Pittsburgh Pirates Select LSU Pitcher Paul Skenes No. 1 in the MLB Draft

The Pittsburgh Pirates, looking for a dominant No. 1 pitcher in their future, have selected LSU pitcher Paul Skenes No. 1 overall in the draft.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have selected LSU pitcher Paul Skenes with the No. 1 pick in the MLB Draft.

Skenes, a burly right-hander, led LSU to the National Championship this past season at the collegiate level. He previously played at Air Force before transferring to Baton Rouge.

While leading the Tigers to the title, he put together one of the best seasons we've ever seen in college baseball. The 21-year-old is 6-foot-6 and throws upwards of 100 miles per hour.

He went 12-2 this year with 209 strikeouts in 122.2 innings.

He had an ERA of 1.69 and is the single-season strikeout leader for the SEC.

The Pirates are desperate to build a winner at the major league level and Skenes can hopefully help them get there. ESPN MLB Draft expert Kiley McDaniel doesn't think that Skenes is far away from contributing at the big league level, even thinking he could be one of the Pirates best relievers if he were in the majors today.

Furthermore, McDaniel said he thinks Skenes could be in the conversation for the Rookie of the Year in the National League in 2024.

Skenes has only played three years of college baseball, so he has leverage here. He could always threaten to go back to school, and while that reality is extremely unlikely, it could help him get a higher dollar amount from Pittsburgh.

At the major league level, the Pirates are 41-49 and in fourth place in the National League Central. They trail the first-place Cincinnati Reds by 8.5 games as we hit the All-Star break.

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