4 days Ago By USA TODAY Sports
USA TODAY and Yahoo may earn commission from links in this article. Pricing and availability subject to change. took just 10 months to go from No.
1 overall pick to a major league horse, an ace whose dominance and staying power past the sixth inning seemed to hail from a bygone era. Monday night, the right-hander’s dominance was rewarded with the National League Rookie of the Year award. Skenes prevailed over center fielder , whose excellence over a full 162 games nearly elevated him to the Padres’ first top rookie honor since in 1987.
But Skenes received 23 of 30 first place votes and outpointed Merrill, 133-104. outfielder was third. Skenes, 22, was a throwback phenom in an era where pitching has become more specialized and starters who last deep into games are rare.
His 100-mph fastball, devastating “splinker” and putaway slider enabled him to make that rapid ascension from a national title at LSU, to first overall pick by Pittsburgh and then one of the game’s most feared power pitchers. Skenes posted an 11-3 mark and 1.96 ERA in 23 starts, striking out 170 in 133 innings.
It took him just two starts to announce his presence, as he struck out 11 over six no-hit innings at Wrigley Field to , kick-starting a 12-start stretch in which he posted a 1.64 ERA and pitched at least six innings with two or fewer runs given up 11 times. That run earned him the starting nod in , and he finished strong, giving up just one earned run in 24 September innings.
Skenes was not recalled from the minors until May 11, 40 games into the Pirates’ season. But 22 dazzling starts were enough to convince voters that was more than enough..
