LSU baseball stars make history at MLB Draft as first two players off the board

Fresh off a College World Series victory, LSU baseball stars Paul Skenes and Dylan Crews made history on Sunday night at the MLB Draft as the Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Nationals made the first two selections.

The Pirates selected right-handed pitcher Skenes with the No. 1 overall pick. The Nationals followed up by picking outfielder Crews with the No. 2 pick.

Skenes and Crews are the first fair of college teammates to go 1-2 in draft history.

The hard-throwing Skenes went 12-3 with 209 strikeouts in 122 innings as he helped LSU to the national championship. He was the first college pitcher to be taken with the first pick since Casey Mize by the Detroit Tigers in 2018. His slot value is expected to be about $9.7 million.

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He won the Division 1 Baseball National Player of the Year and the SEC Pitcher of the Year awards.

Crews hit .426 with 18 home runs while playing in center for the Tigers. He had a 26-game hitting streak as part of his incredible year in the purple and gold.

He finished No. 1 in the nation in runs scored (100) and walks (71). He won the 2023 Golden Spikes Award as the top amateur baseball player in the U.S. as well as the SEC Male Athlete of the Year.

It’s the second straight year the Pirates have had the No. 1 pick in the draft. Last year, Pittsburgh selected catcher Henry Davis as the top pick. He made his Major League debut last month.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.