It was during the 2023 NCAA tournament that LSU coach Jay Johnson knew. Knew how good a pitcher Paul Skenes would be once he got to the major leagues.

“During the postseason, he faced Kentucky in the super regional and Tennessee in the College World Series, the second time that he faced those teams,” Johnson said this week. “And he completely flipped on its head how he pitched them.

“I was like, ‘Man, this guy's going to dominate in the major leagues.’ Like, there's going to be no issue of facing somebody three times in a season.”

Skenes has proven Johnson as right about that as he was right to get the 6-foot-6 fireballer to transfer to LSU from Air Force.

Skenes has been a force in less than two full seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, the team that made him the No. 1 overall pick in

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