Three former LSU Tigers were expected to be taken on the opening day of the Major League Baseball Draft, highlighted by Derek Curiel’s surprising selection with the fifth overall pick.
Few, if any, mock drafts projected center fielder Derek Curiel as a top-five pick, but the Pittsburgh Pirates selected the All-American with the fifth overall pick.
Curiel became the seventh LSU player selected in the top five of the MLB Draft and the fourth Tiger to do so since 2023.
Curiel is expected to receive a signing bonus of approximately $8 million.
LSU right fielder Jake Brown went in the second round to the Seattle Mariners. Last year, the Mariners took Kade Anderson third overall and Brown will join Anderson in Seattle’s minor league system.
Brown and Anderson were in the same recruiting class. Ironically, Brown was considered the best high school pitcher in the Class of 2023 in Louisiana.
Anderson did not pitch in his senior season at St. Paul’s because he was recovering from Tommy John Surgery.
Anderson has quickly established himself as one of baseball's top pitching prospects, going 8-1 with a 1.36 ERA and 108 strikeouts in 72.2 innings at Double-A Arkansas.
In the 4th round, LSU’s best bullpen arm in 2025, Deven Sheerin, was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies.
Sheerin missed the 2025 national championship season after tearing his ACL playing pickup basketball in the summer of 2024.
In 2026, Sheerin went 3-2 with a 4.78 ERA and struck out 58 in 37.2 innings pitched.
Philadelphia could give the 6-foot-5 right-hander from Reading, Pennsylvania, an opportunity to start, but his max-effort delivery and success in high-leverage situations at LSU suggest his long-term future could be in the bullpen.
