re: Baseball Preview: 2017 Edition Feb 10th - Prospects & SEC Prediction

Caleb Gilbert - RHP



Doug Norman - RHP



Russell Reynolds - RHP



Austin Bain - RHP



Todd Peterson - RHP



Hunter Kiel - RHP



Hunter Newman - RHP

RELIEF PITCHING

Middle Relief
Caleb Gilbert So. 6'2 179lbs (41)
Doug Norman Jr. 6'3 210lbs (21)
Austin Bain Jr. 6'1 188lbs (18)
Todd Peterson Fr. 6'5 224lbs (43)
Cole McKay So. 6'5 219lbs (33)
Will Reese Fr. 6'4 190lbs (38)
Nick Bush Fr. 6'1 193lbs (29)
Blair Frederick Fr. 6'0 193lbs (46)
Matthew Beck Fr. 6'7 228lbs (27)
Collin Strall Sr. 5'10 172lbs (30)


Setup Relief
Russell Reynolds Sr. 6'2 199lbs (45)
Hunter Kiel Jr. 6'3 221lbs (40)

Closer
Hunter Newman Sr. 6'3 196lbs (55)

*Alden Cartwright Sr. 6'0 192lbs (32) Out for Season*

First glance, the bullpen shows great depth with a number of arms returning that have thrived in Alan Dunn's program. Because of the great number of arms I'm not going to go into great great depth on each but rather highlight what each player does well and how they may fit into the bullpen this upcoming year.

Caleb Gilbert is going to be the wildcard here and I mean that in a good way. Gilbert as a true freshman a season ago was an arm that greatly impressed Mainieri, enough so he started the season at closer and while that didn't last Caleb was the fourth most used reliever where he showed flashes of greatness including the SEC tournament against Florida. Caleb is a power arm he sits 91-93mph where he can flash a higher number at times, his slider is a plus pitch and one of the best on the team. He has the ability to get swings and misses but his fallback is control where he seems to want to put himself into jams. IF Caleb eliminates the walks he becomes one of LSU's best bullpen arms and may be the first guy out the pen during SEC games. To expand on that point if Hess or Walker don't command the Sunday spot Gilbert would slide into that role.

Doug Norman will be another valuable arm and is a seasoned veteran who will provide quality innings out of the pen. With a long build Doug's more of a deceptive pitcher during his delivery, he'll sit 90-91mph typically with a slightly above average slider and average curveball. Norman at times was used in spot relief to get 2-3 guys out in a jam and could see that role this year. Doug pitches mostly to contact and when he's hitting his spots it induces ground balls more times than not.

Austin Bain is an inning eater to me. You give him the ball in relief and he gets outs for you no matter if you're down 5 or up by 2. Austin has a great fastball and arm strength that can range anywhere 90-94mph depending on how loose he is. While his production went down last year in terms of innings I think it was the depth LSU had on the mound. Bain will pound the zone with his fastball where he sets guys up with a slightly above average curveball.

Todd Peterson is the best freshman arm of this group and was a top 200 prospect overall in the draft a season ago. With a huge build Peterson sits 92mph consistently where he'll go higher at times, both his curve ball and change up need a bit of work, nothing major. Besides Zach Hess, Todd has the ability to be a front line starter in the SEC one day and I'm interested to see if he becomes the #2 Weekday starter because he'll need innings if he's to be groomed as a rotational pitcher.

Cole McKay is the unknown right now. As the top pitcher of last years recruiting class Cole never found command of any of his pitches with consistency. It was evident Mainieri didn't trust him for more than 1-2 inning stints with the amount of walks. Still in Cole you're getting another big bodied power arm who when in control has the ability to overpower batters. It's vital that Dunn gets McKay on track this year, his arm will be needed and especially for 2018. His ceiling is a Friday-Saturday night starter but right now he's watching pitchers from the bullpen.

Blair Frederick is a guy I'm expecting big things from in the pen during his career. While only 6'0 from the left side he's a true athlete and a guy who mixes and matches his fastball and slider which will get swings and misses. There is a learning curve and because of this he'll start out in midweek games like Mainieri typically does. Look for one of Frederick or Bush to become the situational left hander in middle relief.

Colin Strall is a side winder that will be used in situational pieces to get one to two guys out from the right side as well as midweek games.

Will Reese is a pitcher I'm very intrigued by, he's a guy that matured a tad later than other prospects and LSU got in on him just a season ago. At 6'4 Will sits 89-92mph and has a very projectable body. Look for him to get a lot of innings during the mid week games this year as he gets his feet wet for bigger opportunities in 2018. He has the potential to be a Sunday starter in a year or two.

Nick Bush is a talented left handed pitcher who has battled injuries over the past year. Make no mistake he'll be brought back slowly and will probably end up in situational type appearances. Has an above average slider from the left side and keeps the ball low from the left side, will be an interesting piece in the pen going into postseason.

Matthew Beck right now is a bit of a project and raw in terms of his off speed pitches. He has a very big frame and that's great news for Alan Dunn who will start to add weight to him and add velocity to his fastball, for now still a project.

Russell Reynolds has had many ups and downs during his long career at LSU. As mostly a contact pitcher he's not going to wow you in the box score, but his slider is above average and in most cases he gets bad swings at the plate. I have Russell as a 7-8 inning type guy, it's to early to tell if he's going to be the true setup guy but I like him at the end of the bullpen to bridge the gap to Newman.

Hunter Kiel is the top JUCO recruit who enters campus with an absolute electric arm who throws gas. His fastball is 94-95mph when in live play, it tends to remain flat at times which is where he gets in trouble, when he controls his slider and change up that's when Kiel becomes a devastating presence from the mound and an ideal 1 inning setup type arm.

Hunter Newman is back for his final season at LSU. He began as a starter, hurt his arm, and found himself at the back end of the bullpen which was great luck as he turned into a real sparkplug at the back end of the bullpen. Newman will begin the season as the closer and shows a real poise about him at all times. Newman does not have the electric arm that others around him posses he's effective because he locates his pitches at all time and can throw an above average 12-6 curve ball at any count. Hitters haven't figured out his off speed pitches with effectiveness and because he's only facing a batter once it's typically all he needs. Newman will be the anchor to the pen and where he goes so will the Tigers during June.