Today, we don’t need to know, “What The Rock Says”, we need to know what John Smoltz says and,
“John Smoltz says”…..
“The Cy Young favorite right now to me is going to be Ohtani, just based on what he’s able to do and the team he’s playing for now.”
“But Paul Skenes is always going to be in the conversation.”
“Well, he’s certainly not going to end up in Pittsburgh.”
John Smoltz On Pirates Ace Paul Skenes: “He’s Certainly Not Going To End Up In Pittsburgh”
John Smoltz is highly regarded as not just one of the best pitchers of his generation, but one of the best.
The 59-year-old won the NL Cy Young Award in 1996 as a member of the Atlanta Braves, posting a dominant season where he went 24-8 with a 2.94 ERA.
His 24 wins were the most by an NL pitcher since 1972.
Smoltz spent almost his entire career with the Braves, except for one season, his last, which was split between the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals. Although Smoltz spent the first half of his career as a starter, he spent a portion of his last half as a dominant closer, racking up 55 saves during the 2002 season.
When looking at today’s National League landscape, it’s obvious to Smoltz that there are a lot of great pitchers, but he’s leaning towards the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani as the favourite to win the NL Cy Young Award.
Ohtani is off to a sensational start, posting a scorching 0.82 ERA in his nine starts so far this season.
“The Cy Young favorite right now to me is going to be Ohtani, just based on what he’s able to do and the team he’s playing for now,” said Smoltz in a one-on-one interview on behalf of his participation in the American Century Championship.
“Whether or not he gets the accumulated statistics and innings, that is yet to be determined. (Cristopher) Sanchez is doing an unbelievable job right now for Philadelphia, and that streak he’s in. But at the same time, the issue is going to come down to individual award versus team accomplishments, and the Dodgers are going to have the luxury to rest guys more than likely at the end of the year, which may hurt individual awards.”
Along with the Philadelphia Phillies’ Cristopher Sanchez, Smoltz also mentions other notable names in the race, including reigning NL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes and the Philadelphia Phillies’ Zack Wheeler.
“But Paul Skenes is always going to be in the conversation,” Smoltz said.
“And then you always have to have, I love my man Zach Wheeler coming back and doing what he’s doing. But those are what I see. I think somebody for the Milwaukee Brewers is 9-0 as a reliever. Talk about timing, unless that was a misprint. (Aaron) Ashby is 9-0 for the Milwaukee Brewers. Now I don’t think that’ll qualify for Cy Young, but it’s still a pretty interesting stat.”
John Smoltz On Shohei Ohtani
Ohtani is obviously a generational player and will go down as one of the best ever.
The 31-year-old is already a four-time MVP through his first eight seasons in the MLB.
He’s a decorated hitter and one of the best pitchers in baseball, but he has yet to win the Cy Young Award. Ohtani is aiming for his first Cy Young and Smoltz believes he’s also the MVP.
“I believe he is,” said Smoltz of Ohtani being the favorite to win the NL Cy Young Award.
“He’s also shooting to win the MVP, which a lot of people are calling the Ohtani Award, which he’s got two chances to win an MVP based on pitching and hitting. But the combination of both are just beyond belief. He definitely wants to win the Cy Young. It’s another notch in his belt, and he’s going to do whatever he sets his mind to. I can tell you that.”
Paul Skenes: ‘He’s Certainly Not Going To End Up In Pittsburgh’
When it relates to Skenes, many consider him to be the best pitcher in baseball.
The 24-year-old is already a two-time All-Star and two-time member of the All-MLB First Team through his first two seasons in the majors.
Smoltz hammers home not wanting to see Skenes deal with major injuries as so many other starting pitchers in recent memory have.
“There really isn’t,” Smoltz said when asked if there’s a player comparison for Skenes.
“I hope he becomes an outlier for the injury bug. I hope he never deals with it. I hope he’s able to pitch long beyond what most people would anticipate he’s headed towards in this day and age of velocity, in this day and age of all the injuries. We’ve got to stop this madness, and hopefully he’s a genetic creep, and we’ll avoid it.”
However, the problem is he plays for the Pittsburgh Pirates, the worst team in the NL Central and a .500 squad. Despite allowing just one earned run and notching 10 strikeouts in 5.1 innings pitched against the Chicago Cubs in his most recent outing, Skenes was handed a loss due to the lack of run support.
Skenes has a 2.89 ERA but just a 6-5 record to show for it.
When asked about the topic of Skenes’ long-term future with the Pirates, Smoltz said it’s only a matter of time before he lands with an MLB powerhouse due to his talents and the Pirates’ lack of winning.
“Well, he’s certainly not going to end up in Pittsburgh,” said Smoltz.
“That’s the evidence that we know so far has been a trend, and unfortunately it looks like he’s not going to have an opportunity to pitch significant games for Pittsburgh. Because until this, changes this year, they haven’t been relevant, and to me that’s unfortunate.”
from SportsBoom @ https://www.sportsboom.us/mlb/exclusive-john-smoltz-on-pirates-pitcher-paul-skenes-future-hes-certainly-not-going-to-end-up-in-pittsburgh