Former LSU catcher Michael Papierski made his Major League Baseball debut last Saturday as the starting catcher for the San Francisco Giants in their game at Oracle Park against the San Diego Padres.
Papierski is now the 81st major leaguer in LSU baseball history. He was traded earlier this season from the Astros to the Giants and was a ninth-round selection by the Houston Astros in the 2017 MLB Draft.
Papierski played catcher at LSU from 2015-2017 and was an integral part in the Tigers’ run to the 2017 College World Series Finals. A product of Lemont, III., he played in 147 career games and made 114 starts for LSU.
Over the course of his career at LSU, Papierski batted .246 (84-for-342) with 17 doubles, 15 home runs, 69 RBI, 61 runs, 76 walks and a .389 on-base percentage.
He played in 65 games in 2017, batting .256 with six doubles, 11 homers, 39 RBI, 37 runs, 40 walks and a .401 on-base percentage. He also threw out 23 runners attempting to steal over the course of the season. Papierski helped lead LSU to wins in 25 of its last 30 games, batting .302 (26-for-86) with three doubles, eight homers and 26 RBI.
Papierski drove in the game-winning RBI in both of LSU’s 2017 NCAA Super Regional wins over Mississippi State. He popped up into a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning of Game 1 to break a 3-3 tie, and his two-run double in the fifth inning of Game 2 eliminated a 4-3 Mississippi State lead.
Papierski batted .281 in LSU’s 2017 NCAA Tournament games with two doubles, four homers, 13 RBI and 10 runs. He smacked three homers and accounted for five runs in the 2017 College World Series.
On Saturday, May 28, Papierski was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento. The 26-year-old Papierski spent a week with the major-league club and batted 0-for-9 with a run, a walk, and four strikeouts in five games. He will head back to Sacramento after Curt Casali was reinstated from the 7-day injury list.
Papierski is now the 23rd LSU player coached by former head coach Paul Mainieri to reach the big leagues. LSU has had at least one former player make an MLB debut in 29 of the past 32 seasons.
