The Pittsburgh Pirates may have one of the most talented rotations in baseball on paper, but if they keep coddling their ace, Paul Skenes, that potential will never fully materialize. It's time to take the training wheels off.

Through seven starts in 2026, Skenes boasts a 4-2 record and a sparkling 3.18 ERA. When he's locked in, he's been nearly untouchable—aside from a couple of rough outings against the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals, he's allowed one earned run or less in every other appearance. The problem? He's averaging just 4.76 innings per start. That's not ace territory; that's a pitcher being handled with kid gloves.

If the Pirates think this cautious approach will keep Skenes fresh for a potential postseason run, they're setting themselves up for disappointment. Playing not to lose instead of playing to win is a shaky strategy, and Pittsburgh's bullpen has already shown it can't be trusted to hold leads in the middle innings. The longer those relief arms are on the mound, the more likely the opposition is to steal a win.

Remember when Skenes took a perfect game into the seventh inning earlier this season? That's the kind of dominance this team should be riding, not restricting.

So why the short leash? The biggest knock on Skenes has always been his pitch count. He lives on swing-and-miss stuff and pitches that just nick the strike zone, which means he racks up pitches quickly. In his latest start against the Cardinals, he threw 102 pitches in just five innings. Against Milwaukee, it was 93 pitches. He's topped 85 pitches twice already this season, averaging about 78.3 pitches per outing. That's a lot of work for a guy who's barely getting through five frames.

And then there's the fear that every Pirates fan quietly holds: that the team is limiting Skenes to protect him from injury or to manage his long-term workload. But here's the thing—baseball's greatest arms aren't built in a bubble. They're forged in the fire of competition. If Skenes is healthy and dealing, let him deal. The Pirates have a generational talent on their hands. It's time they trust him to go the distance.