2023 MLB Draft odds: Florida outfielder Wyatt Langford new favorite over LSU's Paul Skenes, Dylan Crews to be No. 1 overall pick Sunday by Pittsburgh Pirates
The 2023 MLB Draft begins Sunday night.
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There is no Sunday night game in Major League Baseball this week ahead of next week's All-Star Game festivities in Seattle, but there is a live MLB event to wager Sunday night: The annual amateur draft. The Pittsburgh Pirates won the first-ever draft lottery in the sport and will pick first. On Thursday, they were favored at DraftKings to take ace pitcher Paul Skenes from national champion LSU just ahead of outfielder teammate Dylan Crews, but now the favorite is Florida outfielder Wyatt Langford at +150.
It's tough betting on a draft because there are so many rumors and smokescreens. Earlier this year, we saw crazy odds shifts immediately ahead of both the NFL and NBA Drafts in regards to which player would go second overall (we knew who would go first in both).
I'd expect more odds changes by the time the Pirates are on the clock – the draft starts at 7 p.m. ET Sunday and is being held at Lumen Field, home of the NFL's Seahawks, next door to the Mariners' T-Mobile Park. Rounds 3-10 will be held on Monday and Rounds 11-20 on Tuesday.
Moreover, in NFL or NBA Drafts, the best overall talent usually goes first overall because there are rookie wage scales for first-round picks in those drafts. That's not the case in baseball, so teams sometimes take not the best player on the board, but instead one who is close and will take a lower signing bonus, which would allow said team to spread the savings over other potential draft picks and overpay at their slots.
Langford maybe be willing to take a lower number than Skenes, and the Pirates reportedly to want to take a hitter with the first pick. Crews was the presumptive top pick for months, but is rumored to be demanding an over-slot bonus, and is said to be reticent to sign with Pittsburgh should the Pirates take him first.
CBS Sports ranks Crews as the No. 1 prospect, Langford at No. 2 and Skenes at No. 5. The risk of taking a pitcher -- particularly college pitchers, who are often overworked -- is potential Tommy John surgery, while position players generally are much less a health risk. Skenes is considered one of the great college pitchers in recent history after winning the Dick Howser Trophy, Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Year, College World Series Most Outstanding Player and SEC Pitcher of the Year.
The 6-foot-6, 250-pound Skenes finished second in the nation among qualified pitchers in ERA (1.69) and first in strikeouts (209), breaking fellow LSU legend Ben McDonald's 34-year-old SEC strikeout record and becoming the first Division I pitcher to reach the 200-strikeout plateau since Long Beach State's Jered Weaver in 2004. Skenes struck out more than 10 times as many batters as he walked (20) this past season, while holding opponents to a .165 batting average in 122.2 innings.
ESPN's Kiley McDaniel ranks Skenes as the No. 3 prospect but does have Skenes going first as of now. He's not likely to pitch much if at all this year for his new team in the minors with such a big workload at LSU.
Crews, ranked No. 2 overall by ESPN, was the winner of the 2023 Golden Spikes Award, given annually to the top amateur baseball player in the USA, as well as SEC Player of the Year and 2022-23 SEC Male Athlete of the Year (all sports), among many other honors. Crews finished No. 1 in the nation in runs and in walks, No. 2 in on-base percentage and in hits, and No. 3 in batting average.
Langford is ranked No. 1 overall by ESPN. He has been compared to Mike Trout. This past season, Langford slashed.373/.498/.784 with 21 homers, three triples, 28 doubles, 57 RBI and 83 runs scored in 64 games played -- while hitting the two longest homers ever in the history of the College World Series.
With Florida facing elimination in Game 2 of Men's College World Series Final vs. LSU (which lost that game but won Game 3), Langford was 5-for-5 with six RBI, four runs scored and a three-run homer that measured 449 feet and 114.4 mph off the bat. He also had a 456-foot homer earlier in the CWS.
This will be the sixth time Pittsburgh picks first. The Pirates most recently did so in 2021 when they took Louisville catcher Henry Davis, who is now in the big leagues. McDonald, who was drafted in 1989, is the only LSU player to be chosen first. Florida hasn't had anyone go at the top, which is fairly surprising considering the talent to come out of Gainesville.
It would be a surprise if Langford, Crews and Skenes didn't go 1-2-3 in whatever order. Washington picks second and Detroit picks third. There's a perceived drop-off in talent after those three prospects. Texas picks fourth.
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