LSU Is 1st To Produce Top 2 In MLB Draft With Paul Skenes To Pittsburgh, Dylan Crews To Washington

LSU did what no other school in the history of the Major League Baseball Draft has done on Sunday night.

The Tigers produced the first two picks of an MLB Draft. The Pittsburgh Pirates took LSU right-handed pitcher Paul Skenes with the first pick, and the Washington Nationals took his teammate, center fielder Dylan Crews, with the second pick.

Paul Skenes And Dylan Crews Took LSU To National Crown

The pair just finished leading LSU to the College World Series national championship last month in Omaha, Nebraska.

LSU's Dylan Crews celebrates during the Tigers' win over Florida in the opener of the best-of-three championship series last month in Omaha, Nebraska, at the College World Series. (Photo by C. Morgan Engel/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

The MLB Draft began in 1965, and the closest any school ever came to having the top two picks was Arizona State in 1978. That year Atlanta took Bob Horner of Arizona State with the first pick, and the New York Mets selected Horner's teammate, shortstop Hubie Brooks, with the third pick.

"We really didn't talk about it," Crews said after being picked. "We definitely contacted each other and congratulated each other. I have all the love for that kid (Skenes)."

So does Pittsburgh general manager Ben Cherington.

LSU's Paul Skenes 'Has All The Weapons'

"I think we saw a really good pitcher at the end of the College World Series who has all the weapons to go on and succeed in pro ball but may still have more,” Cherington said on a Zoom call after picking Skenes. "I know he’s already thinking about that."

Former Seattle 1987 No. 1 pick Ken Griffey Jr., a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, announced the selection.

"With the first pick of the 2023 draft, Pittsburgh takes Paul Skenes," Griffey said.

Skenes (6-foot-6, 247 pounds) led the nation in strikeouts in the 2023 season with 209 and broke the Southeastern Conference record of 202 held by Baltimore's 1989 first pick Ben McDonald out of LSU. Skenes also finished No. 1 in the country with 15.3 strikeouts per nine innings. His earned run average of 1.69 was second in the nation as were his 13 wins.

LSU center fielder Dylan Crews was the 2nd player picked in the MLB Draft Sunday night in Seattle. (Getty Images).

Florida's Wyatt Langford Went 4th

With the third pick of the first round, Detroit took high school outfielder Max Clark of Franklin, Indiana. Projected top three pick Wyatt Langford, an outfielder from national champion runner-up Florida, fell to the fourth pick by Texas. Minnesota took prep outfielder Walker Jenkins of Southport, North Carolina.

Crews hit .426 in 2023 for third in the nation with 18 home runs and 70 RBIs. He led the nation in runs scored with 100 and in walks with 71.

Paul Skenes Could Pitch In MLB Now

LSU coach Jay Johnson and multiple MLB scouts said recently that Skenes could pitch this season in the Big Leagues.

"We obviously love the ability and what his future holds," Cherington said. "But we're really excited Paul Skenes, the person, is going to be a Pirate also."

The rest of the top 10 picks in the first round featured Grand Canyon shortstop Jacob Wilson going to Oakland, Wake Forest pitcher Rhett Lowder to Cincinnati, LSU catcher commitment Blake Mitchell of Sinton, Texas, to Kansas City, Tennessee pitcher Chase Dollander to Colorado and high school pitcher Noble Meyer of Portland, Oregon, to Miami.

The draft continues with the third through 10th rounds on Monday (2 p.m., MLB Network) and on Tuesday with the 11th through 20th rounds (2 p.m., MLB Network).