Paul Skenes would probably struggle to eat a meal in peace at a Baton Rouge restaurant.
Jacob Latz could wear a name tag and go undetected.
Both former Tigers will pitch in this summer’s MLB All-Star Game, and their paths couldn’t have been more different.
Skenes took the rather traditional route. He was the best pitcher in college baseball in 2023, the first pick in the draft and then started racking up All-Star nods. Latz missed all of two college seasons and only pitched sparingly in 2016 at LSU. He spent five years in the minor leagues before getting his shot with the Texas Rangers. His first All-Star appearance comes after his 30th birthday.
The lefty from Illinois suffered a stress reaction in his elbow that cost him his first season in purple and gold. In year two, he didn’t see game action until mid-April. That didn’t ramp up to an SEC appearance until May 21. Two weeks later, he got the ball with LSU’s season on the line in the NCAA Regional championship game. That night, Jared Poche set down 16 straight Rice Owls out of the bullpen to advance. Latz only made it four outs and surrendered two runs.
Coastal Carolina ended LSU’s season a week later.
Latz looked elsewhere after that, and he ended up at Kent State. Since these were the pre-portal days, he had to sit out that year. So, for three college seasons he made six appearances. Still, Texas took him in the fifth round.
There will always be an element of “what if” with Latz in Baton Rouge. He, Alex Lange and Poche would have made quite the trio in an SEC rotation. Lange is working on six years of MLB service and has a career ERA under 4.00 in over 220 innings. Poche won more games than anyone in LSU history.
What no one will have to wonder about is Latz’s left arm. It healed, and it’s a talented one. The southpaw has a 1.71 ERA in 33 appearances this year with 43 strikeouts and nine walks.
He’s a Major League All-Star.
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