Pirates' Paul Skenes faces blunt warning from MLB insider after viral 'dad bod' look originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here. Paul Skenes has gone from the most untouchable arm in baseball to a pitcher fighting his own mechanics and now the internet's jokes about his physique. The Pittsburgh Pirates ace, still working under his rookie-scale contract as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft, has been nothing like the pitcher who won NL Rookie of the Year in 2024 and the Cy Young in 2025. His ERA has climbed to 3.88 this season, a steep rise from his 1.97 mark across his first two years. His fastball, once regularly touching 100-plus mph, has dipped closer to 96. Pittsburgh sits at 61-65, 16.5 games back in the NL Central and stuck in fourth place. The struggles collided with unwanted attention this week when Skenes, 24, was photographed shirtless in Florida with girlfriend Livvy Dunne ahead of the Pirates' series against the Miami Marlins. Many online mocked his build, calling it a "dad bod." However, a source close to Skenes, speaking exclusively to the Daily Mail, dismissed every kind of injury speculation and instead put the blame on the roster around him. "Another reason for Paul's downturn is that his team is hot garbage," the source said. "They are last place, the team doesn't protect him with any offense or good defense, so he is being wasted." The insider added that defensive lapses and anemic run support have amplified Skenes' recent struggles. "When he pitches well, defensive errors or a quiet offense negate his performance. And when he does have a tough outing, the lack of a safety net makes the final line look far worse," the source noted. Former MLB All-Star Curt Schilling thinks the root cause traces back to March. According to him, altering his usual offseason routine to pitch in the World Baseball Classic disrupted Skenes' preparation. This is the same view shared by team sources who feel his mechanics and command have been slightly out of sync ever since. More MLB news:
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