Pirates facing uncomfortable Paul Skenes question amid recent struggles

Pirates facing uncomfortable Paul Skenes question amid recent struggles originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Pittsburgh Pirates believed their starting rotation, paired with an elite offense, could be enough to make the postseason even with a shakier bullpen.

But the rotation has struggled lately, most notably with Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes. He's not been himself, and there is some real concern with his production.

MLB.com's Aiden Stepansky highlighted the question the Pirates are facing: "Does Paul Skenes have a late-season turnaround in store?" This question is a signifier of how much Skenes has struggled this year, and is an uncomfortable one to ask considering how much the Pirates need Skenes to turn things around to make the postseason.

"Skenes has pitched to a 3.95 ERA after two seasons of a sub-2.00 ERA to begin his career," Stepansky writes. "His velocity is down, and Pittsburgh even decided to push back his latest start from Sunday to Wednesday to give Skenes more rest."

The Pirates are acutely aware that Skenes is struggling right now, and this start being pushed back shows just how seriously they're taking it.

Unfortunately, that didn't work, as Skenes allowed three runs in 4.1 innings of work in a disappointing outing once more. He walked four batters as well, the third time in his last four starts he's done that.

Something is up with Skenes, as his diminished fastball velocity is a huge reason why he's struggling more this season. He also has 41 walks already this season, just one shy of his mark from last year despite nearly 50 more innings pitched.

MORE: Diamondbacks' Corbin Carroll joins only Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio in wild MLB history

His 7.2 walk percentage and 2.4 home run percentage are the highest marks of his three-year career. The same goes for hitters' slash line against Skenes, with a .299/.294/.374 slash line with a .668 OPS are the highest marks he's allowed in his career.

Skenes is clearly struggling this season, and considering how the Pirates are 5.5 games back in the NL Wild Card hunt and 16 games back in the NL Central, the margin for error is incredibly slim.

Skenes can't keep struggling like this if the Pirates want to make the postseason. But pushing for his return to form could risk his future health if he's not 100% right now, which seems to be the case based on his lower pitch velocities.

This question, about whether the Pirates can get Skenes back to form down the stretch, is an uncomfortable one. They need to push for the postseason, but can't risk running Skenes into the ground. This is going to be a very tricky question for the Pirates.

• Brewers World Series odds look a bit bleak with MLB HR history
• Astros expected to fire Joe Espada if they miss the postseason
• Dodgers update on Shohei Ohtani pitching again has major MVP implications
• Mariners’ Cal Raleigh on track to hit fewest HR after 60+ homer season in MLB history
• Dodgers and Mets predicted to be only teams active in Tarik Skubal’s free agent market