Former LSU teammates Paul Skenes and Dylan Crews have received invites to Major League spring training from their respective organizations, the Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Nationals announced.
The duo helped the Tigers win the College World Series title last season and then went 1-2 in the draft.
Skenes is the No. 3 prospect in all of baseball and the highest-rated pitching prospect.
The following update on him comes from the Rotowire fantasy baseball portal:
ANALYSIS
Pittsburgh will also have fellow top prospects Termarr Johnson, Bubba Chandler, Jared Jones and Anthony Solometo in big-league camp. Skenes, though, is the headliner as the first overall pick in the 2023 Draft and the consensus top pitching prospect in baseball. The 21-year-old tallied 129.1 innings between college and the minors last season, peaking at Double-A Altoona, so workload shouldn't be much of a hindrance in 2024.
From the MLB.com prospect profile:
Skenes’ velocity started to spike during the fall at LSU. It carried over to his incredible spring in Baton Rouge, averaging 98 mph and topping out at 102 mph with his fastball, with a flat approach angle and carry that make it very difficult to hit, as evidenced by a 30 percent miss rate on it last spring. His slider turned into the best secondary pitch in the class
The Pirates are looking to in contention in 2024 so they are going to go with a veteran rotation at the start of the year, including new acquisitions Martin Perez and Marco Gonzales, but Skenes figures to debut later this summer.
As for Crews, who may not be ready to debut this year in Washington:
He'll join fellow prospects James Wood and Brady House, among others, in Nats camp. The No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 Draft, Crews slashed .292/.377/.467 with five home runs over three levels in his first 35 pro games last season. He did struggle in his 20 contests at Double-A Harrisburg (.595 OPS), but Crews should nonetheless reach the majors in short order, perhaps as soon as the 2024 season.
Washington finished last in the National League East last season while Pittsburgh finished last in the National League Central.
More must-reads: