Yesterday, Pirates ace and 2023 #1 overall pick was named the NL Rookie of the Year. It was a well-deserved award for perhaps the most talented pitcher on the planet, who had a historic rookie campaign. So historic, that Skenes is also one of the finalists for the NL Cy Young award, along with the Atlanta Braves Chris Sale. That doesn’t happen very often, but while Skenes is appreciative of the recognition, he admits it’s Sale’s time to win the award for the first time in his career.
“Paul Skenes says it’s nice to be considered, but believes that Atlanta veteran Chris Sale will, and should, be the NL Cy Young award winner,” USA Today Sports’ Bob Nightengale writes on Twitter/X.
After nearly a half-decade of dealing with one injury after another, Chris Sale was traded to the Atlanta Braves last offseason. It was a risky gamble by Alex Anthopoulos, but he was rewarded, as Sale was able to stay healthy for essentially the entire season and turned in the best year of his career. The 35-year-old became the first National League pitcher to win the triple crown since Clayton Kershaw. He’s already been named the NL Comeback Player of the Year, and on Wednesday, he will take home the very first Cy Young award of his career, despite finishing in the top six for the award seven times.
Perhaps if Paul Skenes were a bit older, missing out on the honor after going 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA and 11.5 K/9 would sting a little more. But at just 22 years old and without even a full season of professional baseball under his belt, there’s little doubt that he will be in the conversation for the Cy Young award every year as long as he’s able to stay healthy.
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Photo: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
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