Pirates' Paul Skenes Tumbles In Latest Pitcher Power Rankings

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Pirates' Paul Skenes Tumbles In Latest Pitcher Power Rankings originally appeared on SportsNet Pittsburgh. Add SportsNet Pittsburgh as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Let's acknowledge the obvious off the top here: the upstart Pittsburgh Pirates will go only as far as ace right-hander Paul Skenes can carry them this season.

Just as stunning, however, has been Skenes' inconsistencies on the mound this year. As a result, he tumbled from No. 6 to No. 9 in MLB.com's latest Pitcher Power Rankings.

"It’s surprising to see Skenes as low as ninth on this list, although it has more to do with superior performances by other hurlers than any struggles from the Pirates' phenom," MLB.com's Theo DeRosa and Manny Randhawa wrote Thursday. "Skenes has a 2.85 ERA after his latest strong outing, in which he struck out 10 Marlins in six innings of two-run ball on Sunday.

Skenes is just 6-6 this season, but the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner still ranks among the league leaders in several categories, including K/9 (10.9, second), strikeouts (99, third), WHIP (0.93, third) and ERA (2.85, ninth).

Here's the list of pitchers who rank ahead of Skenes:

1. Jacob Misiorowski, Milwaukee Brewers
2. Cristopher Sanchez, Philadelphia Phillies
3. Cam Schlittler, New York Yankees
4. Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers
5. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers
6. Chase Burns, Cincinnati Reds
7. Drew Rasmussen, Tampa Bay Rays
8. Zack Wheeler, Phillies

Skenes is slated to return to the mound on Saturday against the Rockies in the second game of a three-game series in Colorado.

He and the Pirates sit in fourth place in the National League Central, nine games behind the first-place Milwaukee Brewers. But Pittsburgh is just one game back in the NL Wild Card standings.

FanGraphs gives the Pirates a 41.6% chance of returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2015.

More MLB: Pirates Named As Fit For Former 31-Home Run Catcher Ahead Of Deadline

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