Pirates’ Paul Skenes has a new pitch, and it’s called ‘The Sleeper’

Paul Skenes is already one of the most fearsome pitchers in the league. The Pittsburgh Pirates star is an incredible talent on the mound. With precise control, blazing speed, and an unmatched arsenal of pitches, the 2025 NL Cy Young winner is well on his way to becoming a powerhouse in the league.

The scary part? Skenes is only getting better. In an interview on MLB Network, it was revealed that the Pirates star is working on a modified version of one of his pitches. Nicknamed “The Sleeper”, Skenes will add another breaking ball to his already impressive list of pitches.

.@enosarris says Paul Skenes has been working on a slower version of his sweeper this offseason, called “the sleeper.”

(via @MLBNow) pic.twitter.com/5GHN4whmn1

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) January 31, 2026

Skenes already has seven pitches that he mainly uses, according to Baseball Savant. He has the usual four-seamer and a couple of fastball variations like the sinker and a splitter that he calls “the Splinker”. Outside of those pitches, Skenes also has an impressive list of breaking balls, including the slider that he was modifying.

Skenes’ slider averaged around 85 mph last season. Compared to his other pitches, the Pirates star’s slider was an effective pitch for him for the most part, inducing a .227 batting average. It was especially good at getting batters to swing and miss with a whiff rate of 33.8%. Adding a slower version of his slider (which currently clocks at around 85mph) will be an interesting change for the star, especially as his current slowest pitch, his curveball, is his worst-performing pitch last season.

Skenes won the National League Cy Young award after a dominant second season in the majors. He posted an unreal 1.97 ERA last season, the best mark in the league by far, striking out 216 batters in the process. The Pirates star will now turn his attention to the World Baseball Classic, where he will represent Team USA in their quest to recapture the international trophy.

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