Paul Skenes named to NL All-Star team for third consecutive year

Paul Skenes has been selected to the National League All-Star team for the third consecutive year, per Yahoo Sports, making him one of the most decorated pitchers in Pittsburgh Pirates history — even as questions linger about his recent form and his rotation partner's conspicuous absence from the roster.

What happened

Per Yahoo Sports, Skenes was named to the NL All-Star team for the third straight year. The selection comes despite what Yahoo Sports describes as recent struggles, and it arrives alongside a notable omission: rotation partner Braxton Ashcraft, who Yahoo Sports characterizes as having had an incredible season, did not receive a selection. The report notes there was some surprise around Ashcraft's exclusion given the caliber of his 2026 campaign.

Skenes kept his reaction measured. "It's always awesome. It's an awesome recognition," he said, per Yahoo Sports. "The All-Star Game is always fun, so it's gonna be cool."

Why it matters

The historical company Skenes now keeps is genuinely rarefied. Per Yahoo Sports, he joins Rip Sewell and Elroy Face as the only Pirates pitchers ever selected to three consecutive All-Star teams. He is also, per Yahoo Sports, the first Pittsburgh player of any kind to earn three straight All-Star selections since Andrew McCutchen — a name that carries considerable weight in that city.

For a franchise that has spent much of its recent history watching its best players depart before reaching this kind of sustained recognition, Skenes threading into that lineage matters beyond the individual honor. The All-Star selection is a marker of continuity, and continuity has not always been Pittsburgh's strong suit.

The Ashcraft dimension adds a layer of operational intrigue. Yahoo Sports describes his season as incredible and frames his omission as a snub — which is the kind of framing that tends to follow a pitcher into the second half of the season. Whether that translates into anything beyond bulletin-board texture remains to be seen, but the Pirates' rotation, at least by Yahoo Sports's accounting, has two pitchers with legitimate All-Star arguments. Only one of them is headed to the game.

Where the club stands

The Pirates are 82-80 (.506), sitting third in the NL Central, 21 games back in the division. Their Wild Card position ranks fifth, sitting 6.0 games relative to the cut line. They have been eliminated from both the division race and the Wild Card race, and they are currently riding a one-game winning streak.

That record — and that postseason math — is the backdrop against which Skenes's All-Star selection lands. An ace earning his third straight All-Star nod on a team that has been eliminated from playoff contention is a particular kind of Pittsburgh Pirates story: the individual achievement is real, the organizational ceiling is a separate conversation entirely.

The home series ahead offers some immediate context. On Tuesday, July 7, Skenes himself is the probable starter against the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park, opposed by Hurston Waldrep. Wednesday brings Jared Jones against Grant Holmes, and Thursday closes the set with Mitch Keller facing Bryce Elder. The Braves are coming to Pittsburgh for three games, which means Skenes's next start arrives before the All-Star break with some narrative weight attached — an All-Star pitcher, recently struggling by Yahoo Sports's description, taking the mound against a division opponent in front of a home crowd.

Is Braxton Ashcraft going to the All-Star Game?

Per Yahoo Sports, Ashcraft was not selected, despite what the report describes as an incredible season. Yahoo Sports frames his exclusion as a notable snub but does not detail any additional selection process, replacement mechanism, or further development around his status. As of Yahoo Sports's report, Ashcraft is not on the NL All-Star roster.

What we don't know yet

Yahoo Sports describes Skenes as having recent struggles without specifying their nature, duration, or statistical shape. The report does not detail what those struggles consist of, and readers are left with the characterization — recent struggles — but not the underlying numbers.

Similarly, Yahoo Sports does not specify what Ashcraft's exact season line looks like, or whether any further roster consideration for Ashcraft is possible through the various mechanisms the league makes available after initial selections. The report is a selection notice, not a full accounting of the roster construction process.

What to watch

The most immediate thing to watch is Skenes on the mound Tuesday against Atlanta. A pitcher described by Yahoo Sports as recently struggling, freshly honored with his third All-Star selection, starting at home against the Braves — that is a start with some texture to it.

Beyond Tuesday, the second half of the season will tell us whether the recent struggles Yahoo Sports references are a blip or something more structural. Skenes has now been selected to three consecutive All-Star teams, which means the baseline expectation for his performance is set at a level that makes any extended rough patch more visible. The selection is a recognition of what he has been; the second half is where he gets to say something about what he is right now.

Ashcraft's trajectory is worth monitoring as well. Yahoo Sports's characterization of his season as incredible, paired with the surprise around his omission, sets up a second half in which he is pitching with something to prove to a selection committee that passed on him. Whether that framing matters to Ashcraft personally is unknown — Yahoo Sports does not include his reaction — but it is the kind of storyline that tends to have a long shelf life in a baseball season.

For a Pirates team that sits outside the playoff picture, the All-Star selections — one made, one conspicuously absent — are among the more meaningful individual stories left to follow as the calendar turns toward the second half.