Pirates Land 'Arm Of The Future' With First Overall Pick
In a surprising turn of events, the Pittsburgh Pirates didn’t completely fumble the first overall pick in this year’s MLB Draft. General Manager Ben Cherington and his cohorts decided to go ahead and pass on one LSU Tiger, Dylan Crews and took his teammate, Paul Skenes.
Skenes was a key part of LSU’s championship run this year in Omaha, and now jumps on the pirate ship.
Collegiate Years
The six-foot-six right-handed pitcher from Fullerton, California appeared in games for two different collegiate programs over the past three years.
Skenes started his collegiate career at Air Force for two seasons, before going down to the bayou to win a natty with LSU. In his first year at Air Force, Skenes was hitting and pitching, even sometimes playing some catcher.
Skenes has even proclaimed he plans to pitch and hit in the pros, planning to channel his inner Shohei Ohtani. He did hit .407 in 2021 after all.
During his second year at Air Force, Skenes saw himself more comfortable on the mound. He finished 2022 with a 10-3 record with a 2.73 era in 85.2 innings pitched and 15 starts. Good enough to be the 2022 Mountain West Conference Co-Pitcher of the year and the John Olerud Award, given to the best two-way player in the nation.
Once Skenes got to LSU, he honed in on the pitching side of his game and it paid off. Skenes was the best pitcher in the nation last year. He posted a 12-2 record with a 1.69 ERA. He tossed two complete games and only gave up seven home runs in his 122.2 innings pitched and 19 starts.
Skenes also found himself being thrown to the fire in any situation LSU could get him out there on the way to the championship.
Pirates Pitching Pipeline
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen the Pirates select a “golden arm”. The Pirates drafted Gerrit Cole out of UCLA first overall in 2011 and he was great, but ultimately went on to do more incredible things elsewhere.
If the Pirates can keep Skenes around for the long haul, things are looking up for the rotation in Pittsburgh. Skenes joins the prospect pool of multiple pitchers who have big expectations, but if just a couple can be gems the Pirates will be looking good soon.
Right-handed guys like Quinn Priester, Mike Burrows, and Jared Jones with the Triple-A club in Indianapolis are patiently waiting for a shot at the big leagues.
Left-hander Anthony Solometo has been rising the ranks, joining the Double-A affiliate Altoona Curve recently. Even Bubba Chandler, who currently hurls for the Greensboro Grasshoppers seems promising.
The Pirates have already seen a couple of younger guys give them good innings this year with Johan Oviedo and Luis Ortiz. Now you add a guy with Ace potential to the room and things change.
Ben Cherington said soon after the pick that Skenes will pitch for the organization this year but is unsure of where. Could it be in the big leagues?
There is a chance Skenes is the best pitcher in the organization already, not that it would be saying much. But if we know the Pirates, we’ll probably see him in 2025.
Welcome to Pittsburgh, Mr. Skenes!
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