Paul Skenes Wins Unanimous NL Cy Young

Paul Skenes, the 23-year-old ace of the Pittsburgh Pirates, captured the National League Cy Young Award unanimously on Wednesday, marking him as the second pitcher in major league history to win both Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young in consecutive seasons. The honor, voted by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, recognizes Skenes' dominant 2025 campaign, in which he posted a 1.97 ERA over 32 starts, striking out 216 batters in 187 1/3 innings while maintaining a 0.948 WHIP.

Skenes' achievement follows his 2024 Rookie of the Year award, when he recorded a 1.96 ERA and 170 strikeouts in 133 innings. This year, he led the majors in ERA and fielding-independent pitching at 2.36, along with other advanced metrics like expected ERA. Despite his individual excellence, Skenes finished with a 10-10 record, a reflection of the Pirates' offensive struggles and the team's overall 147-159 mark over his two seasons. He became the Pirates' third Cy Young winner, joining Vern Law in 1960 and Doug Drabek in 1990.

The award caps a rapid ascent for Skenes, selected first overall by Pittsburgh in the 2023 MLB Draft after a stellar college career at LSU, where he helped lead the Tigers...