Fastball

Washington Nationals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Texas Rangers Rookies Join History in 2024

The rookies have taken over baseball in 2024!

Brady Farkas

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (left) walks in from the bullpen to pitch against the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park on Aug 22.
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (left) walks in from the bullpen to pitch against the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park on Aug 22. / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
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With Dylan Crews getting called up to the big leagues on Monday night by the Washington Nationals, rookies around baseball have joined some great major league history here in 2024.

Per the MLB Pipeline social media account:

Skenes. Crews. Langford.

This is the first time in 27 years that three of the top four picks from a Draft class have debuted in the big leagues by the following season.

Paul Skenes was selected No. 1 in the 2023 draft after leading LSU to the national championship in 2023. He made his major league debut in May and has taken the league by storm. Thus far, he's 8-2 with a 2.16 ERA. He has struck out 130 batters in 104.0 innings pitched and started the All-Star Game for the National League. He will pair with Jared Jones to form the top of the Pirates rotation for years to come.

Langford made the team out of spring training for the Rangers. He was selected No. 4 in the draft out of Florida, losing to both Skenes and Crews in the 2023 College World Series final. Langford is hitting .245 this year with seven homers, 50 RBI and 12 stolen bases. He spent some time on the injured list but is back now for the underwhelming World Series champions.

And finally, Crews failed to record a hit in his major league debut on Monday night. He did record a walk though. Taken No. 2 out of LSU, he hit .270 this year at the minor league level. He had 13 homers, 68 RBI and 25 stolen bases.

All three will be in action again on Tuesday night.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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