Just one start into his big league career, Paul Skenes is making noise in the National League Rookie of the Year race.
After an exhilarating debut against the Cubs on Saturday, Skenes moved to +1500 to win the award, which is just outside the top five on the odds board at FanDuel Sportsbook.
In the hours before his much-anticipated first start with the Pirates, Skenes had been +1700 at FanDuel.
Skenes had been as high as +900 before coming out of the game.
NL Rookie of the Year Odds
| Player | Odds |
|---|---|
| Shota Imanaga | +190 |
| Yoshinobu Yamamoto | +420 |
| Jared Jones | +650 |
| Michael Busch | 10/1 |
| Andy Pages | 10/1 |
| Jackson Merrill | 12/1 |
| Paul Skenes | 15/1 |
| Jung Hoo Lee | 40/1 |
| Jackson Chourio | 40/1 |
The flame-throwing phenom pitched through trouble all game but showed flashes of stardom during his first appearance on a big league mound.
Skenes struck out seven batters over four-plus innings, touching as high as 102 mph on the radar gun and piquing the interest of the betting public, although he allowed six hits, two walks and hit a batter.
Through four innings, his only real blemish was a solo home run off the bat of Chicago second baseman Nico Hoerner.
The right-hander’s lack of sharpness caught up with him in the fifth inning when he exited with two runners on, which eventually scored, and nobody out after 84 total pitches.
Skenes made it to the majors less than a year after being drafted No. 1 overall in the 2023 MLB Draft thanks to an utterly dominant run in the minor leagues.
The 21-year-old had a 0.99 ERA with 45 strikeouts and just eight walks in 27 1/3 innings at Triple-A Indianapolis before his call-up.
If he wants to take home any hardware this season, Skenes will have to outperform his teammate and fellow rookie, Jared Jones.
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Jones has dominated through eight starts, putting up a 2.68 ERA with 56 strikeouts in 47 innings.
He currently has the third-best odds at +650, behind Shota Imanaga (+190) and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (+420).
Skenes will likely take the mound against the Cubs next weekend, this time at Wrigley Field.
