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Message
re: We’re learning.. recruits not portal
Posted on 4/26/26 at 9:38 pm to Mats86
Posted on 4/26/26 at 9:38 pm to Mats86
quote:
And you don’t really pass on guys like Dickinson to make the redshirt freshman happy unless they are of equal or greater talent.
Dickinson is kind of a unicorn. Never lost the walk-on mentality despite being an actual prospect after his freshman year at UVU.
Fun fact, he was a freshman in the WAC the same year as Wehiwa Aloy at Sac St and current UGA 2B/OF Ryan Black at UTA. I liked the three because they were middle infielders starting as freshmen and performing. All of them made their way to the SEC and two of them contributed to our championship last year.
1
Posted on 4/26/26 at 9:42 pm to ProjectP2294
quote:
were middle infielders starting as freshmen and performing. All of them made their way to the SEC and two of them contributed to our championship last year.
true
Posted on 4/26/26 at 9:58 pm to maturetiger
I meam you need both.
Anderson and Eyanson
Crews and Skenes
etc etc
Anderson and Eyanson
Crews and Skenes
etc etc
Posted on 4/26/26 at 10:11 pm to Penrod
quote:
I think we are drawing bad conclusions from one bad crop of portal players. We need the portal; we just need to do a better job of scouting and recruiting them.
100% this. The only thing I think he should change up a bit is not going to the small schools for hitters. Pitchers are fine because if a guy has good stuff that will typically play no matter where hes pitching.
But hitters from small schools is always a crap shoot. Are they good because they may only face 1 quality starter a week? Or will they be productive against SEC pitching as well. I just feel like taking hitters from the power 4 conferences is a much safer route.
Posted on 4/26/26 at 10:16 pm to Tigerfan5523
No one's talking about what he did last year. 2025 wasn't a problem for us. We won the CWS and didn't need him.
This year, he's starting regularly and hitting .355 with 7 HRs and 14 doubles. If he was on this team, he'd be starting AND our leading hitter.
I don't know how much he's catching this year or how that's going, but he'd basically be a replacement for Ethan Frey on this year's team, as a DH if nothing else.
We could easily find a rotation between Catcher, 1st Base, and DH between Bide, Serna, and Neal.
I would bet that having Neal in the lineup rather than Yorke this year alone would give us 3-5 more wins. I'd bet that having Mikey Ryan in the lineup at 2B this year would've led to another 3-5 more wins.
This year, he's starting regularly and hitting .355 with 7 HRs and 14 doubles. If he was on this team, he'd be starting AND our leading hitter.
I don't know how much he's catching this year or how that's going, but he'd basically be a replacement for Ethan Frey on this year's team, as a DH if nothing else.
We could easily find a rotation between Catcher, 1st Base, and DH between Bide, Serna, and Neal.
I would bet that having Neal in the lineup rather than Yorke this year alone would give us 3-5 more wins. I'd bet that having Mikey Ryan in the lineup at 2B this year would've led to another 3-5 more wins.
Posted on 4/26/26 at 10:20 pm to 304tiger
quote:
No one's talking about what he did last year. 2025 wasn't a problem for us. We won the CWS and didn't need him.
It's a moot point for that very reason. He wouldn't have stayed to be effective this season because he wouldn't have gotten playing time last season.
Posted on 4/27/26 at 6:57 am to 304tiger
quote:
Mikey Ryan, Costello, Holt, and Neal (2 years out but still).
All those guys were doing well last I checked.
Mikey Ryan - was not going to start at Shortstop this year at LSU, which is why he left. Had he stayed, there is a good possibility he would have been the starting second baseman. I do wish he had stayed.
Costello - OF/1B/DH - He was not going to see much playing time before now if he had stayed. He may have displaced Braun early on, and we would not have seen the quick development there, so I think that is a net win for LSU on that front. He is only hitting .274 but does have 14 home runs, though I am not sure how that would translate to the Box. His home field is small, 320 to left, 325 to right, 365 to the power alleys, and 385 dead center field. That's a more favorable park than Tennessee's.
Holt - who is this?
Neal - would have probably started if he stayed. I do not think Jay wanted him to leave. Serna would not have seen so much playing time.
Posted on 4/27/26 at 7:30 am to mdomingue
quote:
Holt - who is this?
Brennan Holt, from Parkview. Left here about 4 years ago went to a different school each year and settled at Alabama for his 5th or 6th year in school. Of all the bullshite guys to bring up, he’s the most bullshite. Because he was garbage here and if he has stuck around he’d be out of eligibility already. Kind of like people bitching about us not keeping Mitchell Sanford because he had an okay year at Ole Miss when he was in his 6th year.
Posted on 4/27/26 at 7:31 am to lsu711
quote:
They tried to retool Simpson’s swing and it didn’t work. He came in a productive college hitter. Run him out there and see if it’ll work in the SEC. That’s what UGA does. I think frustration on both sides has led to what’s become of Simpson’s year with LSU.
Any idea what they did to his swing? Why mess with something that has worked?
Posted on 4/27/26 at 8:09 am to ProjectP2294
quote:
Brennan Holt, from Parkview. Left here about 4 years ago went to a different school each year and settled at Alabama for his 5th or 6th year in school. Of all the bullshite guys to bring up, he’s the most bullshite. Because he was garbage here and if he has stuck around he’d be out of eligibility already. Kind of like people bitching about us not keeping Mitchell Sanford because he had an okay year at Ole Miss when he was in his 6th year.
I wondered if that was who he meant. I honestly did not realize he was still playing.
For me, pretty much all the guys worth griping about were not "processed" but left because they did not get guaranteed playing time. And one of those, Brady Neal, was a guy who so many here dogged constantly, kind of like they do now with Arrambide.
Some guys left that I wish had stayed since Johnson has been here. Kling, Larson, Ryan, and Neal, to name a few. But that will always be the case in the current environment in college athletics if you have very good rosters. This season was a perfect storm for a bad overall performance by the LSU baseball team.
Posted on 4/27/26 at 8:12 am to 304tiger
quote:
Neal
He was given every chance and it never clicked here. He wasn’t going to catch last year.
Posted on 4/27/26 at 8:16 am to 304tiger
quote:
I would bet that having Neal in the lineup rather than Yorke this year alone would give us 3-5 more wins. I'd bet that having Mikey Ryan in the lineup at 2B this year would've led to another 3-5 more wins.
People keep bringing up Yorke as if he’s played lol. He hasn’t started in any of our last 3 weekends and we haven’t won a game. We were 6-6 with Yorke so I highly doubt changing him out for Neal would have made us 9-3 or 11-1. But also having Neal takes away Arrambide, Serna, or Braun for the lineup. Would have been a major difference? Not really. Those are our top hitters in SEC play.
Posted on 4/27/26 at 8:26 am to maturetiger
It takes both. Pitching should translate well from the portal. Hitting is less certain. The base should be high school recruits but when you win a NC, and your roster gets decimated, you can’t just play a bunch of freshman.
Posted on 4/27/26 at 8:27 am to maturetiger
There's no singular strategy. Just because things have been bad this season does not mean a heavy portal class can't win big next year. Last year 3 of LSU's starting 5 infielders were transfers (Braswell, Dickinson, Hernandez), as was a starting outfielder (Stanfield). LSU essentially relied on 5 pitchers last year. Two were transfers (Eyanson and Cowan).
If LSU went with a heavy HS recruiting class only people would be bitching if the team struggled while those guys developed screaming why didn't Jay sign any immediately ready transfers.
When you go 17-55 in SEC play you don't get the benefit of the doubt after one really bad season. When you win two NCs in your 4 years you do. This year sucks. But it doesn't mean you have to totally revamp for plan that has, for the most part, been very successful over the course of 4 years.
If LSU went with a heavy HS recruiting class only people would be bitching if the team struggled while those guys developed screaming why didn't Jay sign any immediately ready transfers.
When you go 17-55 in SEC play you don't get the benefit of the doubt after one really bad season. When you win two NCs in your 4 years you do. This year sucks. But it doesn't mean you have to totally revamp for plan that has, for the most part, been very successful over the course of 4 years.
Posted on 4/27/26 at 8:31 am to maturetiger
Why not both? I mean, you have guys like Cooper, Skenes, White, etc. that all came over in the portal. There just needs to be a better evaluation of talent and hopefully it transfers to the field.
Posted on 4/27/26 at 8:41 am to maturetiger
I think a lot of people are overreacting to the portal haul this year and forgetting just how good the portal has been to us most years.
Posted on 4/27/26 at 8:55 am to vidtiger23
quote:
People keep bringing up Yorke as if he’s played lol. He hasn’t started in any of our last 3 weekends and we haven’t won a game. We were 6-6 with Yorke so I highly doubt changing him out for Neal would have made us 9-3 or 11-1. But also having Neal takes away Arrambide, Serna, or Braun for the lineup. Would have been a major difference? Not really. Those are our top hitters in SEC play.
When I talked about having Neal in the lineup instead of Yorke, I meant it would've lead to 3-5 more wins for the whole season...not just the last few weeks.
As for how Neal could've coestisted with Bide, Serna, and Braun, I think moving Serna to 1B and letting Bide and Neal rotate between Catcher and DH could've worked. None of them are particularly good defensive Catchers.
Braun would've had to make his mark in the corner outfield most likely. He's been hot lately, but even after a great stretch, it just now brought him up to .305 with 3 HRs while Neal's at .355 with 7 HRs.
Posted on 4/27/26 at 8:56 am to 304tiger
quote:
As for how Neal could've coestisted with Bide, Serna, and Braun, I think moving Serna to 1B and letting Bide and Neal rotate between Catcher and DH could've worked.
Neal sucked as a catcher here and directly contributed to losses through his laziness behind the plate. You're suggesting we'd be better with him catching here when he already proved he couldn't do it and isn't even catching for the team he plays for now.
quote:
Braun would've had to make his mark in the corner outfield most likely. He's been hot lately, but even after a great stretch, it just now brought him up to .305 with 3 HRs while Neal's at .355 with 7 HRs.
And Braun is a freshman while Neal is in his 4th year in college.
This post was edited on 4/27/26 at 8:58 am
Posted on 4/27/26 at 9:01 am to 304tiger
quote:
When I talked about having Neal in the lineup instead of Yorke, I meant it would've lead to 3-5 more wins for the whole season...not just the last few weeks. As for how Neal could've coestisted with Bide, Serna, and Braun, I think moving Serna to 1B and letting Bide and Neal rotate between Catcher and DH could've worked. None of them are particularly good defensive Catchers.
I see. That I could get behind. I thought you meant SEC wins in particular in which I wasn’t sure about that.
Posted on 4/27/26 at 9:04 am to ProjectP2294
quote:
And Braun is a freshman while Neal is in his 4th year in college.
That's like saying Kiffin should start Longstreet over Leavitt since he's a Freshman and Leavitt's in year 4.
I've got nothing against Braun. He's been good here, but production is production. It's not like Braun hasn't had slumps when we could've used his bat.
Neal wasn't great while here and probably never would've stuck around anyway, but having him in the 2026 lineup over others that have sucked would probably change our record and outlook a bit.
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