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Thank the lord that they didn't go with one of the safe hitting options (like I hoped for last year) and got Skenes.
Langford has actually been pretty solid, getting close to 300 ABs for the Rangers and keeping his head above water already. Crews, who seemed like the safest bet, has gotten to AAA but is not doing anything special yet.
I was talking to a friend yesterday and asked if the Pirates could trade Skenes for most other teams' top 5 prospects, if they did it right now. Considering his current salary and value (plus, the $9.2M signing bonus has already been paid out), it is an interesting thought. I know teams that have top 10 guys that are near ready are probably a no, but having a cost controlled Cy Young caliber guy for the next 5 years on a contending team would be really valuable.
Apparently, he was a great college hitter, as well. Before he went to LSU, he played two seasons at Air Force (not the greatest conference for competition) and slashed .367/.453/.669 with 24 HR and only struck out 85 times in 402 plate appearances. In other words, he's probably the Pirates second best hitter, as well.
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