Pirates ace Paul Skenes lists his LSU baseball Mount Rushmore ft. Alex Bregman

Pirates phenom Paul Skenes has established himself as one of the brightest young stars in the league. After winning the 2024 National League Rookie of the Year award, Skenes is now one of the favorites to win the NL Cy Young honor. A huge part of the young fireballer’s development was his time at LSU. In his sole year with the Tigers, he won the Dick Howser Trophy, the National Pitcher of the Year Award, and the 2023 College World Series.

The 23-year-old’s dominance in the collegiate ranks gave the Pirates every reason to draft him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 MLB draft. In a recent interview on the “On Base with Mookie Betts” podcast, hosted by the Dodgers star, Skenes revealed who he thinks belong on the Mount Rushmore of LSU baseball, excluding himself.

"Alex Bregman. Dylan Cruz [too]. I mean he was there for three years. It's the recency bias. [LSU] won five titles in the '80s and '90s and I can't really remember any of them," said Skenes. (42:48-43:17)

Although he admitted the program had its share of dominance in the 1980s and ’90s, Skenes added another interesting name to the mix, one who plays the same position as him.

"I'll throw Aaron Nola up there. So that's probably my four [including myself]." (43:20-43:27)

To put things in perspective, LSU is one of the most storied programs in NCAA Division I history with eight titles, including five College World Series championships from 1991 to 2000. That stretch featured back-to-back wins in 1996 and 1997.

Pirates draw first blood against Red Sox via Skenes' masterclass

The Pirates halted the Red Sox’s momentum as reigning NL Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes spoiled the debut of Boston prospect Payton Tolle when the two teams faced each other Aug. 29. Skenes tossed six innings of two-run ball (one earned) on seven hits with one walk and six strikeouts as the Bucs claimed a 4-2 road victory.

Skenes earned his ninth victory of the year, while Tolle recorded a no-decision in his MLB debut after 5 1/3 innings of two-run ball on three hits with two walks and eight strikeouts.

Paul Skenes’ next start is scheduled for today, Sept. 4, under the Hollywood lights as the Pirates look to do the unthinkable and sweep the Dodgers on their home field.

About the author

Daniel Santiago is a journalist who has been reporting on baseball at Sportskeeda since 2022. He was drawn towards the sport after the underlying statistics and the analysis surrounding it grabbed his attention.

Daniel particularly enjoys furnishing reports about historic events in baseball and analyzing the game through a statistic-based outlook, based on Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference. This is in line with how he enjoyed watching baseball as a pastime. As a writer, he is very particular about cross-checking from reputable sources and doing his due diligence.

He became a lifelong Hideki Matsui fan after his exploits in the 2009 World Series for the New York Yankees. Among the current generation, Daniel's favorites include Shohei Ohtani and Jung Hoo Lee. Daniel is a huge follower of Asian baseball and both Ohtani and Lee have been in the top echelon of their respective leagues during their time with the NPB and KBO.

His favorite moment as a baseball fan was the final at-bat of the 2023 World Baseball Classic between Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. He believes there aren't many words to fittingly describe the intensity of the moment.

As an avid sports fan, Daniel watches other sports and Esports when not writing about baseball.

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Edited by Daniel Santiago