...
By Zach Pressnell
Contributing Sports Writer
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes is one of the best pitchers in the league. Last season, he received Cy Young votes, but he didn't throw enough innings to qualify for the ERA title, so he fell short of the award.
He's primed for an even better year this season.
CBS Sports' Mike Axisa recently predicted Skenes would break a monumental strikeout record this year. Rather than breaking the all-time record for strikeouts in a season, Axisa predicted Skenes would throw the fewest innings in a 300-strikeout season in MLB history.
Read More on MLB
...
"For this bold prediction, I say Paul Skenes will strike out 300 batters this season. That in and of itself would not be a record," Axisa wrote. "There have been 69 300-strikeout seasons in MLB history, most recently Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander with the 2019 Astros. The record Skenes will set is the fewest innings in a 300-strikeout season.
"This bold prediction says Skenes will throw the fewest innings in a 300-strikeout season and not by a small margin either. I'll even ratchet up the boldness here and say Skenes gets to 300 strikeouts in fewer than 200 innings."
In 2019, Gerrit Cole struck out over 300 batters in 212 1/3 innings. Axisa thinks Skenes will hit the 300 strikeout mark in less than 200 innings.
This would be quite an achievement for the young righty, but it doesn't seem too outlandish. For him to strike out 300 batters in less than 200 innings, Skenes would need a K/9 rate of around 13.5.
Last year, he struck out nearly 12 batters per nine innings and has only improved over the offseason. In his first start, Skenes struck out seven hitters in 5 1/3 innings.
More MLB: Yankees Predicted To Cut Ties With $37 Million Star After This Season
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines