Paul Skenes and two other elite pitchers made life miserable for Colorado Rockies hitters during a Father’s Day weekend series in June 2026. Facing Skenes, reigning Cy Young winner Bubba Chandler, and Jared Jones, Rockies batters struggled against a new generation of pitchers throwing harder and with more movement than ever before.
How tough was the Rockies’ challenge?
The Rockies faced three of the most dominant starters in baseball during their mid-June series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Skenes, the 2025 Cy Young winner, combined premium velocity with a deep arsenal of pitches, including his signature sweeper and sinker. Chandler and Jones brought similar heat, with fastballs routinely touching 99-100 mph.
Rockies outfielder Jake McCarthy managed an inside-the-park home run off Skenes, but the team otherwise struggled to square up against the trio. The average four-seam fastball in MLB has climbed to 94.4 mph in 2026, up from 89.0 mph in 2002, making it harder than ever for hitters to adjust.
Why is hitting so much harder now?
Pitchers today aren’t just throwing harder—they’re also using advanced pitch designs like the sweeper, splinker, and kick-change to deceive batters. Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski set a new record in 2026 with a 105.5 mph fastball, a speed once thought impossible for a starter.
Even former stars like Jacob deGrom saw their velocity jump over time. DeGrom averaged 95.9 mph in 2017 but hit 99.2 mph just four years later. Rockies hitting coach Brett Pill, a former big leaguer, admitted he couldn’t even track the ball during his final spring training in 2017.
What’s the Rockies’ approach against elite pitching?
Rockies players like Kyle Karros, son of former Silver Slugger Eric Karros, rely on fundamentals—seeing the ball deep and driving it to right-center. But even with modern tech like Trajekt, hitting elite pitching remains a monumental challenge.
Karros and his teammates often debate with older generations about how much harder the game has become. While Eric Karros dominated in the 1990s, today’s pitchers bring a level of velocity and movement that was unimaginable just a decade ago.
What’s next for Skenes and the Rockies?
Skenes continues to cement his place as one of MLB’s most dominant pitchers. The Rockies, meanwhile, must find ways to adjust to the new era of pitching—whether through technology, approach, or sheer persistence. Their next matchup against Skenes or similar arms will test whether they’ve made progress.
For now, facing pitchers like Skenes remains one of the toughest challenges in baseball.