Pitching Ninja explains why Pirates’ Paul Skenes is suddenly mired in slump

The Pittsburgh Pirates have run out of gas in the last weeks, as the team is now under .500 on the season. Pittsburgh ace Paul Skenes has struggled this year, and new data is showing how bad it has been.

While Skenes’ velocity is down, a Major League Baseball insider thinks something else is off.

“Based on his mechanics, it looks a little bit like he may be just in a slump,” Rob Friedman, known as Pitching Ninja, said on Foul Territory.

"Based on his mechanics, it looks a little bit like he may be just in a slump."@PitchingNinja explains why hitters are suddenly having success against Paul Skenes despite his fastball still playing at an elite level. pic.twitter.com/pcCQYGp43J

— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) August 10, 2026

Skenes has a 3.96 ERA this season, which is the worst mark of his career. He has nine victories on the campaign, but 10 losses. His WHIP this season is at 1.12.

“His splinker isn’t dropping as much. His change-up isn’t moving quite the way he wants it,” Friedman added.

The Pirates hold a 58-62 record on the season.

Paul Skenes hopes to regain his form as season nears its end

Skenes got roughed up in his last outing for the team. Pittsburgh’s ace allowed three earned runs against the Milwaukee Brewers.

“Outside of that fourth inning, it was a pretty dang good outing,” Skenes said postgame, per MLB.com. “Probably need to get ahead in counts a little more just overall. You can’t walk guys. Probably just trying to be a little too perfect at times, and then you put yourself in those positions and kind of open yourself up to that.”

Skenes is having a tough time getting outs. He is also having issues with simply throwing strikes.

“Skenes’ last two starts certainly didn’t help. He walked four batters in each of his last two outings against Cincinnati on July 31 and then Milwaukee. In 11 combined starts between April and May, Skenes issued 10 walks. His recent command issues are continuously holding him back from another stellar season,” MLB.com added.

Pittsburgh plays the Miami Marlins on Tuesday. The Bucs have dropped seven of their last 10 games.

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