How did a Military Major become the Face of Baseball Dominance?

Paul Skenes pitching for the Pittsburgh Pirates, CCed by Liscense 2.0

Jacob deGrom changed the pitching stat line and how we view a pitcher’s performance as we know it after he won back-to-back Cy Young awards in 2018 and 2019, with a combined 21-17 record. It was the low ERA that deGrom posted to propel him to pitching immortality despite being on a bottom-tier team. Now in 2025, we have another pitcher who is eclipsing deGrom’s greatness and is actually pitching better. That pitcher is Paul Skenes, who is in the midst of his sophomore year in the majors.

Skenes’ rookie campaign in 2024 saw a 11-3 record through 23 starts, where he pitched to the tune of a 1.96 ERA and a 0.947 WHIP in 133 innings. Being on a diminished Pittsburgh Pirates team, Skenes was the light in the depths of darkness. While notching Rookie of the Year and All-Star honors, Skenes fell short in placing third in Cy Young voting in what was an excellent rookie season. Kicking off the second half of the 2025 season, Skenes is a heavy favorite for the Cy Young and is undoubtedly one of the faces of baseball. Despite having a league-leading 2.01 ERA through 20 games / 121 innings, Skenes is sub .500 with a 4-8 record as Pittsburgh’s offense has been a bottom feeder in the league when it comes to producing runs. Nonetheless, Skenes is a dominant pitcher and nothing could be taken away from that, especially as he even outperforms that of a once fearsome Met Jacob deGrom.

To every great success story though, there is always character building and improvement. For Paul Skenes, his story is no different, but it actually had the chance to be quite different that may not have even seen him as a pitcher in the majors or not even getting a whiff of professional baseball. Going back to where it all began in high school: Paul Skenes was a catcher with first baseman skills that often pitched. Skenes’ 6-foot-5, 225 lb build was big for a catcher, and his nearly eight second running time was nothing to glimpse at. When it came to hitting, Skenes’ open stance and long but strong swing made him more of a mid-field hitter that occasionally pulled the ball. However, it was pitching that he loved and wanted to improve at. 

Skenes was throwing around 86 mph his junior year, before his velocity picked up over the summer as he spent the majority of practice with his pitching coach. The practice paid off and Skenes’ payoff would then see him reaching the low 90s to fan batters, with as high as 95 on the gun. Committing to Air Force Academy, Skenes would appear in 18 games via relief in his freshman year. A 2.70 ERA across 26.2 innings saw 30 strikeouts for the then 19-year-old. A 10-3 record with all of his 15 games being starts his sophomore year, cemented Skenes as a true starter for the academy - not to mention a sparkling 1.69 ERA. Skenes was always a massive power hitter and college ball was no exception to that. A .410 batting average in 188 at-bats his freshman year would see a combined average by the end of his collegiate career standing at .341 with 24 home runs, making Paul Skenes one of the best hitters in the Mountain West.

Skenes would then leave Air Force Academy at the end of his sophomore year to go to LSU. By leaving, Skenes avoided a mandatory five-year service time after graduation. Skenes, who was majoring in Military and Strategic Studies, almost ended up staying at AFA with coach Mike Kazlausky in an attempt to negotiate a plan where Skenes would play professional baseball and fulfill his military commitment later. The Pentagon however would deny the request.

The LSU transfer also meant that Skenes would become eligible for the 2023 MLB Draft. A 13-2 record with a 1.69 ERA and the lowest WHIP of his collegiate career of 0.750 in 122.2 innings with a 15.3 K/9 slash would propel Skenes to going first overall in the 2023 Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Skenes would make his MLB debut after just 12 starts in the minor leagues and the rest so far is just the making of history as Paul Skenes is emerging as an early lock for the hall of fame. The crazy thing is, he could have ended up being a hitter or even being in the armed services right now, being robbed of one of baseball’s most dominant pitchers to date.