Tag: LSU in MLB

Former LSU baseball stars Paul Skenes, Alex Bregman to face off for the first time in MLB

Two former LSU-turned-MLB stars will face off for the first time on Monday night.

[autotag]Paul Skenes[/autotag] has had a meteoric rise since he was called up to the big leagues in May, and he’s already one of the top pitchers in baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Now, he’s set to face off against another former top-five pick out of LSU as he will start against [autotag]Alex Bregman[/autotag] and the Houston Astros on Monday night in what should be an electric matchup.

Bregman is struggling a bit at the plate this year, batting .254, but he remains a threat with 14 home runs and 20 doubles on the season. He’ll face of against Skenes who has lost just one game as a starter while turning in a sub-2.00 ERA and 97 strikeouts to just 13 walks.

If you want to catch the game live at 7:10 p.m. CT, it will be broadcast locally and also shown on MLB.tv.

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Former LSU catcher Hunter Feduccia called up to MLB with Dodgers

In his sixth professional season, Hunter Feduccia is set to make his major league debut.

Former LSU catcher [autotag]Hunter Feduccia[/autotag] has received a call-up to play for the [autotag]Los Angeles Dodgers[/autotag].

Feduccia transferred to LSU from LSU-Eunice and made 48 starts behind the dish for LSU in 2018. He had a .233 batting average with 10 doubles, one triple, three homers, 31 RBI, and 22 runs scored. Those numbers were good enough to get him drafted in the 12th round of the 2018 MLB draft by the Dodgers.

This season, Feduccia has played 64 games for the Dodgers Triple-A affiliate, the [autotag]Oklahoma City Baseball Club[/autotag]. He has had a stellar year as he has a .295 batting average with 14 doubles, three triples, five homers, and 42 RBI.

Feduccia was called up to help the Dodgers take on the Houston Astros this weekend. This season was his sixth season playing professional baseball and he finally got the call to play in the majors for the team with the best record in baseball.

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LSU pitcher Nate Ackenhausen signs underslot with the Royals

This is what we refer to as a “senior signing.”

We have talked about slot value until I am blue in the face. We are going to cover it again here with [autotag]Nate Ackenhausen[/autotag]. When it comes to slot value signings, MLB teams will overpay for prep players to try to convince them to skip college and go straight to the minor leagues and they will overpay for high-caliber college arms who still have eligibility.

This signing is on the opposite end of the spectrum. This is what we refer to as a “senior signing” Nasty Nate is a senior who is out of college eligibility. Whoever drafted him had the financial power to sign him and underpay him because he was out of options.

The Royals low-balled Ackenhausen and signed him for $47,500 when the slot value for his pick was $186,200. The extra $138,700 of Nate’s slot value will be used to sign players higher on the Royals board or guys at the end of the draft to get them to change their minds about college.

Either way, congrats to Nate on starting his new journey with Kansas City.

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Former LSU pitcher Thatcher Hurd signs with the Yankees

Despite entering the portal, Thatcher Hurd entered has signed with the New York Yankees for around the slot value.

[autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag] has signed with the [autotag]New York Yankees[/autotag] for around the slot value. The 89th pick of the MLB draft has a slot value of $838,900 and Hurd signed for $837,400 so I’d say that is a pretty fair deal.

Hurd is a talented pitcher who still has a lot of potential. He just hasn’t got it all put together yet. When he is on, he is one of the best pitchers in the country. When he is having a bad day, he is the exact opposite. The Yankees are a historic program that could use some pitching help and they have great coaches who could bring the best out of Hurd.

Hurd will now begin his professional career with the Yankees’ minor league teams, possibly starting in rookie ball and trying to work his way to the Big Apple. Congratulations to Thatcher on starting this new chapter of his baseball career.

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LSU pitcher Luke Holman signs underslot deal with Cincinnati Reds

Former LSU pitcher Luke Holman has signed an offer to play with the Cincinnati Reds.

Former LSU pitcher [autotag]Luke Holman[/autotag] has signed an offer to play with the Cincinnati Reds.

Holman was selected with the 71st pick of the draft, during the supplemental part of the second round, and his slot value was worth $1,110,600. Holman signed with the Reds for only $997,500. The Reds can now use that money to try to sign a prep player for over their slot value.

Holman finished his only season with the Tigers with a 9-4 record and a 2.75 ERA. He struck out 127 hitters and only walked 33 over 91.2 innings of work. He became the Saturday starter for the Tigers and he was as advertised.

The Reds picked up [autotag]Ty Floyd[/autotag] in the 2023 MLB draft after he pitched a gem for LSU at Omaha. The Reds liked Floyd’s potential so much that they went back to the LSU well to grab Holman. Holman will start out in the minor leagues and look to work his way to Cincinnati sooner than later.

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Paul Skenes suffers first loss in big leagues with Pirates

Paul Skenes only allowed two runs in his first start since the All-Star Game, but that wasn’t enough to keep his perfect record intact.

[autotag]Paul Skenes[/autotag] made his first start since being the starting pitcher for the National League during the [autotag]2024 MLB All-Star Game[/autotag]. He picked up right where he left off as he continued to deal.

The only issue was he failed to get any run support from his offense. Skenes was charged with his first loss of the season as the Pirates lost 2-1 to the St. Louis Cardinals. Skenes was pulled from the game after pitching 8.1 innings. He gave up two runs on four hits, eight strikeouts, and zero walks.

Skenes now has a 6-1 record and a 1.93 ERA. He did everything his coaching staff could have asked of him but he still could not pull off a win. That’s the life of a pitcher. It takes all nine guys in the lineup to help you win on a good day or on a bad day. We will see Skenes again soon and hopefully, his team can get him another win.

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Former LSU baseball star Dylan Crews on a hot-streak in Triple-A

Dylan Crews could be on the fast track to his major league debut.

Former LSU star [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag], the 2023 Golden Spikes Award winner and No. 2 pick in last year’s draft, was having some struggles in the Washington Nationals minor league system earlier this season.

He has put those issues behind him, however, and may now be on the fast track to the big leagues. Crews was called up to Triple-A earlier this summer, and he’s in the midst of an impressive streak for the Rochester Red Wings.

Crews is currently on an eight-game hitting streak, hitting two home runs with five RBI and seven walks in that span. In 23 total games at the Triple-A level, he’s batting .257 with five doubles, four home runs and 14 RBI.

Crews’ college teammate and first overall pick [autotag]Paul Skenes[/autotag] already made his rookie debut earlier this season, earning All-Star honors for the National League amid an impressive campaign. With his play in the minors picking up, Crews will hope to join Skenes in The Show sooner rather than later.

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SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said he talked to Paul Skenes at MLB All-Star weekend

Greg Sankey stepped away from SEC Media Days to catch the Home Run Derby in Arlington on Tuesday night.

Paul Skenes added the latest accomplishment to his already impressive career on Tuesday, becoming the first rookie to start the MLB All-Star Game as a pitcher since 1995.

That All-Star festivities were held in Arlington, Texas, and it just happened to coincide with the 2024 SEC Media Days, which are being held in Dallas this week in anticipation of Texas and Oklahoma’s addition to the SEC.

SEC commissioner [autotag]Greg Sankey[/autotag] managed to slip away from his duties to catch the Home Run Derby, and that included catching up with Skenes, who turned in one of the best pitching seasons in league history.

“It was neat, in the fact at the Home Run Derby I sat down in the third base dugout with our T-Mobile friends. They were kind enough to host us there and Paul ended up sitting right in front of me,” Sankey said per On3. “They had all the All-Stars out in their team uniforms, which you knew everybody was, and so we had a five-minute chat.

“We were talking about Hoover, and Omaha, and his experience pitching in the SEC, and then you watch him walk out there to start a Major League Baseball game. You’re like, he was in that police motorcade to and from the Wynfrey a little over a year ago. So great for him, great for the league.”

After striking out 200 batters with a sub-2.00 ERA as LSU’s ace in 2023, Skenes quickly rose through the minors and made his Major League debut earlier this season.

He’s still undefeated as a starter and currently holds a sub-2.00 ERA at the highest level of baseball.

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Watch Livvy Dunne show off pitch grips with Paul Skenes at the MLB All-Star Game

Livvy Dunne showed off her four-seam fastball grip, though she conceded that she’s “more of a splinker girl.”

[autotag]Paul Skenes[/autotag] is only a couple of months into his MLB career, and he’s already etching his name in the history books.

On Tuesday night, Skenes became the first rookie pitcher to start the All-Star Game since 1995, and though he only threw for one inning, it was certainly an impressive frame.

He allowed just one baserunner on a walk to Juan Soto, but he capped off the inning by inducing a first-pitch groundout from Soto’s Yankees teammate Aaron Judge. Skenes threw just 16 pitches in the inning, 11 of which were strikes.

Also in attendance with Skenes was his girlfriend, LSU gymnast [autotag]Livvy Dunne[/autotag], who enters her fifth season with the Tigers in 2025. While Dunne is known for her feats on the floor, she also seems to be picking up some pitching hacks.

At Skenes’ prompting, Dunne showed off her four-seam fastball grip, though she joked that she’s “more of a splinker girl.” The splinker is Skenes’ hybrid splitter and sinker pitcher, which he has relied on heavily to this point in his pro career.

If LSU baseball coach [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] needs some pitching depth next spring, I know where he needs to call.

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Best photos of Paul Skenes and Livvy Dunne at the 2024 MLB All-Star Game

Paul Skenes became the first rookie pitcher to start the All-Star Game since 1995 on Tuesday night.

[autotag]Paul Skenes[/autotag] is quickly becoming one of the best young players in baseball just months into his rookie campaign, and the former first-overall pick in the 2023 MLB draft made some more history on Tuesday night.

He became the first rookie pitcher to start the MLB All-Star Game since 1995 and just the fifth all-time, getting the nod for the National League. It was an overall impressive showing as he allowed no hits or runs and just one walk as he worked through his lone inning of action in 16 pitches.

That included an out against Aaron Judge, arguably the top hitter in baseball.

It was surely a memorable experience for Skenes, who was joined in Arlington, Texas, by his girlfriend, LSU gymnast [autotag]Livvy Dunne[/autotag]. Here are the best photos from Skenes’ night at Globe Life Field.