GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
(Fourth of the 5-part series “First Pitch Fever” on LSU opening baseball season on Friday.)
LSU was doing a fly-ball communication drill in the outfield this week at practice, and coach Jay Johnson couldn’t believe his eyes.
He did a double take, not unlike actor Danny Glover, who played California Angels manager George Knox in the 1994 movie, “Angels In The Outfield.” Suddenly, the downtrodden Angels start making miracle-like plays in the outfield in the film. Only a kid knows the truth and can see the angels making the plays. To everyone else they’re invisible.
“I looked out there, and there were eight guys in the outfield,” Johnson said Wednesday. “There were two guys in one spot, three in one spot and three guys in another spot. And I just kind of shook my head and was like, ‘I’m good with any of these guys playing.’ I really mean that.”
Johnson wasn’t the only one who could see eight outfielders. Everyone could, and everyone will at certain points this season, which begins Friday when the No. 2 Tigers host Purdue-Fort Wayne on Opening Day at 2 p.m. in Alex Box Stadium.
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Unlike Knox, though, Johnson can only only have three out there at a time, unless he orders the most unique shift in baseball history.
“It’s not really a complete picture yet,” Johnson said.
LSU has 18 non-conference games scheduled before opening Southeastern Conference play on March 14 against Missouri in the Box.
The starting outfield on Friday will be superstar freshman Derek Curiel from the Los Angeles area in left field, electric defensive ace Chris Stanfield, a junior transfer from Auburn, in center field and likely sophomore returnee Jake Brown of Sulphur in right. Brown started 12 games in center last season and nine in right as he came on strong late in the season.
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The other five are senior Josh Pearson, sophomore Ashton Larson, redshirt sophomore Mic Paul, junior Ethan Frey and senior transfer Dalton Beck from Incarnate Word. Naturally, some will be designated hitters. Beck is also expected to pitch as is Brown.
Curiel, Brown, Pearson, Paul, Beck and Larson are all left-handed, which Johnson loves as his lineups were often too right-handed heavy last season.
“There are spots where certain guys fit better,” Johnson said. “I don’t want to go too far down the road with it.”
He can’t play all eight for very long. Sooner or later, he has to whittle it down to five or six, right?
“But the ceiling is really, really high,” he said. “Defensively, the outfield has a chance to be the strength o the team. Offensively, there are several guys who can impact the game, and there’s a lot of experience.”
The way Johnson sees it now, seven outfielders are vying for two spots, because the left-handed Curiel may play nearly every game. He is the SEC preseason freshman of the year by D1Baseball and the No. 1 freshman in the country in Perfect Game’s top 75. He hit .388 with a .522 on-base percentage in fall scrimmages. At Orange Lutheran High last season, he hit .314 with 10 doubles and 19 stolen bases.
“Derek is obviously going to play,” Johnson said Wednesday. “He might be the smartest player on the team in full transparency.”
And he’s 19.
“I think Derek may be the most impressive freshman I’ve ever seen,” Brown said and had high praise for Stanfield as well.
“Both of those guys are extremely talented. Communicating with them in the outfield seems really easy,” Brown said. “The game comes natural to both of them, too. There’s a lot of options.”
Maybe too many in Johnson’s mind.
“I love lineups and scenarios,” he said as many many analytical baseball coaches and managers. Yes, he’s a seam-head. But he is trying not going to go substitution crazy in the outfield or on the depth-strong mound and has worked on that over the last few weeks.
“I just didn’t want my brain to like go somewhere that wasn’t the most productive,” Johnson said. “And I actually feel like by doing that – on the position player side for sure – I have a much better feel for this team this year for what we actually have.”
But he’s going to have fun mixing and matching.
“There’s a lot of versatility overall. There’s a lot of variability,” Brown said.
“But the main thing,” Johnson said, “is doing what’s best to win the game.”
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