Paul Skenes opens up on what it means to be named SEC Pitcher of the Year

LSU pitcher Paul Skenes was a shoo-in to win the 2023 SEC Pitcher of the Year award following a standout first regular season with the Tigers.

He finished the regular season leading the SEC in wins, ERA and strikeouts. Following the SEC Tournament, Skenes has a 10-2 record with a 1.89 ERA, 0.79 WHIP and .166 opponents batting average in 15 starts. He has also thrown an astronomical 167 strikeouts in 90.1 innings.

His 167 strikeouts are tops in college baseball. Bethune-Cookman‘s Nolan Santos is second with 138. That 29 strikeout difference between Skenes at No. 1 and Santos at No. 2 is the same margin of difference between Santos at No. 2 and a collection of pitchers tied for 17th in strikeouts in the country.

“It’s obviously really cool, a really cool accomplishment,” Skenes said ahead of the SEC Tournament last week. “That’s not the reason that I came to the SEC per se but it’s obviously really cool to accomplish that and have some recognition for for what we’ve accomplished kind of as a team this year.”

Skenes became the first LSU pitcher to win the award since Aaron Nola won it back-to-back seasons in 2013 and 2014.

His teammate Dylan Crews won the SEC Player of the Year award, marking only the third time one team swept the Player and Pitcher of the Year awards. Georgia‘s Gordon Beckham and Joshua Fields did it in 2008 and Florida‘s Jonathan India and Brady Singer did it in 2018.

Crews and Skenes are also the top two prospects in the 2023 MLB Draft, according to MLB.com. MLB.com even describes Skenes as the best college pitching since Stephen Strasburg.

“After working at 93-95 mph and touching 99 with his fastball as a sophomore, Skenes has averaged 98 mph and hit 102 at LSU, with the flat approach angle and carry on his heater making it almost impossible to hit,” the MLB.com scouting report on Skenes reads. “His slider has improved under the tutelage of Tigers pitching coach Wes Johnson, becoming an 85-89 mph beast with sharp break and absurd swing-and-miss and chase rates. His power changeup arrives at 88-93 mph with fade and is a solid offering when he lands it in the strike zone. 

“Physically imposing at 6-foot-6 and 235 pounds, Skenes is athletic with the body control to repeat a sound delivery and provide plenty of strikes. A classic No. 1 starter, he’d also factor into the top three rounds as a position player thanks to his huge right-handed power to all fields and projected solid defense at first base.”