouts per nine innings, he’s outpacing José DeLeón, who managed 9.8 K’s per nine in 1983.

But Skenes isn’t all fire and brimstone. His 2.10 ERA is rock solid, good enough for third among Pirates rookies since 1900. He’s only behind two legends - Babe Adams, who posted a ridiculous 1.11 ERA back in 1909, and Red Witt, who had a 1.61 in 1958. The ERA+ stat, for those inclined to deeper metrics, puts him just shy of that same duo.

And if you like the clean efficiency of WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched), Skenes is in even more exclusive company. He’s one of just a couple pitchers since 1900 to post a WHIP under 1.00 alongside his 140+ strikeouts in the first 20 games of a career. That company? Matt Harvey in his early Mets days.

Sure, Skenes hasn’t been around the whole season - he wasn’t called up until May 11 - but with 10 wins, he’s climbing another rookie leaderboard. He’s just shy of Emil Yde’s .842 winning percentage from 1924, and he’s tied Babe Adams’ 1909 mark of .800.

Skenes, for his part, isn’t shy about the importance of racking up wins.

“I’m old fashioned,” Skenes said with a shrug. “Wins matter. Wins and losses matter, I think. That’s kind of watered down now, but it definitely means a lot.”

Of course, there’s more to the story than just the basic counting stats. Wins Above Replacement, the darling of the sabermetric crowd, tells us that Cy Blanton’s 7.2 WAR season in 1935 is still the gold standard for Pirates rookies. But Skenes, sitting at 5.0 with some starts left in the tank, could make a run at it.

As for how he’s feeling after a season’s worth of work? Skenes remains as steady as ever. “I’m not tired, really,” he said, his voice betraying none of the fatigue that comes with a rookie campaign. “Not feeling anything abnormal. It’s just a matter of finishing in the sprint to the end here.”

That’s the thing with Skenes - he’s not just playing to finish. He’s playing to dominate, and by all accounts, he’s not slowing down anytime soon.