Pittsburgh Pirates select LSU pitcher Paul Skenes with No. 1 pick in 2023 MLB draft

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.

Follow the money: MLB player salaries and payrolls for every major league team

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.