Where does Paul Skenes rank amongst best starting pitchers in MLB?

Is Paul Skenes already the best pitcher in baseball?

The Pittsburgh Pirates have truly found a generational talent with pitcher Paul Skenes. Of course, everyone bore witness to the incredible rookie season that he had when he took the league by storm with his unwavering approach from the mound, gassing even the best batters. Ahead of the 2025 season starting, many are wondering if he can repeat this kind of performance, and how he’ll stack up against the rest of the competition.

ESPN writer, Buster Olney, ranked the top 10 starting pitchers in baseball and ahead of just his second season, Skenes found himself amongst incredible company on this list.

Olney placed just Zach Wheeler of the Phillies, and the Tigers’ Tarik Skubal, ahead of Skenes in this star-studded list. He was ranked higher than notable pitchers like Blake Snell, Corbin Burnes, and Max Fried.

Even as a rookie, many were making the case for Skenes to take home the NL Cy Young Award. In 133 innings, he struck out 170 batters, finishing with a 1.96 ERA. He had an 11-3 record, started in the All-Star game, won Rookie of The Year honors, and was named to the All-MLB First Team. All of this for a 22-year old pitcher is largely unprecedented.

Looking ahead to this season, being ranked as the third best pitcher in baseball is very impressive for someone entering their sophomore campaign. Chris Sale was the man who beat him out for the NL Cy Young award a year ago, and he’s ranked fourth. Skenes’ powerful delivery showed to be a problem for even the games’ best sluggers last season. Now a full six-month stretch from the Bucco’s young phenom is sure to have opposing batters questioning if they even belong on the same field as Skenes.

FanDuel Sportsbook currently has Skenes as the +200 favorite to win the National League Cy Young Award in 2025.