The Pittsburgh Pirates have selected hard-throwing LSU right-handed pitcher Paul Skenes with the top pick in baseball’s amateur draft
Pittsburgh selects hard-throwing LSU pitcher Paul Skenes with top pick of amateur draftThe Associated PressSEATTLE
SEATTLE (AP) — The Pittsburgh Pirates selected hard-throwing LSU right-handed pitcher Paul Skenes with the top pick in baseball’s amateur draft on Sunday night, with teammate Dylan Crews going No. 2 to the Washington Nationals.
Skenes went 12-3 with 209 strikeouts in 122 innings in helping lead the Tigers to the College World Series championship. The pick was announced by Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr., the top pick of the 1987 draft by the Seattle Mariners.
Skenes was the first college pitcher selected No. 1 overall since Casey Mize by Detroit in 2018.
For the second time in three years, the Pirates held the top overall selection after picking catcher Henry Davis at the top of the 2021 draft. Davis made his major league debut last month for Pittsburgh.
Skenes’ slot value is expected to be about $9.7 million.
It seemed to be a debate between Skenes and Crews for the top pick. It didn’t take long for Crews to come off the board after hitting .426 with 18 home runs while playing center field for the Tigers. Crews had a 26-game hitting streak as part of his standout season for the Tigers and finished his career at LSU by reaching base in each of his final 75 college games.
Skenes and Crews are the first pair of teammates to go 1-2 in draft history.
Detroit selected high school outfielder Max Clark from Franklin, Indiana, at No. 3. Clark was the Gatorade national player of the year after hitting .646 with six homers and 33 RBIs during his high school season.
Florida outfielder Wyatt Langford went No. 4 to Texas, and high school outfielder Walker Jenkins, from Oak Island, North Carolina, went fifth to Minnesota.
Oakland took college shortstop Jacob Wilson, the son of former major league shortstop Jack Wilson, from Grand Canyon at No. 6.
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