Yahoo Sports Senior MLB Analysts Jordan Shusterman and Jake Mintz talk to Rays prospect Tre’ Morgan and Nationals prospect Dylan Crews about their former college teammate Paul Skenes in Arlington, TX .
Video transcript
You spent three years at LSU and were part of one of the most iconic college baseball teams of all time in 2023.
What was it like watching your teammate Paul Skeens in the big leagues the last 2.5 months?
Like, how do you understand that?
How do you watch it all? I would say it’s amazing to see him do what he did in college, literally the same thing against the best hitters in the world.
And it’s crazy.
It makes me feel like, okay, he eliminated me a few times, so I feel a little bit.
I was a little better.
I reached out to him a few times.
You forget it.
I’m pretty sure he hit me on three pitches once.
No, that’s not it.
OK. Well, you faced him when he was in the Air Force, right?
He hit me again there.
OK.
But now he shows up and is on your team, but in the fall you have to deal with that.
Now, you, you had seen him, you, you understood, you knew who this guy was, of course, you’re excited.
He makes your team, but you don’t really know until you watch regularly.
I would say, you know, when he faced Air Force, we were down two runs in the bottom of the ninth.
It was ours, my first, me and Dylan’s first series, actually, at home in the box and Dylan’s batting one, I’m batting two.
Dylan gets there and hits a home run of his own and I’m like, uh, oh, that kind of puts me in a tough spot here.
Paul won’t be very happy.
Here comes the MT Tray.
I mean, doing it in that house.
That was really cool.
I’m just curious how you watched this year because you obviously enjoy playing a lot while Skeens is playing in the big leagues.
How do you actually consume the matches he’s having and watching?
It’s been amazing to see, you know, he’s a, he’s a special talent and, you know, it’s just, it didn’t cross my mind that he was, that is, I thought he would do even better than he did. is doing right now, you know, and since he’s probably the best pitcher in baseball right now, you know, he’s, um, he’s a special talent in my eyes.
It is generational.
So he, uh, you know, when I was in college with him, I thought he was a great player starting on a big league team at that point.
And obviously now he’s a better starter for the All Star game.
So, um, really happy for him and, you know, you killed him.
That is true.
You got it.
You, you, you have, you have to leave.
That was in the second year.
His first home run, his first career home run was against Paul Skeens’ Air Force, and it all went downhill from there.
I am joking.
