LSU is arguably one of the best programs in college baseball for major league development. However, for the decade before head coach Jay Johnson took over, LSU had sent 25 pitchers to the draft.

“When I came here from Arizona, you were going to have Dylan Crews for two years; that was a massive appeal for taking this job,” head coach Jay Johnson said in Thursday’s press conference. “But we had a lot of work to do constructing a College World Series or national championship caliber pitching staff, and I feel like we’ve had that for the last three years.”

Throughout his three seasons at LSU, Johnson has sent 18 pitchers to the MLB Draft. Some names include Paul Skenes, Grant Taylor, Gage Jump and Griffin Herring.

Paul Skenes

Skenes was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates with the first overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft. Skenes went on to be named the 2024 NL Rookie of the Year.

In the 2025 season so far, he has recorded a 1.78 ERA and 97 strikeouts through 14 appearances. His opponents only have a batting average of .176 against him, which is the second lowest among qualified players.

While at LSU, Skenes was named the 2023 Dick Howser Trophy Winner, the 2023 College World Series Most Outstanding Player and the 2023 SEC Pitcher of the Year. He also claimed numerous player of the week awards and all-SEC and all-American honors.

Grant Taylor

Taylor was drafted in the second round of the 2023 draft by the Chicago White Sox. Before he got called up to the MLB on June 10, he recorded 15 appearances, a 1.01 ERA and 37 strikeouts with opponents having a .151 batting average against him in the minor leagues.

During his time in Baton Rouge, Taylor made 17 pitching appearances in his freshman season.

Just one week before the 2023 season opener, he suffered an elbow injury and underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery.

Gage Jump

Jump was selected in the second round in 2024 by the Oakland Athletics and has worked his way up through the Athletics’ prospect rankings. He started the preseason ranked No. 24, and now is ranked No. 2 in the organization.

Jump has appeared in six games for the Lansing Lugnuts, the Class High A affiliate for Oakland, and is currently in the AA class. In his 12 appearances in both classes, he has an 8-2 record, a 1.65 ERA and 83 strikeouts with opponents only having a .185 batting average against him.

Jump recorded one of the rarest feats in all of baseball when he threw an immaculate inning versus the West Michigan Whitecaps on May 7, 2025. An immaculate inning is rarer than a perfect game, and it occurs when a pitcher strikes out all three batters in an inning on nine pitches.

Griffin Herring

Herring was also drafted in 2024 by the New York Yankees and currently plays in the High-A class. He has pitched in 10 games in 2025 and owns a 4-1 record, a 1.27 ERA and 64 strikeouts with opponents having a batting average of .174 against him.

Herring spent two seasons at LSU, where he pitched in 39 outings, tallying 84.2 innings, a 2.66 ERA and 108 strikeouts. In 2024, his ERA was down to 1.79 through 50.1 innings with 67 strikeouts.

Jay Johnson’s pitch

It’s clear that under Johnson, LSU has made a huge leap forward in terms of pitching development. Johnson looks to continue that as he has three top-100 draft prospects for 2025 on the current roster in Kade Anderson, Anthony Eyanson and Chase Shores.

So, how does Jay get these prospects to campus at LSU?

“There’s no better place for a pitcher in the entire country to come right now and develop to be a major leaguer than LSU,” Johnson said.