All-SEC MLB team takes shape with standout arms, including Skenes and Crochet

The SEC’s influence in Major League Baseball never really pauses, and a recent roundup framed that reality as an All-Star-style fantasy roster built entirely from current SEC alumni. The concept is straightforward, pick the best active MLB players with SEC roots, then arrange them into a single “team” that reflects how those careers have played out in pro baseball.

At pitcher, LSU’s Paul Skenes was treated as the obvious foundation. The compilation points to a fast climb into baseball’s centerpiece roles, citing that Skenes has already started two All-Star Games and won the 2025 National League Cy Young Award. His SEC-to-pro arc is part of the appeal in the way the list ties MLB production back to college performance, noting that he was the College World Series Most Outstanding Player during LSU’s title run in 2023.

The staff plan then leans into a different kind of SEC pitching identity with Chicago White Sox left-hander Chris “Crochet” (as presented in the roundup) as the relief counterpart. Rather than follow traditional rotation logic, the article intentionally bends the rules by pairing a starter’s pedigree with a closer’s matchup path, describing Crochet as a southpaw who can cover the late innings with power. The write-up also ties Crochet back to Tennessee as his former college program.

Catcher is where the compilation acknowledges roster reality. With fewer SEC alumni at the position making it feel like a slam dunk, it goes with Fortes, described as an Ole Miss product and a Tampa Bay Rays catcher. The piece highlights his current hitting baseline, saying he was posting a career-best.254 average while providing defensive value needed to stabilize the rest of the lineup’s unconventional shape.

One of the more telling themes in the roundup is how the SEC is being portrayed not just as a pipeline, but as a competitive engine across multiple baseball roles. The selections emphasize both the headline talent (award-winning starting pitching) and the high-leverage support (a left-handed weapon used in a save-style frame), then connect those roles back to college reputations developed under SEC competition. That matters because MLB rosters are built around repeatable skills, and the SEC has become synonymous with developing pitchers and position players who can handle pressure.

Even as the compilation sells the roster as a complete “team,” readers should treat it as a curated exercise rather than an official honors list. The roundup itself is explicit about the novelty of how it assigns positions and which roles count as “best,” meaning the final construction is less a reflection of standard lineup configuration and more a snapshot of who is, at least in the author’s view, delivering the most impact right now among SEC alumni.

What to watch next is whether the theme holds up across the rest of MLB and across the next wave of SEC talent. The SEC’s recent track record in college baseball has already been a major storyline in national coverage, and with current SEC alumni continuing to earn individual MLB recognition, this kind of “all-star by origin” lineup will likely keep resurfacing as a way to quantify the conference’s reach. For fans, the immediate follow-through is simple: pay attention to which SEC alumni are featured when midseason honors and postseason roles crystallize, because the pipeline is showing up in both starting and late-inning situations.