Skenes, Crews cap elite seasons as first two picks in MLB Draft

It was an incredible season for LSU baseball. The embarrassment of riches continued Sunday after the national champions victory for the Tigers with start of the 2023 Major League Baseball Draft.

LSU became the first-ever college program to have the first two players selected in the draft process as Paul Skenes and Dylan Crews went to the Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Nationals, respectively.

It was no surprise.

Despite noise about a prized prep player in Walker Jenkins or Max Clark or about Wyatt Langford jumping the two Tigers, it was all camouflage.

The Pirates and Nationals knew who they wanted.

Skenes has the look of a generational pitcher, who averages over 98 miles per hour with his fastball and regularly touches and tops 100. He also has a wipeout slider with a 57 percent strikeout rate and an outstanding changeup which has developed into a quality pitch.

The Lake Forest, Calif. native has great size (6-6, 245). He has amazing command, having walked just 20 in 122.2 innings pitched this past season. Of course, Skenes set an SEC record with 209 strikeouts.

Pauly Strikeouts. The perfect pick for the Pirates.@Paul_Skenes | 📺 @MLBNetwork pic.twitter.com/KqBByHH9Mx

— LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball) July 9, 2023

Crews simply does everything well. His command of the strike zone is superb, having drawn 71 walks in 71 games this past season. Of course, he can hit and hit to all fields, coming off a season in which he hit .426 with 18 home runs and 70 RBI. Crews can throw well and, of course, he covers a ton of ground as an All-Star caliber center fielder.

The native of Longwood, Fla. can also use his speed on the bases, though the Tigers hardly ran this past season.

Crews bet on himself, staying at LSU this past season and the bet paid off.

No one does it like Dylan #ThePowerhouse | #NATITUDE pic.twitter.com/D74see21Vn

— LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball) July 9, 2023

Pitcher Ty Floyd joined Skenes and Crews as first-round picks, selected 38th overall by the Cincinnati Reds in the supplemental phase of the opening round. Floyd was dominant in the College World Series, pitching two outstanding games, including a 17-strikeout performance in the championship game against Florida.

Pitcher Grant Taylor was also chosen, going in the second round (51st overall) to the Chicago White Sox. Taylor did not pitch in 2023 due to an elbow injury after pitching in 17 games as a freshman.

Skenes and Crews become the third and fourth LSU players to be chosen first overall in the MLB Draft.

Right-handed pitcher Eric Hetzel was the first overall pick in the 1985 Draft, chosen by the Boston Red Sox while Ben McDonald went first overall to the Baltimore Orioles in 1989.

Skenes and Crews become the 21st and 22nd LSU players to go in the first round.

Alex Bregman was the second overall pick in the 2015 Draft by the Houston Astros.

Other LSU players to go in the first round include the late Mike Miley of East Jefferson, who went tenth overall to the Angels in 1974, along with Duane Dewey (1979), Rick Greene (1992), Todd Walker (1994), Russ Johnson (1994), Brandon Larson (1997), Kurt Ainsworth (1999), Mike Fontenot (2001), Mike Linden (2001), Aaron Hill (2003), Jared Mitchell (2009), Anthony Ranaudo (2010), Mikie Mahtook (2011), Kevin Gausman (2012), Aaron Nola (2014), Alex Lange (2017) and Jacob Berry (2022).

LSU RELEASE: PAUL SKENES AND DYLAN CREWS SELECTED NO. 1-2 OVERALL IN MLB DRAFT
Tigers Make History as First Teammates to Become the No. 1 and No. 2 Selections in the Same Draft

BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU right-handed pitcher Paul Skenes and centerfielder Dylan Crews on Sunday night became the first players from the same school to be selected first and second overall in the MLB Draft.

Skenes was selected No. 1 by the Pittsburgh Pirates and Crews was selected No. 2 by the Washington Nationals.

Skenes is the second LSU player to be the No. 1 overall selection in the MLB Draft. Right-handed pitcher Ben McDonald was the No. 1 overall pick in 1989 by the Baltimore Orioles.

LSU has had two players selected in the first round in two previous drafts – second baseman Todd Walker (Minnesota) and shortstop Russ Johnson (Houston) in 1994; and second baseman Mike Fontenot (Baltimore) and outfielder Todd Linden (San Francisco) in 2001.

Skenes, the 2023 Dick Howser Award winner, the D1 Baseball National Player of the Year, and the SEC Pitcher of the Year, compiled a 13-2 record and a 1.69 ERA in 122.2 innings with 20 walks and an SEC-record 209 strikeouts. He finished No. 1 in the nation in strikeouts (209), strikeouts per nine innings (15.33) and WHIP (0.75).

Skenes, a product of Lake Forest, Calif., finished No. 2 in the nation in ERA (1.69), No. 3 in strikeout-to-walk ratio (10.45), and No. 5 in hits allowed per nine innings (5.28). He was voted the Most Outstanding Player of the College World Series, as he was 1-0 in two starts with a 1.15 ERA in 15.2 innings, allowing two runs on seven hits with two walks and 21 strikeouts.

Skenes posted a win over Tennessee (June 17) in LSU’s opening game of the CWS, working 7.2 innings and allowing two runs on five hits with one walk and 12 strikeouts. He then faced Wake Forest in the CWS semifinal round (June 22) on just four days’ rest and limited the Deacons to no runs on two hits in 8.0 innings with one walk and nine strikeouts.

Skenes, a member of the 2023 SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll, pledged $10 for every strikeout he recorded this season to Folds of Honor, a nonprofit organization that provides educational scholarships to the spouses and children of military and first responders who have died or been disabled.

Crews, a junior from Longwood, Fla., batted .426 (110-for-258) for LSU’s 2023 National Championship team with 16 doubles, two triples, 18 homers, 70 RBI and 100 runs. He was voted to the College World Series All-Tournament Team, batting .375 (12-for-32) in the CWS with one double, one triple, one homer, three RBI and 11 runs scored.

The 2023 Golden Spikes Award winner and the SEC Male Athlete of the Year, Crews finished No. 1 in the nation in runs scored (100), No. 1 in walks (71), No. 2 in on-base percentage (.567), No. 2 in base hits (110) and No. 3 in batting average (.426). He completed the year with a reached base streak of 75 games, which included all 71 games of this season and the last four games of the 2022 season.

Crews is a two-time member of the SEC Community Service Team for his exemplary work in the Baton Rouge area with families affected by autism. He was also named to the 2023 SEC Academic Honor Roll.