As August arrives across Major League Baseball, Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes finds himself navigating the roughest patch of his young professional career. The hard-throwing right-hander surrendered five runs on seven hits during a Friday night loss to the Cincinnati Reds, capping a brutal month that has left analysts and fans scrutinizing a sudden dip in his velocity.
A Brutal July Yields Unfamiliar Numbers for the Pirates Ace
The numbers from July tell a stark story for a pitcher who spent his first two seasons blowing past hitters with relative ease. Skenes gave up at least five runs in three of his five starts last month, culminating in back-to-back outings yielding five earned runs for the first time in his career. His ERA has ballooned to 3.90, sitting a full two runs higher than the dominant marks he posted through his 2024 and 2025 campaigns.
To be fair, the month was not a complete disaster. Skenes strung together three stellar outings in the middle of July, going 3-0 while surrendering a total of just five earned runs across those three games. Yet, the overall body of work left a glaring mark on his season totals. Through 23 starts in 2026, he has already surrendered 54 earned runs—surpassing the 41 earned runs he yielded all of last year.
The Alarming Velocity Drop That Has Statheads Talking
While the run prevention metrics have ticked in the wrong direction, an even more telling physical indicator has captured the attention of baseball observers online. Skenes has failed to top 98 miles per hour in his last four starts. For context, he reached that threshold nearly 900 times last year and nearly 700 times the year before, establishing himself as one of the most electric arms in the sport.
This season, however, that triple-digit heat has appeared far more sparingly, registering over 98 mph just 95 times total. Pitching mechanics and workload management naturally draw scrutiny during the dog days of summer, and Skenes acknowledged last month that dialing back the radar gun readings was an intentional choice. He noted to DK Pittsburgh Sports that the subdued velocity was entirely “by design” and nothing that caused him personal concern.
Scrutiny Mounts Amid Growing Questions in Pittsburgh
Despite any strategic pacing by the coaching staff, the results on the field have sparked intense debate regarding the right-hander’s physical conditioning and overall effectiveness. Following the recent defeat against the Reds, Pirates pre- and post-game host Dan Zangrilli offered a blunt assessment of the team’s marquee star on Fox News, stating that the ace “didn’t ace” and describing him as looking like an “out of shape, lumbering yeti sucking wind on a hot day.”
Whether this rough stretch represents a temporary blip or a deeper structural concern remains the central question on the North Shore. As the Pirates look to stabilize their rotation through the final two months of the regular season, the spotlight will remain fixed on whether Skenes can rediscover the overpowering form that defined his meteoric rise. How do you view this velocity shift—is it smart preservation for the long haul, or a sign of fatigue catching up to the young star?
