The Braves helped expose Paul Skenes one and only weakness

Paul Skenes has wasted no time getting acclimated to the MLB. The generational pitching prospect for the Pittsburgh Pirates has already firmly established himself as one of the premiere aces in baseball. Nonetheless, the Atlanta Braves possibly exposed the lone glaring weakness in his game in his most recent outing.

Skenes took the mound against the Braves on Saturday, logging another steller performance to add to his already impressive résumé. He even made league history -- albeit for the wrong reasons.

Per Opta Stats, Skenes is the first hurler to allow a leadoff home run in consecutive starts, only to shut his opponents out afterward.

Before doing it versus Atlanta on Saturday, Skenes did it when facing the Tampa Bay Rays on June 23. While it is a strange trend that is statistically unlikely to continue, rival clubs around the majors will take any advantage they can get on him.

The Braves helped expose Paul Skenes' one and only weakness

Only 22, Skenes continues to settle into the pace of a professional contest. So, the Braves and Rays have shown being aggressive from the jump, and trying to pounce on Skenes early can be fruitful.

In eight starts thus far in 2024, Skenes has been lights out despite the minor blemish on his record. The right-hander is 4-0 with a sensational 2.14 ERA, 0.993 WHIP and 61 strikeouts across 46.1 innings pitched. His efforts have him in the driver's seat to receive National League Rookie of the Year honors.

Considering he has been dominant beyond the first frame, Skenes has earned a pass for the peculiar but noteworthy early-action blunders. But if this streak continues, the right-hander will lose the benefit of the doubt. Regardless, he has done a solid job overcoming the hurdle and mitigating the damage beyond the opening batter.

If these are the lengths we must go to find any imperfection in Skenes, the rest of the MLB should be terrified.