It’s officially August, and MLB fans are officially worried about Paul Skenes.
Not great!
The ace of the Pittsburgh Pirates got rocked again Friday night, giving up five runs on seven hits in a loss to the Cincinnati Reds. It marked the second straight start in which Skenes gave up five runs, and capped a brutal month for the 24-year-old in which he gave up at least five runs in three of his five starts.
Skenes’ ERA is now 3.90 — a full two runs higher than both his 2024 and 2025 totals.
Paul Skenes #30 of the Pittsburgh Pirates walks off the field after the sixth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on July 19, 2026, in Cleveland, Ohio. (Diamond Images/Getty Images)
To be fair, the ace did have three good starts last month, going 3-0 in the middle of the month with just a total of five earned runs in those three games. So, it’s not all bad. It’s not all doom and gloom.
Things could certainly be worse.
But … something is off, and one troubling stat hit the internet last night that has baseball fans worried on this first day of August:
What’s happened to Paul Skenes?
Lordy. I had to refresh the page just to make sure those stats were correct.
Paul Skenes hasn’t topped 98 MPH in his last four starts, and he’s topped it only 95 times this season. He did it nearly 900 times last year, and nearly 700 the year before.
It’s a jarring number to see, regardless of what you think of Skenes’ season. He routinely had one of the liveliest fastballs in the league for two years, and the velocity just isn’t there this season.
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes delivers during the second inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
Of course, some of it could be by design. Skenes admitted as much last month, when questions first started to pop up about his fastball.
“It’s been by design,” he told DK Pittsburgh Sports. “It’s nothing I’ve been worried about.”
Still, the numbers are the numbers — as they say — and they’re alarming to see. He capped his worst month as a professional last night by giving up five runs in back-to-back games for the first time in his career, and lasted just four innings.
Here’s another stat that the fellas in Pittsburgh’s analytics department won’t love: Skenes gave up just 41 earned runs all of last year. Through 23 starts in 2026, he’s already given up 54.
A blip? A bad season? Or real cause for concern?
Pittsburgh Pirates’ Bryan Reynolds and Paul Skenes celebrate Reynolds’ scored run in the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Michael Swensen)
Pirates pre- and post-game host, Dan Zangrilli, didn’t mince words after the loss:
“The ace didn’t ace,” he said. “Far more questions than answers. For any of this to work, he has to. He looks like an out of shape, lumbering yeti sucking wind on a hot day.”
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Goodness gracious. What a takedown. Just a scathing review from someone who is around the team all the time.
Is it fair? I don’t know. But things aren’t going great right now in Pittsburgh on this first day of August.
What has happened to Paul Skenes?