Another award for the Bucco rookie.
Add one more award for Paul Skenes. The young hurler, who already won Baseball Digest Rookie of the Year and been named a Cy Young finalist, has been named the NL Rookie of the Year by the Baseball Writers Association of America.
The 22-year-old righty has made a meteoric rise to the top of the MLB pitcher rankings, finishing his first MLB season with an 11-3 record and a 1.96 ERA along with 170 Ks in 23 starts across 133 innings. That sparkling ERA was the lowest for any rookie with 20 starts since the start of the live ball era and was also the lowest ERA in MLB in 2024 for pitchers with at least 130 innings pitched. His strikeout total set a Pirates rookie record, and he also recorded a 0.95 WHIP, which was tied for best in the National League.
In addition, Skenes also receives a full year of service now, despite being called up in May. The CBA stipulates that even if a player wasn’t called up for a full year, if they finish in the top two in Rookie of the Year voting, they receive credit for a full year service. That means Skenes will now hit free agency after the 2029 campaign. The Pirates did not, however, receive an extra draft pick due to Skenes’ May call-up time.
Skenes was also named one of the three finalists for the NL Cy Young Award along Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves and Zack Wheeler of the Philadelphia Phillies. We’ll have to wait until Wednesday for the winner of that award to be announced.
Skenes told ESPN after winning the award:
“Our goal, first and foremost, was to make all my starts. And then, beyond that, it was basically to see the best version of me that I can be out there. So I felt very good about that this year. Stayed healthy and felt really good the entire year. And then the results, I think, speak for themselves.”
Other finalists for Rookie of the Year were outfielder Jackson Merrill of the San Diego Padres, who finished second while outfielder Jackson Chourio of the Milwaukee Brewers finished third.