One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his offspeed pitches: a .291 expected average against them, against .169 on his breaking balls.
235 of his offspeed pitches thrown.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Skenes's sinker moves 16.9 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
349 thrown, averaging 96.6 mph.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Skenes releases the ball from a sidearm slot, about 23 degrees above horizontal and 2.2 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
2888 tracked release points, averaging 5.5 feet off the ground.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Skenes's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 90.2 mph, against 81.7 off his sweeper.
1172 and 479 of them thrown.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Skenes's 4-seam fastball averages 96.8 mph, and has touched 99.5.
1172 thrown, 40.6% of his pitches.
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Skenes averages 92.7 mph across his arsenal, 89th percentile in the league.
743 pitches in 2026. 89th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 62nd in MLB.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Skenes puts 45.1% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 39.1% of his pitches to left-handers.
257 pitches to right-handed hitters, 486 to left-handed hitters.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Skenes goes to the changeup: 20.2% of his two-strike pitches, against 9.4% the rest of the time.
931 two-strike pitches in 2026.
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Skenes projects a .253 average, 93rd percentile.
743 pitches in 2026. 93rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 39th in MLB.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Skenes lands 48.4% of his fastballs in the zone and only 28.5% of his offspeed pitches.
375 of his fastballs, 235 of his offspeed pitches.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Skenes puts 59.9% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 39% when he is ahead.
753 located pitches behind, 894 ahead.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Skenes is weak: 84.7 mph off the bat on average, 89th percentile.
743 pitches in 2026. 89th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 60th in MLB.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Skenes's 4-seam fastball carries 12.6 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
1172 thrown, averaging 96.8 mph.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Skenes throws the sweeper 27.6% of the time against right-handers and 8.8% against left-handers.
1192 pitches to right-handers, 1698 to left-handers.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 29.4% of the contact Skenes gives up is hit hard, 88th percentile.
743 pitches in 2026. 88th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 63rd in MLB.
He cannot find the zone often enough
Skenes works off the plate, with only 41.2% of his pitches in the zone, 31st percentile.
743 pitches in 2026. 31st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 370th in MLB.
His ball is straighter than it should be
Skenes's stuff spins at 2,122 rpm, 24th percentile in the league.
743 pitches in 2026. 24th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 411th in MLB.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
12.4 mph separates Skenes's 4-seam fastball from his sweeper, 96.8 against 84.4.
1172 and 479 of them respectively.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Skenes releases the ball 6.7 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
2701 tracked pitches in 2026.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Skenes works with 6 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Sweeper, Changeup and Sinker, and a little else. The 4-seam fastball is 40.6% of everything he throws.
2890 classified pitches in 2026.
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Skenes throws 43.4% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 40.9% with the bases empty.
76 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 667 with the bases empty.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Skenes throws a fastball 56.3% of the time, against 51.1% when he is ahead.
753 pitches behind in the count, 896 ahead.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Skenes throws a strike on the first pitch 62% of the time.
714 plate appearances started in 2026.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Skenes's sweeper spins at 2,335 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
479 thrown in 2026.
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The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his offspeed pitches: a .291 expected average against them, against .169 on his breaking balls.
235 of his offspeed pitches thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Skenes lands 48.4% of his fastballs in the zone and only 28.5% of his offspeed pitches.
375 of his fastballs, 235 of his offspeed pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Skenes's sinker moves 16.9 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
349 thrown, averaging 96.6 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Skenes's 4-seam fastball carries 12.6 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
1172 thrown, averaging 96.8 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Skenes releases the ball from a sidearm slot, about 23 degrees above horizontal and 2.2 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
2888 tracked release points, averaging 5.5 feet off the ground.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Skenes releases the ball 6.7 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
2701 tracked pitches in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Skenes's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 90.2 mph, against 81.7 off his sweeper.
1172 and 479 of them thrown.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Skenes's 4-seam fastball averages 96.8 mph, and has touched 99.5.
1172 thrown, 40.6% of his pitches.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Skenes throws the sweeper 27.6% of the time against right-handers and 8.8% against left-handers.
1192 pitches to right-handers, 1698 to left-handers.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
12.4 mph separates Skenes's 4-seam fastball from his sweeper, 96.8 against 84.4.
1172 and 479 of them respectively.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Skenes works with 6 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Sweeper, Changeup and Sinker, and a little else. The 4-seam fastball is 40.6% of everything he throws.
2890 classified pitches in 2026.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Skenes's sweeper spins at 2,335 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
479 thrown in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Skenes averages 92.7 mph across his arsenal, 89th percentile in the league.
743 pitches in 2026. 89th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 62nd in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Skenes puts 45.1% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 39.1% of his pitches to left-handers.
257 pitches to right-handed hitters, 486 to left-handed hitters.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Skenes goes to the changeup: 20.2% of his two-strike pitches, against 9.4% the rest of the time.
931 two-strike pitches in 2026.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Skenes puts 59.9% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 39% when he is ahead.
753 located pitches behind, 894 ahead.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Skenes throws a fastball 56.3% of the time, against 51.1% when he is ahead.
753 pitches behind in the count, 896 ahead.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Skenes throws a strike on the first pitch 62% of the time.
714 plate appearances started in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Skenes projects a .253 average, 93rd percentile.
743 pitches in 2026. 93rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 39th in MLB.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Skenes is weak: 84.7 mph off the bat on average, 89th percentile.
743 pitches in 2026. 89th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 60th in MLB.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 29.4% of the contact Skenes gives up is hit hard, 88th percentile.
743 pitches in 2026. 88th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 63rd in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He cannot find the zone often enough
Skenes works off the plate, with only 41.2% of his pitches in the zone, 31st percentile.
743 pitches in 2026. 31st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 370th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball is straighter than it should be
Skenes's stuff spins at 2,122 rpm, 24th percentile in the league.
743 pitches in 2026. 24th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 411th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Skenes throws 43.4% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 40.9% with the bases empty.
76 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 667 with the bases empty.
Pirates