The 2023 MLB Draft begins Sunday and there might not be another program in the nation more involved with this year’s draft than LSU baseball.
There’s a better chance than not that the Tigers will become the first program ever to have the first two players selected in the MLB Draft — Paul Skenes and Dylan Crews. Ty Floyd has the chance to be a first-round pick and LSU is expected to have at least one high school commitment picked in the first round in catcher Blake Mitchell.
Here are five LSU predictions for the 2023 MLB Draft.
Dylan Crews and Paul Skenes are selected in the top 3 picks
Crews and Skenes have been the top two prospects in the draft since the first half of this season when Skenes began dominating SEC hitters.
But the top talents aren’t always the first to get selected in the MLB Draft. Money and when teams are willing to spend it also play a big role as to who gets picked and when.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have the No. 1 overall pick. But if Pittsburgh wanted to save money by, for example, picking one of the top high school prospects instead of Crews or Skenes, the LSU superstars could slide down the board to No. 2, 3 or even 4 on the board.
Crews and Skenes going 1-2 isn’t a given but it’s still doubtful that either of them slide past the Detroit Tigers, who own the No. 3 picks. The Athletic’s Keith Law, ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel and MLB.com’s Jim Callis project that Skenes and Crews will be the top two picks in their latest mock drafts.
Ty Floyd goes in the first round
Ty Floyd’s 17-strikeout performance against Florida in the College World Series final has definitely boosted his draft stock, as the junior has become a top-60 prospect in the draft, according to Law, McDaniel and MLB.com.
Law also projects that Floyd will be selected with the No. 28 pick in the first round by the Houston Astros and believes that the Tigers’ right-handed pitcher has a chance to be a top-10 pick.
Grant Taylor gets picked in the first two rounds and signs
The biggest potential contributor to next year’s team who could depart for the MLB is Grant Taylor, the rising junior who had a 2.14 ERA in the Cape Cod Baseball League last summer and was expected to be in LSU’s starting rotation in 2023 before undergoing Tommy John surgery prior to the start of this past season.
Taylor had a 5.81 ERA and only started two games as a freshman in 2022. But towards the end of the spring and into last summer he began featuring a two-seam fastball that can reach 98 mph, and a cutter.
Drafting Taylor will be a risk for any team given his short college track record and the injury he suffered. However, if a franchise is willing to roll the dice and pony up enough money for the right-handed pitcher, Taylor could easily be out of LSU’s plans in 2024.
2024 ROSTER PREVIEW: Who does LSU baseball have returning from College World Series championship team for 2024?
DYLAN CREWS DRAFT FEATURE: An inside look at Dylan Crews’ workouts with personal hitting coach, MLB Draft 2023
PAUL SKENES DRAFT FEATURE: How LSU baseball star Paul Skenes transformed into the top pitcher in the 2023 MLB Draft
Tre Morgan and Jordan Thompson will be selected in the first five rounds
Tre Morgan and Jordan Thompson were critical pieces of LSU’s title-winning team in 2023. And although both juniors likely won’t be selected as highly as Crews, Skenes or Floyd, they should be picked in the first five rounds thanks to Thompson’s quickness and agility at shortstop, and Morgan’s athleticism and ability to make consistent contact at the plate.
In McDaniel’s rankings, Morgan is a top-100 prospect while Thompson is a top-150 prospect. Morgan also cracks the top 150 in MLB.com’s draft rankings.
At least two of LSU’s high school commitments depart for MLB
LSU’s high school class this year isn’t as robust with potential MLB prospects as last year’s class.
But the Tigers still have at least a couple of commitments who are expected to never step foot on campus this fall: catcher Blake Mitchell and left-handed pitcher Cameron Johnson.
Mitchell is a top-30 prospect in Law, McDaniel and MLB.com’s prospect rankings and has been projected to be selected as high as No. 8 in the draft by the Kansas City Royals. Johnson is a top-75 draft prospect, according to the same three sources, and MLB.com predicts that he’ll be selected with a supplementary pick in the first round.
Left-handed pitcher Jake Brown, outfielder Ashton Larson and shortstop Steven Milam also cracked McDaniel’s top-300 prospects list, but none of the three are expected to be selected in the first round.
Koki Riley covers LSU sports for The Daily Advertiser. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter at @KokiRiley
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU baseball: 2023 MLB Draft predictions with Dylan Crews, Paul Skenes