Paul Skenes points to the WBC to explain his tough season. Around MLB, the picture is far less clear

Paul Skenes pointed to his participation in the World Baseball Classic as a contributing factor behind a rocky regular season. After previously maintaining sub-2.00 ERAs, Skenes ended the season with a 3.82 ERA and saw his average fastball velocity drop from 98.2 mph to 96.8 mph, while avoiding injury. Skenes noted in an interview that although other factors like mechanics contributed, the tournament felt like the root of his struggles.

Across MLB, results among WBC participants show no clear trend regarding the tournament's negative impact. Team Venezuela pitchers Eduardo Rodriguez of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Keider Montero of the Detroit Tigers both put together strong campaigns, crediting the tournament with preparing them for regular-season success.