Paul Skenes stat proves he's not the Pirates savior just yet

Last year at this time, Paul Skenes was still a college student, pitching the LSU Tigers towards a College World Series. Flash forward 365 days, Skenes has been drafted, went through an offseason, spring training, the minor leagues and he's now seen as the savior for the Pittsburgh Pirates at the big-league level.

To say that Skenes has the entire weight of Pittsburgh on his shoulders may be an understatement. The expectations for him are ridiculous. And somehow, through five starts, he's exceeded these expectations by more than most believed possible.

But, pump the brakes, Pirates fans. While Skenes has been incredible, he does have one major flaw in his game right now. There's a glaring statistic that sticks out when looking at his first five starts.

Glaring Paul Skenes stat shows he still has plenty more work to do

Most pitchers diminish a bit as they face the lineup multiple times over. It's expected. But Paul Skenes has been exceptionally worse as the lineup sees him the second and third time through. Concerningly bad.

First and second time through the lineup, Skenes allows an OPS under .600 combined. That's incredible, well below the league average in OPS. But third time through, Skenes has gotten hit hard, consistently.

Third time through, hitters are 6-for-17 with a double and a bomb off Skenes. Obviously, the sample size isn't big enough to be a true indicator of the future, but it's definitely something that the Pirates should be concerned about.

Skenes may need to look towards developing another pitch. He's flashed a curveball and a changeup, throwing both about four percent of the time, but he really hasn't committed to either pitch.

He throws a fastball variation, whether it be his four seam or a newly branded "Splinker" (Branded by PitchingNinja on X/Twitter), over 70 percent of the time. This may allow hitters the chance to time up the heat and be able to sit on the fastball as they are finally able to time it up.

Developing another off-speed pitch to complement his slider could be huge for the Pirates rookie. He looks to be the future savior of the team, but at this moment, it's hard to deem him that with his struggles third time through the lineup. With a slight adjustment, I imagine he will be back to dominant in the third time through in no time.