GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
Through 17 games in LSU’s baseball season, the offensive lineup is basically as set as it is going to be.
The No. 1 Tigers (16-1) host Xavier (7-9) on Tuesday (6:30 p.m., SEC Network+) before opening Southeastern Conference play against Missouri (8-8) on Friday (6:30 p.m.), Saturday (6 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.) with all games on SEC Network+.
“I feel like it’s a very diverse lineup,” LSU coach Jay Johnson said. “I feel like we can put guys in with certain strengths. Last year was a very kind of roll with what you have type deal. But I definitely would not say, ‘Hey, this is what it is.’ Because I’d be disrespectful to my whole team.”
LSU STAGES HOME RUN DERBY WEEKEND
This is because he has about 13 starters.
There are six positions and spots in the batting order that are mostly set. Those are:
-Freshman left-handed hitter Derek Curiel (.421, 5 2Bs, 15 RBIs, 21 walks, .588 on-base percentage) in left field and leading off … 17 starts, 15 in left field, led off nine times, batted 2nd eight times.
“Obviously, when the lead-off guy’s getting on base what seems like every single at-bat, that helps a ton,” Johnson said.
-Junior right-hander Jared Jones (.429, 6 HRs, 8 2Bs, 26 RBIs, 15 walks, .537 on-base percentage) at first base and batting second … 17 starts at first base, batted 2nd nine times, batted 3rd eight times.
“Jared is one of the top five players in college baseball hands down,” Johnson said. “I don’t know why he’s not thought of in that way. I don’t think there’s a more important player to a team.”
-Junior right-hander Daniel Dickinson (.368, 5 HRs, 4 2Bs, 25 RBIs) at second base and batting third … 17 starts at second base, batted 3rd eight times, batted 5th five times.
“Danny’s a really good player, which we knew when we got him here,” Johnson said.
-Sophomore switch hitter Steven Milam (.397, 4 HRs, 4 2Bs, 19 RBIs) at shortstop and batting fifth … 17 starts at shortstop, batted 5th eight times, batted 8th six times (but note since Feb. 24).
“Milam is really good,” Johnson said. “He’s really taking off.”
-Sophomore left-hander Jake Brown (.349, 4 2Bs, 8 RBIs, 4 stolen bases) in right field and batting sixth … All 13 starts in right field, batted 6th eight times.
“The best teams that I’ve had, you have a guy like Jake Brown hitting sixth,” Johnson said. “Like, the other team feels like they’ve gotten through the run, but he can really hurt you with his explosiveness.”
-Junior right-hander Chris Stanfield (.320, 8 RBIs, 10 walks) in center field and batting ninth … All 16 starts in center field, batted 9th 11 times, led off five times (but not since Feb. 21).
“That’s a great player to be hitting ninth,” Johnson said. “I just thought if we can put him at ninth, this is going to be a great lineup and really hard to deal with. I’m excited about how that’s flowing right now, largely because of the at-bats he’s taking.”
LSU has three others with 10 or more starts:
-Senior left-hander Josh Pearson (.314, 2 HRs, 5 2Bs, 15 RBIs, 12 walks, .519 on-base percentage) with 11 … Six starts as the designated hitter, four in right field and one in left.
“Josh has had more clutch at-bats recently than anybody in college baseball,” Johnson said.
-Senior right-hander Michael Braswell III (.182, 2 2Bs, 3 RBIs) with all 10 at third base.
-Senior right-hander Luis Hernandez (.270, 1 HR, 4 RBIs) with all 10 at catcher.
“I like some things about how the lineup flows,” Johnson said. “There’s going to be a lot of left-right mixing because we’re going to see probably a 50-50 split of left and right pitchers in SEC play. We’ve been great against both. The splits are pretty close to identical. A lot of that is because we can match up, and we have depth. I like it, but we’re not pigeon-holed into anything.”
Junior left-hander Tanner Reaves (.296, 1 HR, 2 2Bs, 5 RBIs) has started seven times at third base and played in 15 games.
“I really like Tanner in there at third,” Johnson said. “I like Michael, too.”
Junior right-hander Ethan Frey (.346, 2 HRs, 2 2Bs, 8 RBIs) has started six times as the designated hitter and has played in 14 games as a pinch-hitter, outfielder and DH.
Freshman right-hander John Pearson (.500, 1 HR, 1 2B, 5 RBIs), who is Josh Pearson’s brother, has played in 11 games as a pinch-hitter and at third and first base.
“I want to get John Pearson more at-bats,” Johnson said.
So many options.
Sophomore left-hander Ashton Larson (.227, 1 HR, 1 2B, 7 RBIs) has started five games with four as the DH and played in 14 as a pinch-hitter, outfielder and DH.
Freshman Cade Arrambide (.158, 1 HR, 1 2B, 5 RBIs, 7 walks) has started seven games at catcher and played in 13.
“We’ve got guys outside the starting lineup that if somebody went down, it would be like, ‘Plug ’em in, and let’s go,'” Johnson said. “So, I’m very hesitant to talk like, ‘Hey, this is our deal.'”
Too much baseball to go.
And Johnson is not just subbing to sub. There is a method to the madness, which has often included as many as 18, 19 or 20 non-pitchers entering a game.
“We communicate ahead of time about when those opportunities probably will come,” he said. “And we do that every single game, and then the players can kind of anticipate it. It becomes really important for them to be able to prepare themselves.”
And backup roles take adjustments from players who are part of some of the top recruiting classes in the nation.
“Is it natural or normal for a player who’s coming to play for us at LSU? Probably not because we’re getting the best player on the team from where they come from,” Johnson said. “But that’s part of the deal. I don’t want them not to want to be the starting shortstop or bat first or third. Then, you’re not a competitor. But these guys handle it well. We’ve got very good contributions so far on this team from guys who didn’t start the game. I don’t sense guys not ready because they’re disappointed about where they’re at.”
And sometimes Johnson is disappointed that there are not more innings to see all his depth.
“The 10-run rule always screws that up,” he said.
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