Ex-LSU Ace An All-Star

By Jim Gazzolo

Just over a year ago, Paul Skenes was a college pitcher at LSU, leading the Tigers to a national championship.

He had emerged after transferring from Air Force to be college baseball’s best hurler, a powerful right-hander who simply overmatched most hitters.

Skenes spent just one year in Baton Rouge, becoming the ace of the elite program’s rotation. He was nearly unhittable.

Skenes finished his one season at LSU with a 13-2 record and a 1.69 earned run average. He struck out a whopping 209 batters in just over 122 innings, walking only 20 while picking up SEC and national Pitcher of the Year honors.

That earned Skenes the top spot in last summer’s MLB draft, as he signed a $9.2 million deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

“It means a lot to be the first overall pick,” Skenes said at the time. “I’m just looking forward to what’s to come with playing baseball and hopefully winning a World Series or two in Pittsburgh.”

This week he made even more history.

Skenes became the first No. 1 pick to make an All-Star team in his first season of professional baseball.

“In terms of getting drafted first overall, getting called up whenever I was called up , and now the All-Star Game, there were no expectations for me. It’s kind of just about doing as much as I can and allowing others to make the decision for me. And so it’s been a lot that’s happened over the course of a year. It hasn’t necessarily been a whirlwind or anything like that, but looking back, it’s gone quick.”

Skenes made just seven starts in Triple-A this year, posting a 0.99 ERA while striking out 45 in 27⅔ innings before being called up on May 11 to pitch against the Chicago Cubs. 

Now Skenes is 6-0 as a Pirate with a 1.90 ERA. He struck out 11 in seven innings of no-hit baseball Thursday against Milwaukee in his last outing before the All-Star Game.

In his 11 starts and 66⅓ inning on a major league mound, Skenes has struck out 89 while walking only 13 while allowing just 48 hits. Opponents are hitting just .202 against the rookie, who is the first No. 1 pick overall to make an All-Star roster the following season.

He has even been named to start the game for the National League.

“I think the thing we’re seeing with him is No. 1 he has really elite stuff,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “The things that we’re seeing on him is his ability to grow within starts. I think even the last two starts, the first couple innings he’s been out of sorts a bit with his mechanics and we’ve seen him make adjustments and not let games get away from him. That’s a really rare thing for a young pitcher.”

Just 22 years old, Skenes has already made a name for himself on the national level. He is the talk of baseball after taking the college game by storm while at LSU.

Now, he is showing he wasn’t just a college star.

Jim Gazzolo is a freelance writer who covers McNeese athletics. He is the host of Poke Nation on CBS-Lake Charles