SantaFeToday.com Santa Fe’s Hometown News
By Arnie Leshin
As expected, it was a tough decision choosing one of the elite Louisiana State players over another as the top two picks of Sunday’s amateur college baseball draft.
And it was Bayou Tigers’ righthanded senior Paul Skenes who was the selection of the Pittsburgh Pirates, getting the nod over centerfield senior teammate Dylan Crews, both with highly creditable resumes.
It was also the first time in the draft’s history that teammates went one-two.
“It’s no doubt humbling,” Skenes said, “I was in shock when I heard it. A year ago, two years ago, I never thought it was a possibility to be the first overall pick. I don’t know what I was expecting going into this day, but it certainly means a lot.”
The righthander with a variety of pitches to fit into a mixture of control went 12-3 with 209 strikeouts in 122 and 2/3rdinnings was the one-two punch of a talented top-ranked LSU squad that defeated No. 2 Florida for the NCAA Division I championship.
The other half was Crews, the versatile lead-off batter who hit for a .423 average that included 18 home runs and 86 RBI. He was almost flawless in the outfield, committing only four errors, possessing a strong arm that kept runners from taking extra bases, and was a quite a baserunner himself.
“I was hopeful of getting announced at No. 1,” Crews said, “but Paul is very deserving of the honor, and I can relate to that after batting against him in practices.”
While Crews was national Player of the Year, Skenes was Pitcher of the Year.
The pick was made by Hall of Famer Ken Griffey, Jr., who was the No. 1 choice of the Seattle Mariners in 1987, and Skenes was the initial first-selection college hurler since Casey Mize by the Detroit Tigers in 2018.
Said Ben Cherington, the Pittsburgh general manager who handed in the announcement: “Paul had an incredible special season at LSU. He obviously took another step forward this spring. It’s a really special combination of pitched and just as much about the mix and command than any one pitch.”
For the second time in three years, the Bucs held the top overall selection thanks to winning the draft lottery and jumping the Washington Nationals in the selection area.
Pitt chose catcher Henry Davis at top in 2021 and he made his Major League debut last month.
Skenes’ signing bonus is expected to be near the slot value of about $9.7 million. Cherington said the hope is an agreement can come quickly and Skenes can pitch.
As for Crews, he becomes the first college position player chosen by Washington since Anthony Rendon in 2011.
“Crews is a player we’ve watched since he was in high school,” said Nationals president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo. He’s the type of guy that we want here in Washington. He’s also a terrific person, he has great character, he’s very competitive, and he’s a winner.”
Four LSU players total was picked on day one, with righthanded pitchers Ty Floyd going to the Cincinnati Reds at No. 38, and Grant Taylor to the Chicago White Sox as No. 51.
Detroit chose high school outfielder Max Clark from Franklin, Ind., at No. 3. He was the Gatorade national player of the year after hitting .646 with six home runs and 33 RBI in prep play.
Seattle used an incentive pick to take high school outfielder Jonny Farmelo from Chantilly, Va., and also selected high school shortstops Colt Emerson from New Concord, Ohio, at No. 22 and Tai Peete of Sharpsburg, Ga., at No. 30.
The New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers each had their first round picks dropped by 10 spots for going more than $40 million over the luxury tax threshold last year.
The Mets went for high school shortstop Colin Hauck from Liburn, Ga., at No. 32, and the Dodgers, at No. 36, went for high school outfielder Kendall George from Humble, Tx.
Also, the first round came under the new collective bargaining agreement. That was the result of Julio Rodriquez winning American League Rookie of the Year last season and getting a full year of major league service.
