As MLB gets set to start the second half of the season, fans have had a few days to reflect on the first half as well as the All-Star Break, which served as a good showcase for all the league’s incredible young talent that has come up through the pipeline in recent years.
One pitcher has burst onto the scenes recently and showed the world what the hype is all about in Tuesday’s All-Star Game, and he now finds himself atop MLB’s official power rankings for the first time.
MLB released their pitcher power rankings and announced that Pittsburgh Pirates starter Paul Skenes is now the No. 1 pitcher in the league, with Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal sitting at No. 2 and Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves, Corbin Burnes of the Baltimore Orioles, and Garrett Crochet of the Chicago White Sox rounding out the top five.
He may only have 11 starts under his belt, but Skenes has been so dominant that it’s hard to argue he isn’t the best in the game at the moment.
Skenes is 6-0 with a 1.90 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 66.1 innings of work so far and threw a scoreless inning in his All-Star Game start as well.
He is continuing to get better as he gets more comfortable and has only given up five earned runs in his last six starts combined.
There aren’t as many aces as there used to be due to teams relying more on the bullpen and prioritizing velocity over stamina in starting pitchers, but Skenes is a throwback box-office-type ace that the league has embraced as the No. 1 guy.
