Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes cited the World Baseball Classic as a source of his uncharacteristic velocity dip this season. Discussing his disappointing 2026 season with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, he said the WBC was "kind of the root" of the diminished velocity that plagued him in recent months.

"There are a lot of other factors, so I don't want to put everything on [the WBC]," Skenes said. His average fastball velocity fell to 96.8 mph, from 98.1 mph last season and 98.8 mph in 2024. The three-time All-Star's four-seam fastball dropped to a career-low 95.7 mph against the Miami Marlins and averaged 96.1 mph against the Kansas City Royals.

Skenes, 24, is 10-11 with a 3.91 ERA and 192 strikeouts in 168 innings over 31 starts. He won the National League Cy Young Award last year and was the NL Rookie of the Year in 2024. Although he expects to regain his mechanics for 2027 and does not regret representing Team USA, he said the WBC "definitely affected the year."