Jay Johnson praises Paul Skenes, his value to LSU: 'We're talking Michael Jordan type stuff'

Paul Skenes carved up the Kentucky Wildcats‘ batting order for 7.2 innings during LSU‘s 14-0 shutout win Saturday night.

Throwing 101 pitches, Skenes recorded nine strikeouts against 27 batters faced. He gave up four hits and a walk, but Kentucky had no answer for the Tigers’ ace, and no runs to show from it. Head coach Jay Johnson says these performances — which have begun to pile up — have put Skenes in rarefied air.

“Our team plays better because of him in terms of the physical performance, but we’d be here all night if I talked about the person,” Johnson said postgame. “They don’t come around like that. This is an A+ human being and character as it gets, and that’s why the talent ascends to the level that it has. We’re talking Michael Jordan-type stuff.”

Heading into the series, Skenes boasted a stellar ERA of 1.90 (it’s now 1.77 after the win) with 179 strikeouts compared to 11 walks across 99.1 innings pitched. Opposing bats were hitting .171 off him this season and he has only allowed 17 extra-base hits. 

It goes without saying that he’s a golden spikes finalist — as well as one of the top prospects in the upcoming 2023 MLB Draft. Skenes, alongside teammate and center fielder Dylan Crews, will likely be the No. 1 and No. 2 players selected during next month’s event.

“I don’t think you can quantify it. This has been a couple of years in the making, from a different school to here,” Johnson said. “The Friday night, the Saturday night, the 12 to 13 strikeouts a game, the three to four hits, the 1 or 2 run up on the board, and to be able to count on that at the level we play and the schedule we play — maybe somebody has done it before, I just haven’t really seen that.

“Stephen Strasburg is the only competitor as far as just execution and talent and domination that I’ve said to this.”

Strasburg was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 MLB Draft out of San Diego State (Johnson was at San Diego at the time) and went on to have a long, successful career in the pros that will likely come to an end soon. Still, he’s a three-time All-Star and was the MVP of the Washington National’s 2019 World Series.

Johnson believes all this and more can be coming Skenes’ way if he lives up to his potential. Based on his performance against Kentucky on Saturday, it’s hard to believe he won’t find success in the pros.