For new LSU third baseman Trent Caraway, adjustments at the plate are already paying off

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Power never has been a problem for Trent Caraway.

Last June for Oregon State, he hit five home runs at the Corvallis Regional. He blasted another ball over the fence in the Beavers’ Omaha-clinching win over Florida State in the super regional.

But consistency was an issue for Caraway. He had only six homers before the postseason, and he went on an eight-game stretch with just one hit. So instead of going pro last summer, Caraway transferred to LSU.

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As LSU coach Jay Johnson and his staff already had done with several transfers — most notably Chris Stanfield last year — they went to work on making adjustments to Caraway’s offensive game once he arrived on campus.

“He has great power, hit double-digit homers last year at Oregon State,” Johnson said on the LSU Sports Insider podcast. “But can we be a better hitter without having to sell out to get to that?”

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The mechanical adjustments are simple, but Caraway already has started to see the fruits of his labor. He cranked a homer off sophomore left-hander Cooper Williams during Thursday’s scrimmage that went 112 mph off the bat.

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Caraway is expected to be a critical piece of the LSU lineup. With Ethan Frey and Jared Jones off to professional baseball, the Tigers needed to replace their power from the right-handed side. The loss of Michael Braswell also meant that LSU needed a third baseman.

Johnson is banking on Caraway as his answer for both areas. Whether Caraway can fill those holes will go a long way in determining LSU’s success.

“I believe in his tools,” Johnson said. “And there’s definitely major league teams that believe in his tools.”

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