My Breakout Grades of the Baseball Team 3 Weeks In

Who Cares what I think, but fun to discuss.

SP B- - No Skenes Nola McDonald level performer yet. But at this point in the season not super worried with guys still getting stretched out. Kade has the stuff to stick on Friday. Ware and Schmidt both looking good in extended roles gives you hope that of those 4 arms someone will really grab hold of the Saturday and Sunday spots.

RP B - While this weekend may have shaken the confidence a tad, I think the depth and emergence of a closer give me hope in what we’ve seen so far. Evan’s is a stud, Guidry who’s been an elite SEC reliever for 2 years hasn’t even thrown yet, and there’s 5-6 other promising arms that give you hope for a real strong pen. Biggest ?/concern is will a trusted lefty emerge?

C C- Positionally this is the biggest ? For this team right now IMO. It’s become a 2 horse race with Priester not getting much run early on. Neither has done much at the plate as of yet but I liked Hernandez’s ABs better this weekend. I still think the position is pretty open if either player gets hot.

1B A Jones is a stud. The power is obvious, but what’s most exciting for me so far is the walks. He’s not extending the zone, and has matured a ton as a hitter since his Freshman season. If he continues to control the zone like this, and gets some help behind him. Lookout. Small note on KJ Costello, he’s had a few weirdly Clutch ABs early in the season. Not a big 2025 guy but you have to like what you’ve seen.

2B A Dickinson is him as the kids say. Great hitter from pole to pole, incredible defender. He is as advertised.

SS A I debated giving Milam an A- or B+ with the slow offensive start, but finally having an elite defensive SS is enough to push it over the edge for me. He is taking better ABs from the right side this season.

3B C Braswell has had a slow start offensively but has transitioned over nicely from short. Tanner Reeves had a good game in the tournament, and it seems like they might platoon until and unless someone gets hot enough to force Jays hand. While nobody was going to hit like Tommy, both of them are an upgrade defensively. While it seems like a 2 horse race for PT, I just can’t get over John Pearson. He seems to hit everything hard. Wouldn’t shock me if he earns some PT somewhere down the line. Jay loves hitters, and he can hit.

LF A Antoine Duplantis impersonator Derek Curiel is a beast. He has an incredibly level swing and can go pole to pole. He doesn’t have elite power yet, and will need to transform his body to get there, but in the meantime he could be that special freshman. His eye is elite for an 18 year old. While the Outfield is really deep, he has locked himself in for the time being. Larson as your backup corner outfielder is quite the luxury. He was a key hitter for us last season.

CF B+ Stanfield is so fun to watch. His energy base running and defense bring so much to the table, I think he sticks in the starting lineup. Offensively he’s limited, but he’s a proven SEC player. Selfishly I hope he stays in the 9
Hole and causes chaos.

RF A We have so many options. Pearson showed this weekend the value of 4 years of SEC Abs. Brown is hitting it extremely hard. While we don’t have the all SEC talent, our OF has 6-7 players who could start almost anywhere else in the country. I like Brown to start, while Pearson and Frey platoon in the DH spot. The value of Pearson is he’s so clutch and comfortable you’re not afraid to bring him off the bench as a pinch hitter.

Overarching thoughts: Shoutout to Jay for putting together the best defensive team of his time at LSU. We’re only 12 games in but I can confidently say that. It’s also probably the best and most dangerous team on the base paths. We will need to take the extra base with the decrease in power, but it can work. Pitching and hitting can only be proven vs SEC competition, but these 2 things translate, and early signs show vast improvement. If nothing else, this should be a fun team to watch.

I’m optimistic about the Tigahs.