Two potential LSU pitching prospects who could be on the Pittsburgh Pirates’ draft radar

Last year, the Pittsburgh Pirates took Paul Skenes first overall out of Louisiana State University. LSU is an SEC Division One school that has produced some of the best athletes in the United States, including great baseball players like Albert Belle, Alex Bregman, and Aaron Nola, just to name a few. Skenes was not the only LSU player to get selected in the 2023 draft; a dozen of his other teammates also got selected, ten of which signed. Many more will be drafted once again this year as well including slugger Tommy White who could be a first base prospect on the Pirates radar.

LSU, however, has two other higher-end pitching prospects currently in their starting rotation. Both could very well be on the Pirates’ radar as they could fall to the Bucs in the competitive balance round-A pick or their second or third-round picks as they are higher in the top third of each round. If the Pirates like what Skenes developed at his brief time at LSU then who is to say that other pitchers on their staff are not also being developed in similar ways? Now obviously no one has stuff like Skenes, that is what made him a 1:1 and named the top pitching prospect in Baseball. Still, there is always a need for pitching and sometimes dipping back in the same well makes a lot of sense.

So who are these two LSU pitchers? Well, let us take a look at the right-handed and left-handed pitchers. Both took similar paths as Paul Skenes did going from Air Force to LSU. Both pitchers are with LSU for 2024 after pitching elsewhere in 2023.