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Pirates ace Paul Skenes links concerning velocity dip to World Baseball Classic amid tough season

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Canfield, R. (2026, September 22). Pirates ace Paul Skenes links concerning velocity dip to World Baseball Classic amid tough season. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-sports/pirates-ace-paul-skenes-links-concerning-velocity-dip-world-baseball-classic-amid-tough-season

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Fox News · collected 2026-09-22 · by Ryan Canfield

Quick Summary

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes attributes his decreased velocity and poor performance this season, including an ERA of 3.91 compared to previous seasons' ERAs under 2.00, partly to participating in the World Baseball Classic earlier this year. Skenes noted that typically pitchers are not throwing at maximum effort during early March, which can affect their preparation for the regular season. His fastball velocity dropped from an average of 98.1 mph last season to 96.8 mph this year. While he acknowledges other factors affecting his performance, Skenes believes the tournament's timing had a negative impact on his readiness for the start of the baseball season.
Written by AI on 2026-09-22, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Paul Skenes, the star pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates, is experiencing a significant drop in velocity during the current season, leading to an ERA of 3.91 and a WHIP of 1.13. In March, he participated in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) with Team USA but pitched only 8⅓ innings over two starts, allowing one earned run. Skenes attributes part of his performance issues to competing in the WBC, saying it disrupted his usual ramp-up period leading into the season. He notes that normally by early spring training, he would gradually increase his velocity from around 97 mph to closer to 99 mph, but this year, he was unable to achieve those levels consistently. Despite not performing at his peak, Skenes acknowledges other factors also contributed to his subpar season and expresses hope for a stronger showing next year if given proper rest during the offseason.

Written for “Paul Skenes Velocity Drop” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Paul Skenes Velocity Drop
Sports · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 12% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Paul Skenes knows ‘the root of’ his velocity drop amid frustrating season Same event
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 13 claims Outlet record 66/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
24
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
12%
3 of 24 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
68/100
Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
2
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-22 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Fox News · 6525 article(s) · 12 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 12 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

Ryan Canfield
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 69 articles by Ryan Canfield →

Topics

FOX FOX News Pittsburgh Pirates The World Baseball Classic the Post-Gazette

Subjects

Skenes PERSON · 9× FOX ORG · 1× FOX News ORG · 1× NL Cy Young Award ORG · 1× Paul Skenes PERSON · 1× Pirates ORG · 1× Pittsburgh Pirates ORG · 1× the Post-Gazette ORG · 1×

Narrative

The Pirates hope their ace will have a strong offseason, return to form in 2027 and help the team make a postseason push, assuming there is a season amid the impending lockout.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-22
🔮 The World Baseball Classic may have only been a couple of weeks long, but its impact was felt all season long.
2026-09-22 · Fox News
Pirates ace Paul Skenes links concerning velocity dip to World Baseball Classic amid tough season · assertive framing

Claims (24 extracted, 3 hedged)

The World Baseball Classic may have only been a couple of weeks long, but its impact was felt all season long. uncertain
impact → feel → weeks
His velocity has dipped, his command has been off, and after posting ERAs of 1.97 and 1.96, respectively, over the last two seasons, he has a 3.91 ERA this season. asserted
he → dip → ERA
Skenes said part of it was the World Baseball Classic. asserted
part → say → it
"There are a lot of other factors, so I don’t want to put everything on that," Skenes told the Post-Gazette. asserted
Skenes → be → Gazette
"But I feel like that was kind of the root of it a little bit." asserted
that → feel → it
This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. uncertain
page → contain → partners
If you sign up or place a wager, FOX News may be compensated. uncertain
News → sign → wager
This content was created by a team that works independently from the FOX newsroom. asserted
that → create → newsroom
The World Baseball Classic ran from March 3 to March 17 this year, and Skenes said at that time of year, pitchers aren’t throwing at max effort. asserted
pitchers → run → effort
"Usually, that time of year, you’re kind of ramping up and it’s a little bit slow. asserted
it → ramp → year
You can kind of get onto the slope and find your body," Skenes said. asserted
Skenes → get → body
"One live (batting practice), you’re topping at 97 (mph), and then the next you’re 98, 99. asserted
you → top → mph
Looking back, I don’t think that really helped." asserted
that → look → ?
Early in the season, Skenes pitched well despite not having his usual 98-mph fastball. asserted
Skenes → pitch → fastball
In 2024, his rookie season, he averaged 98.8 mph, and last season he averaged 98.1 mph. asserted
he → average → mph
Skenes didn’t have a set number for how hard he wanted to throw; he just wanted to throw harder. asserted
he → have → number
The 2025 NL Cy Young Award winner said he made mechanical adjustments to try to improve his velocity, but nothing came of them. asserted
nothing → say → them
"Unfortunately, it’s probably going to take an offseason to get it back," Skenes said. asserted
Skenes → go → it
"Yeah, it’s just tough." asserted
it → ’ → ?
Skenes didn’t blame all of his struggles on the World Baseball Classic, but he believed it had an impact. asserted
it → blame → impact
He also said he isn’t the only pitcher who was impacted. asserted
who → say → ?
"It definitely affected the year," Skenes said. asserted
Skenes → affect → year
"Unfortunately, I don’t think I’m the only one." asserted
I → think → ?
The Pirates hope their ace will have a strong offseason, return to form in 2027 and help the team make a postseason push, assuming there is a season amid the impending lockout. asserted
team → hope → lockout
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