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In 1989, Jose Canseco started a 1-900 hotline so fans could hear him talk about his previous day on and off the field. Yes, this was real. Yes, it was as bad as you could imagine.
u/asskickingjedi avatar u/asskickingjedi
In 1989, Jose Canseco started a 1-900 hotline so fans could hear him talk about his previous day on and off the field. Yes, this was real. Yes, it was as bad as you could imagine.
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r/baseball - In 1989, Jose Canseco started a 1-900 hotline so fans could hear him talk about his previous day on and off the field. Yes, this was real. Yes, it was as bad as you could imagine.
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If Skenes and Skubal were in the same league, who do you pick to receive the 2025 Cy Young Award?
u/Dry-Foundation7205 avatar u/Dry-Foundation7205
If Skenes and Skubal were in the same league, who do you pick to receive the 2025 Cy Young Award?
Opinion

Paul Skenes posted a 1.97 ERA with 216 strikeouts in coming off a breakout ROTY campaign. 7.7 WAR, 0.948 WHIP, 2.36 FIP. Moreover, he's only 23 years old and has already established himself as an elite starter on an insane trajectory.

Tarik Skubal posted a 2.21 ERA with 241 strikeouts coming off an elite season in 2024. 6.5 WAR, 0.891 WHIP, 249 FIP. Interestingly, Skubal did not experience the early success that Skenes has earned himself. Skubal worked his way through the league as a struggling pitcher, eventually finding his stride out of seemingly nowhere. In this spurt of recent dominance he's already established himself as a force to be reckoned with on the mound.

Both pitchers have their equal strenghts and key differences. Skenes relies on a sophisticaded array of pitches to keep the hitter guessing. His signature splinker and sweeper combo, paired with his 98 MPH heater deconstructs a hitter's approach. Skenes has less strikeouts than Skubal, but he recorded the lowest ERA among qualified starters across both leagues. His consistent quality outings kept the Pirates in games against very overmatched opponents. He may not have the extensive experience of other qualified starters, but he is quickly becoming the model of consistency and dominance in MLB.

Skubal has a overpowering fastball that can frequently reach triple digits paired with a devastating changeup. He has recent postseason experience, striking out thirteen in his latest outing against the Mariners in a thrilling game five. Despite postseason failure for the Tigers, Skubal has shown that he's a reliable and at times untouchable asset for any contending franchise. Skubal les the league in WHIP and came very close to matching Crochet's 255, with 241 of his own over 195.1 IP. His ERA may be a tad higher than Skenes', but he's already proven to be one of the best pitchers on the planet in a very short span of time.

So, who would you pick? I would personally go for Skubal, but the reason I posted this is because Skenes also delivered an equally dominant season. I truly believe that there are not righr or wrong answers with this question, both pitchers deserve the unanimous praise that they've received as of recent.