‘It’s Gonna Be Fun,’ Dylan Crews Looking Forward to Facing LSU Teammate Paul Skenes

PITTSBURGH — This time two years ago, Paul Skenes and Dylan Crews were college teammates at LSU. A lot has happened since then.

The duo helped guide the Tigers to winning the College World Series — Skenes with his dominance on the mound and Crews by pacing the offense as a do-it-all type of player.

Shortly after being crowned the kings of college baseball, Skenes and Crews became the first set of college teammates to be selected with the top two picks of the MLB draft. The Pittsburgh Pirates took Skenes with the first pick and Crews was selected second by the Washington Nationals.

Now, both are in the big leagues, and they’re set to face each other for the first time on Monday night at PNC Park.

“I’m excited,” Crews said on the pending matchup. “It’s something that we’ve been looking forward to for a while now. He’s a good buddy of mine. We’ve had some good history with each other. I’m just excited for this day, it’s gonna be fun.”

Skenes will start for the Pirates in Monday’s game and Crews is batting eighth and playing center field.

The Pirates’ ace is making his fourth start of the season after winning the National League Rookie of the Year. Despite a hiccup in his last outing, Skenes is off to a good start to begin his second year in the big leagues.

Skenes’ success doesn’t come as a surprise to his former teammate.

“Not one bit. We knew he was special when he was at school,” Crews said. “Now he’s here doing his thing. Won Rookie of the Year last year and he’s off to a great start this year. Very happy for him.”

Both players are similar in some ways. They both have reputations as being hard-workers and possess the competitiveness that is often associated with a professional athlete, but both also come across as laid back when talking.

The two stay in touch, though not as much during the season. In the offseason, they trained together, but conversations about potentially facing one another never really took place.

“We were so locked in to try and win a national championship at that point. We didn’t have that much time in-between the national championship and getting drafted. I think it was a week or two,” Crews explained. “After the national championship we just kind of split off and did our own thing. We are here now and definitely enjoying these moments.”

Though Crews hasn’t found the immediate success as Skenes did, he’s regarded as one of the better young position players in baseball.

Among his many accomplishments during his final year at LSU, Crews was a consensus first-team All-American and was the recipient of the Golden Spikes Award, which is given each year to the player who best exhibits exceptional on-field ability and exemplary sportsmanship.

In 135 minor-league games, Crews slashed .275/.351/.455 with 30 doubles, six triples, 18 home runs, 97 RBI and 29 stolen bases. The tools are there, too.

Both Skenes and Crews are have barely scratched the surface of their careers. Skenes has made 29 starts. Monday’s game will be Crews’ 44th.

Whatever happens in the future, both players can take pride in their respective journeys and reaching the big leagues so quickly.

“Ya, definitley appreciate it for sure,” Crews explained. It just shows the history of LSU really and the athletes that come out of  there. We’ve both worked really hard to get to this point.”