Round 18 | Dustin Skelton | C | Mississippi St

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Originally taken by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 36th round of the 2016 Draft, Skelton has emerged as a solid all-around catcher at Mississippi State. He was named to the NCAA Tallahassee Regional All-Tournament Team as a sophomore in 2018, and his bat has steadily improved throughout his college tenure. He's currently hitting over .300 with good power, including 10 homers.

https://d1baseball.com/player/OK8JcbYR/dustin-skelton/

[Nick]

This guy seems better than where he was drafted, no?

[emkayseven]

Stanford has only attempted to steal 85 times this season. The Cardinal surely knows what it’s up against if it tries to increase that number against junior catcher Dustin Skelton. Skelton is tied for the SEC lead in throw-outs from home with 19.

https://www.clarionledger.com/story/...es/1355496001/

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big big fan of this pick

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Talent has never been an issue for Dustin Skelton behind the plate, a player that was built to take the beating that a backstop does from Southeastern Conference pitchers and hitters.

Skelton’s stout 6’0, 202-pound frame allows him the durability to spend marathon games behind the plate as he did just a week ago when Mississippi State and LSU played 17 innings. While the Tigers subbed their catcher out midway through that game, Skelton caught all 271 pitches thrown from seven different pitchers throwing all kinds of different pitches from fastballs with movement to breaking balls in the dirt.


On top of that, he had no passed balls and threw out a runner. Most impressive of it all is that he never looked fazed and the moment was never too big for him.


That’s something that first-year assistant coach Kyle Cheesebrough notices is different about Skelton this season. Though Cheesebrough hadn’t coached him his first two years on campus, he was introduced to Skelton on film from game three of the Vanderbilt Super Regional last year. Skelton had a couple of key passed balls in that game and was 0-for-3 at the plate. Though the Bulldogs won the game, it wasn’t all pretty for the sophomore catcher.


As Cheesebrough spent more time watching film on the season, he saw more and more good things that Skelton was capable of doing. All of which he’s harnessed in year three.


“Just talking to coach (Jake) Gautreau, there were spurts where you’re saying this guy is a really good catcher. The one thing that he’s shown this year is that he can sustain it for a whole year,” Cheesebrough said of Skelton. “I don’t know that he’s ever had a catching guy to stay on him 24/7. With me and (Foxhall) having our relationship together, he’s really has to be another coach and he’s taken that upon himself.”


Something has clicked just in time for Skelton in what could be his final year on campus. The longtime Bulldog commitment from Magnolia Heights struggled at the plate his first two seasons hitting just .206 in year one and .238 last season. He had nine doubles, just one home run and 23 RBI as the Bulldogs failed to see much production out of his bat.


In the offseason, Skelton made sure to put in the work. He knew he and his body were capable so he went to work with roommate Justin Foscue as well as Gautreau.


“I know this is my draft year so I wanted to get in there and work harder than I have,” Skelton said. “Justin Foscue is my roommate and we’ve been going in during the offseason and hitting a lot. He’s been helping me with catching whether it’s shooting balls or whatever. I’m doing nothing but working as hard as I possibly can.”


As a junior, Skelton is the most improved player on the team. He’s batting .302 this year with 57 hits, six doubles, a triple, 10 home runs and 48 RBI. He’s more than doubled his stats in almost every offensive category from the first two years combined as he’s become one of the key contributors of the MSU offense.


Skelton is one of only two players on the team with double digit home runs, right behind his roommate Foscue who has 14. Gautreau spent time with Skelton developing a toe-tap method that allowed him to put together a swing that made him feel as comfortable as he ever has at the plate.


“I always knew that I could hit, but now I’m starting to figure out how to hit with power and being in good spots to hit good pitches,” Skelton said. “The toe-tap is allowing me to stay on my back side and drive the baseball so I’m in a good position to put a really good swing on something.”


The offense isn’t the only thing improved for Skelton this year, however. For a player that prides himself in good defense, Skelton felt he could be even better. He’s been as good as any catcher in the league this year.

That rough game against Vanderbilt last year was just part of a season that had its ups and downs. Skelton had 10 passed balls on the year, though he only produced three errors, down from seven as a freshman. He had 27 stolen bases in 36 attempts, a number that he needed to get down.

In his junior year, Skelton has doubled his caught stealing with 18 runners thrown out in 53 attempts. He’s second in the SEC in batters thrown out, just one off of the lead. He’s third in the SEC in total chances, and he has just five passed balls in nearly twice the chances that he had as a sophomore.


It’s all come with dedication and a will to get better. Learning his pitchers and their tendencies is a big help as well.


“I’ve always been a pretty decent blocker so really it was about working on it and perfecting the craft,” Skelton said of his defense. “Knowing the pitchers is a really important aspect, too. I know what Ethan Small is going to do and where his breaking ball and his changeup is going to go. I know my pitchers.”

https://247sports.com/college/mississippi-state/Article/Offseason-Work-Makes-for-Breakout-Junior-Year-for-Mississippi-State-Catcher-Dustin-Skelton-132412476/

[Nick]

This guy is having an unbelievable super regional. Offensively, defensively he's doing it all. Loving this pick right now.

[Nick]

4-8 with 2 2Bs, 1 3B and a BB in the Super Regional. Mississippi State is headed to Omaha.

[tjfla]

4-8 with 2 2Bs, 1 3B and a BB. Mississippi State is headed to Omaha.

Excellent pick especially where they got him. Stick him in Batavia with Keegan Fish and move them both to Clinton next year

[tjfla]

SIGNED