Pirates ace Paul Skenes links concerning velocity dip to World Baseball Classic amid tough season

The World Baseball Classic may have only been a couple of weeks long, but its impact was felt all season long.

Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes has not been himself this year.

His velocity has dipped, his command has been off, and after posting ERAs of 1.97 and 1.96, respectively, over the last two seasons, he has a 3.91 ERA this season.

Why? Skenes said part of it was the World Baseball Classic.

"There are a lot of other factors, so I don’t want to put everything on that," Skenes told the Post-Gazette.

"But I feel like that was kind of the root of it a little bit." The World Baseball Classic ran from March 3 to March 17 this year, and Skenes said at that time of year, pitchers aren’t throwing at max effort.

"Usually, that time of year, you’re kind of ramping up and it’s a little bit slow.

You can kind of get onto the slope and find your body," Skenes said.

"One live (batting practice), you’re topping at 97 (mph), and then the next you’re 98, 99.

And that wasn’t the case this year. ...

Looking back, I don’t think that really helped." Early in the season, Skenes pitched well despite not having his usual 98-mph fastball.

In 2024, his rookie season, he averaged 98.8 mph, and last season he averaged 98.1 mph.

This year, he is down to 96.8 mph.

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