Justin Verlander’s brother blasts Pirates' failure to support Paul Skenes

MLB analyst Ben Verlander lashed out at the Pittsburgh Pirates ownership for failing to build a strong offense to support their pitching staff led by Paul Skenes. He believes the Pirates owner, Bill Nutting, isn't looking to make the most out of a highly talented Pirates starting rotation and is purely looking to reap profits from the large crowds that their young star can pull.

Paul Skenes was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates as the No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 MLB Draft and made his debut just a year later, in May 2024. He made an electric start, quickly becoming one of the biggest attractions in the MLB. Skenes went on to start the All-Star game before producing a dominant campaign and was voted the 2024 National League Rookie of the Year at the end of the season.

Ben Verlander, the younger brother of three-time Cy Young Award-winner Justin Verlander and the host of the Flippin' Bats podcast, blasted the Pirates owner for failing to add more talent to their roster during this offseason on his show on Thursday. [2:40]

"Paul Skenes feels like a one-in-a-generation type of pitcher. It feels like he could be that guy in his career. You only get that guy on your team maybe once, (if) ever. Now you have him under your control, and you're certainly not doing everything you possibly can to build a winning team around him," Verlander said.

"In fact, you're doing the opposite. You're just doing nothing, spending no money, and hoping that people come out because they're excited to see him pitch, while not spending money on the team, and then hopefully raking in all the money that you possibly can. Hate it that the Pirates are the way that they are."

Skenes made 23 starts over his rookie season and pitched 133.0 innings. He ended the year with an 11-3 record with a 1.96 ERA. 0.947 WHIP and 170 strikeouts to finish third in the NL Cy Young race.

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"That's a really fun one-two-three": Ben Verlander on the Pirates rotation led by Paul Skenes

Paul Skenes became the fifth rookie to start an MLB All-Star Game (Image Source: IMAGN)

In his assessment of the Pittsburgh Pirates for the 2025 season, Ben Verlander declared that the team could finish the year with a winning record on the strength of their starting rotation.

However, failing to make any substantial improvements to its offense will prevent it from challenging for a postseason berth.

"I wish that team and Bob Nutting, the owner, would do something, but they really don't," he said. "Paul Skenes, Jarred Jones at the top of the rotation with Mitch Keller. That's a really fun one-two-three. Skenes, Keller, Jones; love that. This offense just doesn't continue to add around them as pitchers."

"This team will not be very good, but the pitching will be very good, so they can beat you on any given day," he added. "You tell me they could finish around .500, I could see that. But I wish they were better because of their pitching."

The Pirates finished at the bottom of the NL Central last year with a 76-86 record. They are approaching close to 10 years since their last postseason appearance, while they have not won their division since 1993.