Pirates’ Skenes, Yankees’ Gil win Rookie of Year awards

Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Paul Skenes was named the National League’s Rookie of the Year on Monday, beating out a loaded field headlined by Jackson Merrill and Jackson Chourio after posting one of the best rookie campaigns for a pitcher in Major League history.

New York Yankees right-hander Luis Gil beat out teammate and catcher Austin Wells and Baltimore Orioles outfielder Colton Cowser to win the award in the American League.

Hyped as a generational talent, Skenes, who debuted less than a year after being selected with the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft, exceeded expectations in his first taste of the big leagues to become the second Rookie of the Year award winner in Pirates history ( Jason Bay, 2004) with 23 of the 30 first place votes. With the honor, he served a full year of service despite not being called up to the majors until May.

Gil received 15 of the 30 first-place votes, narrowly topping Cowser, who finished with 13 first-place votes.

Skenes, 22, went 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA in 23 starts across 133 innings. The 1.96 ERA was the lowest for any rookie with at least 20 starts in the Live Ball Era dating to 1920, and the lowest in baseball in 2024 among pitchers with at least 130 innings. His 0.95 WHIP was tied for best in the National League. His 170 strikeouts were a franchise rookie record. His 4.3 fWAR ranked 10th among major-league pitchers. With the performance, he was named one of the three finalists for the NL Cy Young Award, along with veterans Chris Sale and Zack Wheeler. The winner will be announced on Wednesday.

On Monday, Merril finished second with the other seven first-place votes and Chourio in third behind Skenes. Merrill, a shortstop in the minors last season, was the San Diego Padres’ opening day starting center fielder at just 20 years old. He excelled in every facet, finishing the season with a .292/.326/.500 slash line, 24 home runs, 90 RBI and 16 steals in 156 games while playing above-average defense. His 5.3 fWAR led all rookies.

Chourio, who doesn’t turn 21 until March, signed an $82 million extension last offseason before making his major-league debut and, after a slow start, lived up to the investment. Chourio went on a tear after posting a .201 batting average and .575 OPS through June 1, hitting .305 with 16 home runs and an .888 OPS over his last 97 games.

There was little doubt that Skenes was a major-league-caliber pitcher out of spring training, but the Pirates chose not to include him on their Opening Day roster. The reasoning was simple: Skenes logged just 6 ⅔ innings as a pro in 2023 after accumulating 122 ⅔ innings for LSU. So Skenes was sent to Triple A for more seasoning and dominated on a limited workload. In seven starts, Skenes posted a 0.99 ERA with 45 strikeouts across 27 ⅓ innings.

Finally, on May 11, Skenes made his major-league debut against the Chicago Cubs. He surrendered three runs with seven strikeouts over four innings. He would allow three or more earned runs just two more times over his last 22 starts.

His first 11 outings were so dominant (1.90 ERA, 89 strikeouts to 13 walks in 66 ⅓ innings and seven no-hit innings in his final start of the first half against the Milwaukee Brewers) that he was named the starting pitcher for the NL All-Star team , setting the stage for an electric first inning in Arlington against four of the sport’s best hitters. Skenes, the fifth rookie ever to start the exhibition, threw 16 pitches to Steven Kwan, Gunnar Henderson, Juan Soto and Aaron Judge. He walked Soto in an otherwise clean innings. He touched 100 mph and showed off his splinker — a splitter-sinker hybrid. The sequence, like every one of his starts, was television television.

He pitched into the ninth inning for the first time as a pro in his first All-Star Game start, taking a 2–1 loss against the St. Louis Cardinals after giving up a run in the ninth. But Pittsburgh, despite adding at the trade deadline, fell out of the wild card race down the stretch.

The Pirates, careful not to overwork Skenes, had him take extra rest — either five or six days — in all of his starts. But he logged at least six innings in 16 of his 23 starts. He threw at least 100 pitches in nine of them. He closed his campaign strong, allowing just two runs in five September starts and pitching two perfect innings against New York at Yankee Stadium on the penultimate day of the regular season.