LSU just completed its fall training to prepare for the 2023 season with a lot of expectations.
LSU Head Coach Jay Johnson will be in his second year as the skipper for the Tigers. With star players Tre Morgan and Dylan Crews returning and a slew of transfers coming in, expectations have never been higher in Baton Rouge as LSU is looking for a chance to return to Omaha for the first time since 2017, where the Tigers lost to conference rivals Florida in the College World Series final.
However, Johnson is reminding the team that they will have to stay focused as much as possible because it takes a team to play well together to meet their goals, not its individual talent.
“One of my biggest jobs with this generation is understanding the difference between substance and image, or hype and reality,” Johnson said. “It’s about the play. Baseball is a unique sport, where it’s not the team with the best players; it’s the team that plays the best that day.”
With that being said, here are some of the things that happened during the fall and how that could translate in the spring.
The pitching staff has gotten stronger and gained depth
After having problems with depth last season, LSU’s pitching staff is at its strongest since 2017, the last time they went to the College World Series in Omaha. LSU returns starter Ty Floyd and relief pitchers Sam Dutton, Riley Cooper, Grant Taylor and Bryce Collins. The Tigers also return Blake Money and Javen Coleman in the pitching rotation as well.
The one thing that affected LSU last year was that the Tigers did not have a true starting lineup, and it was evident against Southern Miss in last year’s Hattiesburg regional in the NCAA Tournament. However, Johnson hit the transfer portal hard.
Johnson brought in pitchers Paul Skenes, Thatcher Hurd and Christian Little through the transfer portal.
Skenes, the 2022 Mountain West Pitcher of the Year and 2021 Mountain West Freshman of the Year, is an All-American caliber pitcher who was used as an utility player due to his batting prowess while he was at the Air Force Academy. Skenes had a 10-3 win-loss record and a 2.73 ERA.
Hurd transferred in from UCLA, which has been one of the best college baseball programs in the last decade and has developed many current MLB players such as Gerrit Cole and Brandon Crawford. Hurd made nine appearances, including six starts, as a true freshman. Hurd had a 2-0 record, 1.06 ERA, and a .138 batting average over 34 innings while pitching for the Bruins.
Little, who transferred to LSU after being at Vanderbilt for the last two seasons, is one of the most promising pitchers in the SEC. He will be a key piece as a relief pitcher for LSU this upcoming season.
True freshman right-handed pitcher Chase Shores and left-handed pitcher Griffin Herring could see some action as well.
LSU star first baseman Tre Morgan was very complimentary of his new teammate Skenes as well as Taylor, who Morgan said was giving him quite the bit of trouble when ever Taylor was on the mound.
“Skenes is ridiculous. Going up there, he’s got that 99 mile per hour fastball and 70 mile per hour curveball. It’s crazy,” Morgan said. “But Grant Taylor with it on his mind this year. He looks way different. You can just see the changes that he’s made to his body. You feel it in the box — that fastball feels really heavy. He’s the only pitcher this fall that I didn’t get a hit off of.”
The 2022 freshman class looks promising
LSU is bringing in the No.1 recruiting class in the country and some of them look like they can play right away.
Outfielder Paxton Kling, who was the No. 14 overall prospect in the class of 2022, has been impressive all fall. Kling has hit six home runs and recorded 15 runs batted in, while batting an average of .269. He also had the second most extra base hits on the team with 11 during fall ball. He started all four of LSU’s exhibition games against McNeese and Louisiana-Lafayette.
Gavin Guidry also performed well. Guidry, the No.1 player from the state of Louisiana, recorded two home runs, 10 RBIs and a batting average of .259. He started all four exhibition games as well.
Another freshman who performed really well this fall was outfielder Zeb Ruddell. Although he might not play for a good bit of the season due to the depth of LSU’s outfield, Ruddell’s play this fall will definitely give LSU fans a glimpse of what the future can be. Ruddell had a batting average of .264 along with five home runs and 13 RBIs.
Pitcher Chase Shores will get plenty of experience as a true freshman. Shores, who was the No.1 right-handed pitcher from the state of Texas, recorded a 2.12 earned run average, which was the second best on the team this fall. 
“Chase Shores is the most-ready to make a significant impact. We were very fortunate that we were able to get him from the MLB baseball draft, and the talent is easy to see, but the poise and mound presence and confidence is very advanced for a player of that age,” Johnson said.
Left-handed pitcher Griffin Herring will see some time this season as well. Although he went through some growing pains during the fall, Johnson was very complimentary of Herring and expects big things from him in the future.
“We think Griffin Herring is going to be a really good left-hander. We’re trying to add more and his fastball is up to 93, kind of surprisingly, and has a really good breaking ball.”
Transfers Were Impressive During Fall
Skenes was everything that Tiger fans had hoped for this fall. Skenes had an earned run average of 3.45 and struck out 26 batters while hitting five home runs and nine RBIs with a batting average of .216.
Third baseman Tommy White also had an excellent fall. White, who was named a Freshman All-American last season for North Carolina State, hit seven home runs and 15 extra base hits. White also recorded 15 RBIs and a batting average of .354.
Although he was a designated hitter for North Carolina State last season, White will play in the infield at third base for the Tigers. However, White isn’t uncomfortable playing in the infield.
“I’ve played third base my entire life, so it was kind of hard to not play last year at NC State,” White said. “I just needed that confidence boost back. I’ve been over there [at third] every single day in the fall. It’s just as comfortable as it was in high school, so I have confidence back over there and am really excited.”