Paul Skenes was already on his way to becoming a household name in baseball’s history when he left LSU following the 2023 season, but he’s done his best to fast-track that reality since arriving in the MLB.
And on Wednesday night, the former Tigers’ ace was announced as the National League’s Cy Young Award Winner following his second stellar season with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Skenes finished third in the NL’s Cy Young Award voting in 2024, placing behind Chris Sale and Zach Wheeler.
This past season, Skenes started in 32 games, nine more than the previous year. He recorded an ERA of 1.97 and went 10-10 as a starter, while his 216 strikeouts also eclipsed his 170 from 2024.
Pittsburgh finished the season at 71-91, prompting many to spin the rumor mill regarding Skenes’ attitude toward the club and others contacting the team about trades. The Pirates went 76-86 the year prior.
Skenes is certainly not used to losing, as he won the 2023 College World Series while at LSU, breaking the school’s record for strikeouts in a single season. He was named the Most Outstanding Player of the World Series and also won National Pitcher of the Year honors. Skenes began his playing career at Air Force before transferring to Baton Rouge.
Parker is currently the sports editor for the Enterprise-Journal in McComb, Mississippi. He's a graduate from Mizzou who has experience covering the Tiger football and basketball beats for SB Nation, and he's worked for a variety of sports news outlets in the past.
