Pirates, aiming for 'the best player,' buoyantly select Skenes at No. 1

SEATTLE -- Paul Skenes hadn't been getting much sleep, as he recalled. He had set pitching records for Louisiana State University, he had punched out all comers on the way to a College World Series title, and he had somehow not allowed Major League Baseball's draft to weigh on him. But over the past week or so, as the interviews ramped up, as the date his fated would be decided drew near, one thought above all began to feel increasingly real.

It would be Pittsburgh. It simply made sense.

"I really liked the people that I met with," Skenes would elaborate Sunday evening after the Pirates did, indeed, make him the No. 1 selection of his class. "I think that they have a very good understanding of where the organization is going and how I fit into that. But coming into the day, I didn't know exactly what to expect."

No one could have known exactly. But after months of debate and speculation associated with Ben Cherington's intentions and a least a couples sleepless nights for the kid himself, the announcement was made by no less than Ken Griffey Jr. at 7:10 p.m. Eastern on a grand stage inside the NFL Seahawks' Lumen Field, next door to the Mariners' T-Mobile Park, site of the ongoing All-Star festivities:

And this was how it was celebrated on another makeshift stage:

"It means a lot," Skenes said of the moment, which he spent at home in Lake Forest, Calif., surrounded by family. "It’s super humbling. I was in shock when I heard. A year or two ago, I never thought it was a possibility to be the first overall pick. Again, I don’t know what I was expecting coming into today. But it means a lot to be the first overall pick. I’m just looking forward to what’s to come with playing baseball and hopefully winning a World Series or two in Pittsburgh."

A year ago, Skenes was moving on from the Air Force Academy to go to LSU for his draft year. He wasn't on the radar for the first overall pick.

My, how things can change.

"We’re excited that he’s a Pirate," Cherington said afterward. "We obviously love the talent and the ability and what his future is, but we’re really excited that Paul Skenes the person is going to be a Pirate also.”

If you've been following the draft or Skenes' run to becoming the top pitcher in this draft, an NCAA champion and the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, or even just a sensation on social media seemingly every time he took the ball, it's easy to understand why the Pirates are excited.

It wasn't exactly an easy decision, though. Holding the top pick for the second time in three years, this represented arguably the most important decision in Cherington's four-year tenure as general manager, principally because there were plenty of worthy candidates for the top overall spot, including Skenes' LSU teammate, Dylan Crews.

But ultimately, the Pirates couldn't pass on the best pitcher available after Cherington had vowed throughout the process, including earlier this same day on his weekly radio show, to take the best player.

"We wanted the player who we thought would help the Pirates win the most games over time," Cherington said. "That’s what we always go back to. We’ve taken college players three out of four years that I’ve been here but it’s always focused on the best player."

And they took just about all the time they could to make that decision. Skenes got the call from his agent about 20 minutes before Griffey read his name.

"We believe that when you know you have the time, we ought to use every minute that we have," Cherington said. "We were in communication with Paul and others. I can’t remember exactly when we made the final decision, but it was closer to the draft. Paul is someone we had been focused on along with some others all week. It became clear as we worked through today that if we could make it happen, we wanted to get Paul done."

Skenes, 21, was widely regarded in the best pitcher in this year's draft and the No. 2 prospect overall according to Baseball America. He went 12-2 with a 1.69 ERA and 209 strikeouts, which not only led all of Division I baseball, but broke the single-season SEC record in 122 2/3 innings for an LSU team that went on to win the Men's College World Series. 

"Everyone can see what he did on the field," Cherington said via Zoom. "He had an incredibly special season at LSU. We've known Paul since high school. We've been following him, but he took another step forward this spring. It's a really special combination of pitches. It's just about the mix and command as it is any one pitch. On top of that, obviously, super physical delivery, competitive."

Skenes averages 98 mph on his fastball that has topped 102 mph, features several types of breaking balls that range from sweeper, gyro slider and a curveball, and a changeup. He was widely considered to have the best stuff at the college level.

"I think my stuff is big-league ready," Skenes said. "But to be honest, not being in professional baseball yet and having to figure out that stuff, I think there's some stuff that I'm probably gonna have to figure out along the way because I just haven't been exposed to professional baseball. But, I think with that said, my end goal is to be in the big leagues as long as possible and as soon as possible, so, I'm going to do whatever it takes along the way to accomplish that goal.” 

Skenes became the first pitcher ever to win Most Outstanding Player at the Men's College World Series and then go No. 1 overall. Throughout the Zoom calls Sunday, it was apparent that the Pirates value the person Skenes is just as much as the magic he has in that right arm.

There's curiosity and inquisitiveness. That stems from his upbringing, where museums were a common trip for the family. It's translated to baseball, diving into analytics and pitch design.

"Baseball is an obsession for me to an extent," Skenes said. "I want to get better at everything I can, no matter how much time and effort. I’ll go down a rabbit hole; sometimes, it might be wrong, but if it can help me get better I’ll do it. A lot of the stuff I do in terms of research and learning, I’m doing it on my own. I’m really excited to see what the organization has in professional baseball in terms of resources and research and data and all that that can help me get better and help the people around me get better as well to help us win.”

"This is a transformational player and a transformational person," LSU coach Jay Johnson said on MLB Network:

Skenes has already gone a few weeks since he has last thrown in a competitive inning (the College World Series at the end of June) and it will most likely be a few more weeks until he gets to Pirate City to start his professional career. That layoff should not shut him down for the year, though the bullish predictions that he could be in the majors by September are not going to come to fruition.

"Knowing Paul, guessing he’s going to keep himself in good condition and has done that and is still throwing," Cherington said. "We’ll meet him where he is physically when we get him into the Pirates’ organization and on the field based on our assessment with him, do that with him and we’ll certainly be learning from him, also. Based on that, we’ll map out a progression for 2023... Certainly anticipate and hope he’ll be ramping back up in 2023 and be able to pitch in baseball games in 2023."

That will come soon, as could Skenes sitting at the front of a major-league rotation with Mitch Keller in the near future. Mix in other young pitchers like Luis Ortiz, Roansy Contreras, Quinn Priester, Johan Oviedo, Mike Burrows, Anthony Solometo and Jared Jones, and the Pirates could have the makings of a formative rotation sooner rather than later.

Listen to them:

Not too shabby for someone who went to bed Saturday night not knowing what his future held.

"I think the biggest thing for this was getting to a good organization, surrounding myself with good people and getting my foot in the door, professional baseball," Skenes said. "As long as I do that, I'm gonna bet on myself and everything is gonna go as it should.”

• MORE DRAFT: Chris Halicke has coverage on the Pirates' next two picks.