The question entering the 2023 MLB draft wasn’t whether the Pittsburgh Pirates would select a player from the LSU Tigers first overall.
The question was which of the top two prospects – right-handed pitcher Paul Skenes and outfielder Dylan Crews, fresh off leading the program to the 2023 national championship last month – on scouts’ boards would go No. 1.
Pittsburgh provided its answer by selecting Skenes with the top pick on Sunday. Skenes became the first player to win the Men’s College World Series, be named the MCWS MVP and be drafted first overall in the same year.
Crews did not have to wait long to hear his name called, as the Washington Nationals selected him with the second pick, and LSU became the first school to have two players go back-to-back to start a MLB draft.
Last season, Crews batted .426 with a 1.280 on-base-plus-slugging percentage. The Longwood, Florida, native slugged 58 homers over his three-year career and was the 2023 Golden Spikes Award winner, given to the best player in college baseball.
MLB draft takeaways: SEC dominating another sport’s first round
Paul Skenes has max grade on fastball
A transfer from Air Force, Skenes was a first-team All-American twice before his arrival to the Bayou. The 6-foot-6 righty struck out 209 hitters over 122 2/3 innings to lead all of Division I and set a new NCAA record. His fastball, which averaged 98 mph last season, has been bestowed a maximum 80-grade on the scouts’ scale.
“You’re getting one of the most amazing human beings on the planet when you talk about (being a) leader, character, elevating the level of everyone else around him,” LSU head coach Jay Johnson told USA TODAY Sports last week. “He was really the unquestioned leader of our team, and that’s special, given that he was here for only 10 months.”
In Johnson’s mind, Skenes is a surefire No. 1 starter on a perennial postseason team, with multiple All-Star Game starts potentially in the future.
The slot value for the first pick is $9,721,000. The pick was announced by Ken Griffey Jr.; the draft was held in Seattle ahead of the 2023 All-Star Game.
Recent No. 1 picks who have become stars in MLB include Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman (2019), who will be participating in the Home Run Derby on Monday, New York Yankees’ Gerrit Cole (2011), Philadelphia Phillies’ Bryce Harper (2010) and Minnesota Twins’ Carlos Correa (2012).
Catcher Henry Davis, whom the Pirates selected first overall in 2021, made his major league debut in June.
First-round draft picks
- Pittsburgh Pirates ― Paul Skenes, RHP, LSU
- Washington Nationals ― Dylan Crews, OF, LSU
- Detroit Tigers ― Max Clark, OF, Franklin Community (Indiana) High School
- Texas Rangers ― Wyatt Langford, OF, Florida
- Minnesota Twins ― Walker Jenkins, OF, South Brunswick (N.C.) High School
- Oakland Athletics ― Jacob Wilson, SS, Grand Canyon
- Cincinnati Reds ― Rhett Lowder, RHP, Wake Forest
- Kansas City Royals ― Blake Mitchell, C, Sinton (Texas) High School
- Colorado Rockies ― Chase Dollander, RHP, Tennessee
- Miami Marlins ― Noble Meyer, RHP, Jesuit (Oregon) High School
- Los Angeles Angels ― Nolan Schanuel, 1B, Florida Atlantic
- Arizona Diamondbacks ― Tommy Troy, SS, Stanford
- Chicago Cubs ― Matt Shaw, SS, Maryland
- Boston Red Sox ― Kyle Teel, C, Virginia
- Chicago White Sox ― Jacob Gonzalez, SS, Ole Miss
- San Francisco Giants ― Bryce Eldridge, 1B/RHP, James Madison (Virginia) High School
- Baltimore Orioles ― Enrigue Bradfield Jr., OF, Vanderbilt
- Milwaukee Brewers ― Brock Wilken, 3B, Wake Forest
- Tampa Bay Rays ― Brayden Taylor, SS, TCU
- Toronto Blue Jays ― Arjun Nimmala, SS, Strawberry Crest (Florida) High School
- St. Louis Cardinals ― Chase Davis, OF, Arizona
- Seattle Mariners ― Colt Emerson, SS, John Glenn (Ohio) High School
- Cleveland Guardians ― Ralphy Velazquez, C, Huntington Beach (California) High School
- Atlanta Braves ― Hurston Waldrep, RHP, Florida
- San Diego Padres ― Dillon Head, OF, Homewood Flossmoor (Illinois) High School
- New York Yankees ― George Lombard Jr., SS, Gulliver Prep School (Florida)
- Philadelphia Phillies ― Aidan Miller, SS, J.W. Mitchell (Florida) High School
- Houston Astros ― Brice Matthews, SS, Nebraska
Follow Chris Bumbaca on Twitter @BOOMbaca.
