This has easily been the roughest stretch of Pittsburgh Pirates star starting pitcher Paul Skenes' career. Granted, he's still very young at just 24 years old, but this recent stretch for him is a bit concerning for fantasy owners.
The Pirates have now failed to win in seven consecutive starts by Skenes dating back to mid-May, with the most concerning start coming last night. Last night, in 4.0 innings pitched, he allowed six hits, two walks, two home runs, and eight runs. That's a brutal game for a pitcher often touted as one of, if not the best, pitchers in the league.
What may be even more concerning is the fact that this hasn't been a huge implosion or a few bad starts. He has seen his production slowly decline over the course of the season, with offenses continuously getting the better of him.
His ERA in the month of April was just 1.62, giving up just six earned runs and 17 hits in 33.1 innings. That ERA climbed to 2.87 in May, allowing 10 earned runs and 23 hits in 31.1 innings. Things got even worse in June, as his ERA for that month was 3.58 after allowing 11 earned runs and 26 hits in 27.2 innings. Then we have that disaster from last night, his only start in July.
The strikeouts have stayed consistent, but everything else has been declining. That includes his innings pitched. As he gets beat up a bit more on the mound, he is getting fewer opportunities to get those strikeouts. That hasn't impacted him yet, but it will if he continues to give up more hits and runs, because he's going to be exiting games earlier.
