Pirates’ draft whiteboard: Skenes’ football options

SEATTLE – The Pittsburgh Pirates made headlines on Sunday, July 9th, selecting LSU pitching phenom Paul Skenes as the first overall pick in the 2023 Major League Baseball Draft. While Skenes’ electrifying arm and dominant collegiate season made him a consensus choice, a curious detail spotted in the Pirates’ draft war room provided a unique glimpse into the team’s meticulous scouting process and the depths of Skenes’ athletic background.

Amidst the usual flurry of photos and videos released by the Pirates following their high-stakes selection, eagle-eyed observers noticed a whiteboard adorned with various notes. Among them, under a section seemingly dedicated to “Multi-Sport” or “Football,” were the entries: “LSU (Brian Kelly)” and “Notre Dame.” This intriguing revelation quickly gained traction online, highlighting the extensive research MLB organizations conduct on their top prospects.

Skenes, a right-handed pitcher who transferred to Louisiana State University from Air Force for the 2023 season, rapidly emerged as the premier prospect in the draft class. He led the Tigers to a College World Series championship, boasting a remarkable 1.69 ERA and a staggering 209 strikeouts over 122.2 innings, unequivocally cementing his status as the No. 1 choice for Pittsburgh.

The whiteboard’s entries, however, point to a different facet of Skenes’ athletic prowess. In his high school days at Lake Forest in California, Skenes was a formidable two-sport athlete, excelling as a quarterback in football in addition to his baseball talents. While his path ultimately led him to the professional pitching mound, his impressive athleticism across multiple fields has always been a notable component of his profile. The Pirates’ inclusion of potential football destinations suggests their scouts understood the full scope of his athletic potential and the significant choices he might have faced.

The LSU connection on the whiteboard is particularly compelling, given Skenes spent his final collegiate baseball season in Baton Rouge. The specific mention of “Brian Kelly” directly next to LSU further underscores the depth of detail in the Pirates’ scouting. Kelly, the widely recognized head coach of the LSU Tigers football program, represents a major force in collegiate football recruiting, and his name’s presence implicitly acknowledges the serious pull football could have exerted on an athlete of Skenes’ caliber.

LSU baseball coach Jay Johnson, who guided Skenes and the Tigers to their national championship, even offered a lighthearted take on the whiteboard detail. “I think that’s awesome,” Johnson reportedly quipped about Kelly’s name appearing on the board. He playfully added that Kelly “might try to recruit Skenes even after he’s a first-round MLB pick,” a comment that not only injected humor but also subtly underscored Skenes’ extraordinary appeal across the sports world.

For a franchise investing the first overall pick and millions of dollars in a player, understanding every facet of their background is paramount. This whiteboard snippet serves as a tangible example of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ comprehensive due diligence, demonstrating how they went beyond traditional baseball metrics like fastball velocity and breaking ball spin rates. It reveals an organization that thoroughly considered Skenes’ past, his potential, and the roads not taken, ensuring they fully understood the elite, multi-talented athlete they were bringing into their system.

As Paul Skenes embarks on his highly anticipated professional baseball journey, the curious case of the Pirates’ draft whiteboard offers a unique anecdote, illustrating that even for the most obvious No. 1 picks, every detail of their athletic story can be a valuable piece of the scouting puzzle.