Pirates make LSU's Paul Skenes top pick of 2023 MLB draft - ESPN

SEATTLE — Paul Skenes and Dylan Crews, star teammates on the LSU team that won the Men's College World Series, were selected with the first two picks of Major League Baseball's amateur draft on Sunday, becoming the first pair of teammates to go 1-2 in draft history.

The Pittsburgh Pirates began the draft by picking Skenes, the hard-throwing pitcher, No. 1 overall, and the Washington Nationals followed with Crews, the power-hitting outfielder.

Skenes became the first pitcher to go No. 1 overall since Casey Mize was selected by the Detroit Tigers in 2018. Skenes' selection was announced by Seattle Mariners legend Ken Griffey Jr.

Skenes went 12-2 with a 1.69 ERA and a Division I-leading 209 strikeouts, breaking the single-season SEC record, in 122⅔ innings for an LSU Tigers team that went on to win the Men's College World Series. Skenes became the sixth player — and first pitcher — to win Most Outstanding Player at the Men's College World Series and go No. 1 overall in the MLB draft. Phil Nevin (1992) is the only other player to do both in the same year.

«He had an incredibly special season at LSU. He obviously took another step forward this spring,» Pittsburgh general manager Ben Cherington said. «It's a really special combination of pitches and just as much about the mix and command than any one pitch.»

Crews became the first player ever to win the Golden Spikes Award, a national title and be drafted in the top five within a single year. He is the first college position player taken by Washington with its first pick since Anthony Rendon in 2011.

«A guy we've watched since he was in high school,» Nationals president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo said. «He's the type of guy that we want here in Washington. He's a