Pirates ace Paul Skenes links concerning velocity dip to World Baseball Classic amid tough season

The World Baseball Classic may have only been a couple of weeks long, but its impact was felt all season long.

Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes has not been himself this year. His velocity has dipped, his command has been off, and after posting ERAs of 1.97 and 1.96, respectively, over the last two seasons, he has a 3.91 ERA this season. Why? Skenes said part of it was the World Baseball Classic.

"There are a lot of other factors, so I don’t want to put everything on that," Skenes told the Post-Gazette.