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re: LSU Baseball 2026 (and beyond) Recruiting Thread
Posted on 7/2/26 at 9:06 am to ProjectP2294
Posted on 7/2/26 at 9:06 am to ProjectP2294
quote:
I put this in the other thread, but it will probably fit better here:
In 2026 he had a lower WHIP against lefties than righties. So there is a little bit of reverse split stuff going on to cover for our lack of lefties.
He also had a vastly lower walk rate with guys on base. 2.66 BB/9 with runners on base vs 6.65 BB/9 with bases empty.
His highest K/9 split was with RISP, 10.59 K/9.
His WHIP with runners on was 1.224, with RISP it was 1.242, both good numbers.
Assuming this doesnt include his 17 HBP in any of that since referencing BB/WHIP. Thats the more worrisome part, did these 17 hit batters come mostly on lack of fastball command or maybe secondary stuff he was just working through (and did they also come with no runners on mostly vs. runners on).
To hit a guy every ~8 outs or so is not quite DJ Primeaux levels, but not terribly far off either
This post was edited on 7/2/26 at 9:08 am
1
Posted on 7/2/26 at 9:13 am to thunderbird1100
quote:
Assuming this doesnt include his 17 HBP in any of that since referencing BB/WHIP. Thats the more worrisome part
It doesn't. The site I found just scrapes data, and while we find it useful to use an all encompassing free passes metric, no one tracks it that way unfortunately.
But I agree the HBP is worrisome.
Posted on 7/2/26 at 9:14 am to lsu711
quote:
Every player on the roster can’t be an expensive, plug and play all SEC guy.
I was just coming here to say this.
Posted on 7/2/26 at 9:39 am to ProjectP2294
quote:
But I agree the HBP is worrisome.
Hate to call it random but it doesn’t align with the rest of his career.
He pitched 25ip in the Cape in 2025 & only hit 2 batters.
Posted on 7/2/26 at 9:51 am to wahoocs
quote:
Honestly, love your passion and effort. Thx
It’s kind of dark, but I’ve found myself thinking to myself about how much less I would “know” about LSU baseball if Project didn’t exist
Posted on 7/2/26 at 10:18 am to Lester Earl
quote:
He pitched 25ip in the Cape in 2025 & only hit 2 batters.
So sounds like his hit batter issue this season was probably more due to trying to add a pitch that wasn't all that effective overall than losing control of fastball too often
Posted on 7/2/26 at 10:25 am to LSU=Champions
quote:
It’s kind of dark, but I’ve found myself thinking to myself about how much less I would “know” about LSU baseball if Project didn’t exist
If only I could turn that into a marketable skill that people would pay for.
Posted on 7/2/26 at 10:37 am to thunderbird1100
quote:
So sounds like his hit batter issue this season was probably more due to trying to add a pitch that wasn't all that effective overall than losing control of fastball too often
This is from the fall scouting report on USF from D1 Baseball last fall:
quote:
Smith made 14 relief appearances for TCU last year (5.25 ERA). He has a good breaking ball and throws hard (94-95). But if Smith doesn’t improve his fastball command, he will end up in the bullpen, according to Hannahs.
I saw a tweet that says he has feel for spin but needs to work on fastball control. He's been up to 97 at points now. So there is stuff there. Maybe he can have a Grant Fontenot turnaround?
Posted on 7/2/26 at 10:46 am to thunderbird1100
quote:
So sounds like his hit batter issue this season was probably more due to trying to add a pitch that wasn't all that effective overall than losing control of fastball too often
Or maybe he saw an uptick in fastball velo that he hadn't quite learned how to wrangle in.
Posted on 7/2/26 at 12:01 pm to DRock88
He had 3 balks in 4ip in the last game of the year vs Wichita st. Sounds like buddy had an eventful season.
Posted on 7/2/26 at 12:22 pm to Lester Earl
As usual a lot of fans still question JJ and staffs evals of talent.Do y’all know coaches plan for him ,maybe they plan on him in the future not immediately.Now before you say we need them now,you still have to look to the future at a program like LSU and JJ knows what he is doing.The man has 2 trophy’s in 5 years.
Posted on 7/2/26 at 1:10 pm to RGT
It’s been like 5 years and fans still don’t understand the transfer portal & roster building.
This guys floor is an innings burner. But if they can harness his stuff, could he used in leverage spots. He was acquired to take the role of the same type of player that was lost.
This guys floor is an innings burner. But if they can harness his stuff, could he used in leverage spots. He was acquired to take the role of the same type of player that was lost.
Posted on 7/2/26 at 1:14 pm to thunderbird1100
quote:
So sounds like his hit batter issue this season was probably more due to trying to add a pitch that wasn't all that effective overall than losing control of fastball too often
From everything I’m reading about him is the opposite. He doesn’t have great command of his fastball but has an ability to spin the ball with swing and miss off-speed pitches.
The hope would be Yeskie and staff are able to help him command the FB more and he could be a dominant force. Has me curious but there’s a lot of room for development.
Posted on 7/2/26 at 2:02 pm to IM_4_LSU
Off topic but Braylon Montgomery from Walker flipped from Oklahoma to Florida
Wonder why we never pursued
Wonder why we never pursued
Posted on 7/2/26 at 2:16 pm to AlecRock23
Following Todd Butler I would assume
Posted on 7/2/26 at 3:51 pm to N2daWild
Not sure but Would be a nice guy to land out of the portal in a year or 2
Posted on 7/2/26 at 5:37 pm to IM_4_LSU
This is why I feel like he reminds me of a more electric Gavin Guidry. We all know about Guidry's off speed stuff but he never really could establish his fastball more than here and there. I think it's very similar to Cowan, when he struggled. Cowan could live by the off speed stuff mostly, but could never keep them honest with the heater so he would get hit around sometimes. Smith has a much more electric heater than both Guidry and Cowan, with seemingly good off speed to complement it. If he gets the fastball dialed in, you have a pretty damn good pitcher. I'd take a Guidry/Cowan arsenal with a plus fastball any day of the week.
Posted on 7/2/26 at 6:11 pm to DRock88
This will sound like a loaded question but I am genuinely asking….what is Yeskie known for being good at? He gets a lot of criticism for a guy who has been pitching coach or a couple national champions. Seems unlikely to just luck into that.
Posted on 7/2/26 at 6:22 pm to Lester Earl
quote:Exactly. Not to shite on the kid at all, but i'd rather Smith than say Dylan Thompson. 97 with a breaking ball that falls off the face of the earth can win you championships.
This guys floor is an innings burner. But if they can harness his stuff, could he used in leverage spots. He was acquired to take the role of the same type of player that was lost.
87 with command can win you a Tuesday game in March.
That's the kind of decision you're making at this point in the portal season and for the money being spent on the player. Kid with unrealized potential or a kid that's peaked and won't meaningfully help you win any conference games (ignoring second order effects of midweek pitcher usage - maybe unfairly. Even though we've kind of established that doesn't exist for a school like LSU in modern CBB) IMO, it's an easy choice.
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