The Pittsburgh Pirates missed the postseason for the 9th consecutive season in 2024 as they finished with a record of 76 wins and 86 losses.
While the Pirates have never won the National League Central and haven’t made the postseason since 2015, they had a bright spot this season.
Rookie Paul Skenes has had a dominant first season in the MLB and is a finalist for both the Rookie of the Year Award and the National League Cy Young Award.
The stats show just how impressive Skenes’ rookie season was for the Pirates.
According to MLB Network’s “X,” Skenes set the MLB record for lowest ERA by a rookie pitcher since the stat became official in 1912.
Lowest ERA by a rookie since the stat became official in 1912 📊
Paul Skenes (2024) – 1.96
Jeff Tesro (1912) – 1.96
Jeff Pfeffer (1914) – 1.97
Scott Perry (1918) – 1.98
Reb Russell (1913) – 1.99 pic.twitter.com/cTItZeHHEm— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 18, 2024
In 2024, Skenes started 23 games for the Pirates and posted an 11-3 record with a 1.96 ERA and 170 strikeouts in 133.0 innings.
His 1.96 ERA is the lowest by a rookie since the stat became official in 1912, where Jeff Tesro also finished with a 1.96 ERA.
No rookie starting pitcher has posted a sub-two ERA since 1918, when Scott Perry had a 1.98 ERA.
Not only was Skenes selected to the All-Star Game in his rookie season, he was selected to start a National League game.
The Pirates haven’t had much success in the past few seasons, but now their organization has hope with the arrival of Skenes.
Skenes will look to build on his dominant rookie season in 2025 and help the Pirates try to win the NL Central for the first time since joining the division in 1994.
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