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Louisiana State University’s baseball program achieved an unprecedented feat Sunday when a player from the College World Series winning team earned the top two pick of the Major League Baseball draft in Seattle. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected right-handed starting pitcher Paul Skenes with the first overall pick, while the Washington Nationals selected outfielder Dylan Cruz with the second overall pick.
Outfielder Max Clark, from Franklin Community High School in Indiana, was drafted third by the Detroit Tigers.
why it matters
The teammate’s previous best results in draft history were No. 1 and No. 3, achieved by UCLA right-handers Gerrit Cole (No. 1, Pirates) and Trevor Bauer (No. 3, Arizona Diamondbacks) in 2011. It was a great achievement. In 1978, he played with Arizona State infielders Bob Horner (No. 1, Atlanta Braves) and Hubie Brooks (No. 3, Mets).
Background
With LSU reigning champions this season, Skenes and Crewe were both considered worthy of the No. 1 overall pick. The only disagreement seemed to be about who would be selected first.
The honor ultimately went to the 21-year-old Skenes. At 6-foot-6 and weighing 235 pounds, he’s a power pitcher who posted an astonishing 13-2 record in 2023 with a 1.69 ERA and 15.3 strikeouts per nine innings. He was 11-4 in two games. He spent a season in the Air Force before moving to the Tigers.
The 21-year-old crew is 6 feet tall and weighs 205 pounds. 380 batting average and 58 home runs in 196 games in three seasons with LSU. He has the speed to play as a center fielder at the major league level and could be more of a stolen base threat than he was in college.
It was a bit of a surprise that Clark was selected as the third. University of Florida star outfielder and College World Series runner-up Wyatt Langford is widely seen as a potential No. 1 pick, while North Carolina high school outfielder Walker Jenkins is the top pick in many games. I was a prep player. prospect list.
The left-handed Clark has the potential to hit 20 homers a year at the MLB level, but the Tigers may have been more interested in his speed, which could change the game with new league rules encouraging stolen bases. unknown.
Langford eventually fell to the Texas Rangers with the 4th overall pick, while Jenkins finished in the top 5 with the Minnesota Twins.
