Jay Johnson says Kade Anderson should be No. 1 overall pick in MLB draft to Nationals
It was also a performance that shored up one thing for his coach, Jay Johnson: Kade Anderson should be the No. 1 overall pick to the Washington Nationals in the 2025 MLB Draft.
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"His next pitch should be somewhere in the Washington Nationals organization. It's not close," Johnson said after LSU's win over Coastal Carolina. "... He's the best player in the country. There's nobody closer to the Major Leagues than that right now."
REQUIRED READING: LSU baseball vs Coastal Carolina highlights: Kade Anderson pitches CWS Game 1 shutout
Anderson's efforts at Charles Schwab Field Omaha not only solidified his LSU legacy but also put him in the College World Series record book with a select handful of pitchers. The native of Madisonville, Louisiana became just the third pitcher to throw a complete game shutout in a CWS finals game since the championship series was added to the tournament format in 2003.
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It was also the second complete game of his career, and the season. His 10 strikeouts increased his nation-leading strikeout number to 180 punchouts in 119 innings of work this year. Of the 130 pitches he threw against Coastal Carolina on the night, 82 of them were for strikes.
Johnson's pleas for Anderson to be the No. 1 overall pick in next month's MLB draft weren't the only flowers that he gave his junior ace. The 48-year-old Johnson put Anderson's heroic season and skillset up there with former LSU pitcher Paul Skenes, who went No. 1 overall to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2023 and has been a phenom since making his debut in May 2024.
"He's the best pitcher in college baseball. We had the best pitcher (Paul Skenes) on the planet two years ago in a similar situation. I feel like Kade has a very similar season to that," Johnson said. "And that's how you get here (to CWS). I'm really proud of him.
"I think the commonality between the two is the person, the character, the toughness and the team-first attitude."
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REQUIRED READING: Kade Anderson stats vs Coastal Carolina: LSU ace tosses shutout in national title series
Anderson is currently projected to go within the top five of the MLB draft by several MLB draft analysts. USA TODAY's Gabe Lacques has Anderson going No. 5 overall to the St. Louis Cardinals in his June 10 mock draft, while ESPN's Kiley McDaniels moved Anderson up to his No. 1 overall pick in his mock draft that came out on June 18.
LSU will now look to close the College World Series championship series with a win on June 22 at 2:30 p.m. ET against Coastal Carolina at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kade Anderson should be No. 1 pick per LSU baseball coach Jay Johnson
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