Former MLB pitcher critiques Pirates ace Paul Skenes' mechanics amid recent struggles

1 month ago 15

One of the biggest, if not the biggest, storylines of the 2026 season for the Pittsburgh Pirates has been the struggles of Paul Skenes.

He went from a Cy Young candidate to someone fans are beginning to worry about. His fastball isn't as good as it once was, and there are some real concerns about his production on the mound.

Dan Plesac on MLB Network, a three-time All-Star pitcher, revealed what's been going wrong with Skenes, critiquing the Pirates' ace for poor mechanics in one part of his motion.

Ex-MLB pitcher critiques Paul Skenes over mechanics

"At times he gets oftly quick; he gets more rotational this way (left) as opposed to up and down. And what happens why he's struggling with the arm side; if you rotate and that hip and your shoulder start to come this way, the arm starts to drag behind," Plesac said.

.@Plesac19 breaks down Paul Skenes' mechanics, noting that the Pirates ace is more rotational than prior seasons.

"He's throwing away from where he's going." pic.twitter.com/kgGARQTfJE

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) August 19, 2026

The demonstration Plesac did to show what's going wrong with Skenes makes his struggles very apparent. He's opening up too early by rotating more to his left as he's pitching, which is causing his arm to go the opposite direction of his body.

Trying to generate his normal velocity from such a position is going to be very difficult. Skenes is not using the right mechanics right now. But, fortunately for Skenes, the fix is easy.

"He's throwing away from where he's going," Plesac said. "It's such an easy thing to fix, it's so minor, that if you just stay a touch longer closed instead of flying open early... and that way it'll be easier for him to keep it on line, getting that ball in to a righty and away to a lefty."

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This is a simple fix for the Pirates and Skenes. While fixing this in time for the postseason, or a Cy Young award might be out of reach, he could still close out the year strong with some better mechanics and better outings.

His struggles to control his fastball, which has lost a bit of velocity, are thanks in part to this change in mechanics that's been a net negative for Skenes.

Plesac is critiquing Skenes for his poor mechanics. It's something that the Pirates ace needs to hear and learn from. As good as Skenes can be, and still is, his production lately isn't good enough, and his issues might all come down to poor mechanics.

Skenes needs to adjust his mechanics a bit and not open up as much as he's pitching. It's caused a decrease in velocity and a bit more wildness, and appears to be a big reason for his struggles this season.