You can find examples of transfers making a major impact across college baseball, but perhaps no single player has made a bigger difference with his new team than [autotag]Paul Skenes[/autotag] at LSU.
The former Air Force pitcher made a bet on himself last offseason, and it has paid off tremendously. He’s become the best pitcher in college baseball and could be a top-two pick in the MLB draft this summer.
Even as LSU has had struggles behind him on the mound, Skenes has been practically unbeatable as the ace. He boasts a 10-1 record with just a 1.69 earned run average. He’s walked just 14 batters compared to the 152 he’s struck out.
The latter mark places Skenes at No. 6 all-time in the LSU single-season record book.
Own Your Deal@Paul_Skenes now sits at No. 6 in record strikeouts in a season with 152 in 79.2 innings pitched. pic.twitter.com/220UEtCKoQ
— LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball) May 13, 2023
With only 79.2 innings pitched this season, Skenes has been far and away the most efficient player on this list. He’s the only one in the top 11 to pitch fewer than 100 innings.
Things are very tight within the top five as Skenes is just four strikeouts away from cracking it. With eight more strikeouts, he would take sole possession of No. 2 all-time.
Catching [autotag]Ben McDonald[/autotag], who sits way ahead of the rest of the pack with an unthinkable 202 strikeouts in 1989, may not be in the cards. Barring injury, however, Skenes should have little problem securing the No. 2 spot as LSU looks to make a run to the College World Series.
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