Courtesy of Air Force Athletics
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Former Falcon two-way player, Paul Skenes, was tabbed the 2024 NL Rookie of the Year as voted on and released on Monday night, by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA), and finished as a NL Cy Young Award Finalist.
After entering the MLB as the number one overall pick by Pittsburgh in the 2023 draft, Skenes became the second Pirate to be honored as Rookie of the Year following an electric lead-off season. The Pittsburgh pitcher is the first former Air Force player to win this award.
The righty made his MLB debut with a start on May 11th, 2024 against the Chicago Cubs, throwing seven strikeouts across four innings. Skenes went on to total 133.0 innings on the mound, recording 11 wins with 170 strikeouts to break the Pirates rookie record, a batting average against of .198, and a 0.95 WHIP. He led rookies across the MLB with an ERA of 1.96.
Skenes was a vital contributor to Air Force baseball during the 2021 and 2022 seasons, serving as the 2022 team captain and earning Team MVP for two consecutive years. While he was a Falcon, the Lake Forest, Calif. native was named the Mountain West Co-Pitcher of the Year during his sophomore campaign with a MW-best 2.40 ERA and set a program record of seven conference wins. In 2022, Skenes played a major role in leading Air Force to their first Mountain West Conference title and its first berth to the NCAA tournament since 1969 with his efforts on the mound and behind the plate.
Across 112.2 total innings pitched for Air Force, Skenes struck out 126 batters, notched 11 wins and completed his tenure with a 2.72 career ERA. At the plate, Skenes batted .367 with 31 doubles and 24 homers for a career slugging percentage of .669.
Skenes was honored as a three-time All-American, the 2022 John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year, the 2021 Mountain West Freshman of the Year and earned two Academic All-Mountain West selections. In addition to his well-deserved accolades, the right-hander sits atop the Falcon record books: Most Individual Season Victories (10), Most Individual Season Saves (11), Most Freshman Individual Season Hits (77), Most Freshman Individual Season Doubles (21), Most Conference Season Hits (61), and Most Conference Season Wins (8).
Head Coach, Mike Kazlausky, states, “Congratulations to Paul, as he is a great American and will always be a member of America’s Team at the United States Air Force Academy!”
Kazlausky goes on to mention, “The foundations laid at the Academy regarding the importance of our military and service to our nation is exemplified through Skenes as he continues to represent our military at the highest of levels, both on and off the field.”
