Austin Strickland evaluates what makes Paul Skenes special

LSU right-handed pitcher Paul Skenes is among the best players in college baseball. And the dominant hurler will have at least one admirer in the opposite dugout for the Super Regional series against Kentucky over the weekend, as Wildcats pitcher Austin Strickland is as impressed as anyone by what Skenes can do.

The velocity and movement on his fastball are the obvious reasons for Skenes’ dominance, Strickland said. But his guile one the mound for LSU is what unlocks another level of excellence, according to Strickland.

“Not only does he throw hard but he’s got a fastball that runs a lot,” Strickland said. “And so when — his ability to control the strike zone like that is really incredible. So just watching him, I just want to emulate that as much as I can. Just put my pitches in and out of the zone when I need to and let the chips fall where they may.”

Heading into the Super Regionals, Skenes has a sub 2.0 earned run average, with his 1.90 ERA placing No. 4 nationally. He leads the country in strikeouts per nine innings by a hefty margin. The gap between Skenes’ 16.22 strikeouts per nine innings and the pitcher in second place is the same as the gap between the second and eighth-ranked pitchers on the list.

He’s also the national leader in walks and hits allowed per innings pitched, at .79. He’s allowed 17 bases on balls and 61 hits in 99.1 innings of work.

Skenes’ abilities aren’t lost on Strickland, and the Kentucky pitcher hopes to emulate the consistency with which the LSU ace can throw.

“He’s just been absolutely incredible this year. And when you have a fastball with his velocity and his life, some really quality offerings. One of the things that I look at when I watch him is just how he can repeat it, how he can do it so consistently,” Strickland said.

LSU and Kentucky are scheduled to play the first game of the Super Regional on Saturday at 3 p.m. EST.

Skenes is one of three finalists for the Golden Spikes Award

The 2023 Golden Spikes Award Finalists were revealed on Wednesday afternoon and the players who earned the prestigious honor were no surprises at all: LSU slugger Dylan Crews and Skenes, plus Florida slugger Jac Caglianone. All three players have been nothing short of spectacular during the 2023 college baseball campaign. 

USA Baseball announced the news on Wednesday in a press release on their website.

The Golden Spikes Award is given to the top player in college baseball who best shows on-field ability and sportsmanship. The winner of the 45th Golden Spikes Award will be announced on June 25th, during a special presentation on ESPN at 2:30 PM EST. The presentation will be leading up to Game 2 of the 2023 College World Series.