Paul Skenes Blames World Baseball Classic for Velocity Dip

Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes believes participating in the World Baseball Classic contributed to a season-long velocity drop. Skenes noted that pitching 8.1 innings for Team USA disrupted his standard ramp-up progression, preventing him from regaining his usual peak velocity. Despite the frustrating year, the reigning NL Cy Young winner compiled a 3.91 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, and 192 strikeouts over 168 innings while expecting a normal offseason routine heading into 2027.