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Fresh off earning Most Outstanding Player honors at the College World Series for leading LSU to a national title, Paul Skenes is going to start his professional baseball career with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The 21-year-old right-hander was selected by the Pirates with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 MLB draft on Sunday.
Skenes began his college career at Air Force in 2020. He was terrific in two seasons for the Falcons, posting a 2.73 ERA with 126 strikeouts over 112.1 innings. He earned Mountain West Freshman of the Year honors and the John Olerud Award given to the nation’s best two-way player during his time at Air Force.
After the 2022 season, Skenes entered the transfer portal and landed at LSU. He told reporters in October his decision to transfer was influenced by his desire to pursue professional baseball as his career.
“So even if you’re still in Minor League Baseball, Major League Baseball. If you’re still in the Air Force, they can pull it away from you, which isn’t a super common thing but you see it occasionally,” Skenes said ahead of LSU’s first day of fall practice. “I didn’t want anyone to take it out from under me.”
The move to LSU paid huge dividends for Skenes and the program. The Tigers won their first national title since 2009 by defeating Florida in the College World Series Finals.
Skenes went 12-2 with a 1.69 ERA and 209 strikeouts in 122.2 innings over 19 starts. He won the National Pitcher of the Year Award and Dick Howser Trophy given to the nation’s best player.
In four postseason starts, Skenes allowed just four runs with 42 strikeouts over 35.1 innings.
Along with having a stellar college resume, Skenes’ scouting report coming into professional baseball is outstanding. MLB.com ranked the 6’6″ pitcher as the best player in the 2023 draft class and called him the best college pitching prospect since Stephen Strasburg in 2009:
“After working at 93-95 mph and touching 99 with his fastball as a sophomore, Skenes has averaged 98 mph and hit 102 at LSU, with the flat approach angle and carry on his heater making it almost impossible to hit. His slider has improved under the tutelage of Tigers pitching coach Wes Johnson, becoming an 85-89 mph beast with sharp break and absurd swing-and-miss and chase rates. His power changeup arrives at 88-93 mph with fade and is a solid offering when he lands it in the strike zone.”
Skenes is unlikely to be a two-way player in professional baseball, but he has shown the ability to at least be capable of trying it. The California native hit .367/.453/.669 with 24 homers in 341 at-bats during his time at Air Force.
Even though the Pirates have cooled off significantly since their 20-8 start this season, they could be closer to becoming a playoff contender sooner than expected.
Their rotation already has Mitch Keller, Johan Oviedo and Luis Ortiz is young and full promise. Henry Davis, the No. 1 pick in the 2021 MLB draft, recently made his big-league debut on June 19 as an outfielder.
Skenes’ advanced pitching ability should allow him to move through the minors quickly. The Pirates shouldn’t necessarily be drafting to find a player who can help the MLB team right away, but it’s a nice added bonus for a franchise trending up with Davis, Jack Suwinski and Oneil Cruz in the big leagues.
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