Paul Skenes, a Lake Forest native who starred at El Toro High before winning the 2023 National Pitcher of the Year Award with LSU, was chosen first overall in the Major League Baseball amateur draft on Sunday by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Skenes went 12-2 with a 1.69 ERA and 209 strikeouts in 122⅔ innings for the Tigers, who won the College World Series title. Teammate Dylan Crews was the second player chosen overall by the Washington Nationals.
It’s the first time in the draft’s history that teammates went 1-2.
“It’s super humbling. I was in shock when I heard,” Skenes said. “A year ago, two years ago, I never thought it was a possibility to be the first overall pick. I don’t know what I was expecting going into today, but it means a lot.
“It feels like a lot of work and a lot of surrounding myself with the right people, and doing the right things for a long period of time.”
Skenes, who went 12-3 with 209 strikeouts in 122⅔ innings for LSU this season, was the first college pitcher selected No. 1 overall since Casey Mize by Detroit in 2018.
“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.”
Skenes’ signing bonus is expected to be near the slot value of about $9.7 million. Cherington said the hope is an agreement can come quickly and Skenes could pitch somewhere in the Pirates’ organization in 2023.
“It will have been a little while since he last pitched in the World Series and we want to be sure that whatever that schedule and progression looks (like) makes sense for him,” Cherington said.
Skenes was one of several Southern Californians selected on the first day of the MLB draft, which consisted of the first two rounds as well as all competitive balance round picks.
There was a strong industry consensus around the top five draft choices: Skenes, Crews, high school outfielder Max Clark (Detroit Tigers), Florida outfielder Wyatt Langford (Texas Rangers), and high school outfielder Walker Jenkins (Minnesota Twins).
The sixth player selected was Grand Canyon University shortstop Jacob Wilson, a native of Thousand Oaks. Wilson was chosen by the Oakland A’s, who also drafted Thousand Oaks High infielder Max Muncy in the first round in 2021.
Wilson was among the handful of Day 1 picks who attended the draft ceremony in person, where he shook hands with Commissioner Rob Manfred on stage at Seattle’s Lumen Field. He was joined there by family, including his father Jack Wilson, a former major league infielder.
With the 15th pick, the Chicago White Sox selected Mississippi shortstop Jacob Gonzalez from Glendora. The 2021 National Freshman of the Year is the first player from his college to be drafted in the first round.
With the 23rd pick, the Cleveland Guardians selected Huntington Beach High catcher Ralphy Velazquez. A left-handed hitter, Velazquez helped the Oilers win the National High School Invitational title as a senior.
The first round was tilted to college players, with 17 of the 28 selections.
UCLA pitcher Alonzo Tredwell was chosen 61st overall, at the end of the second round, by the Houston Astros. The 6-foot-8 right-hander had his career at Mater Dei High curtailed by Tommy John surgery, but he closed for the Bruins as a freshman in 2022 before moving into their starting rotation this year.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
