The LSU baseball team is currently ranked No. 2 in the country and appears to be on the path to the program’s 17th College World Series appearance.
But the Tigers haven’t yet played at their full potential this season.
They’ve played all year with question marks — be it third base, second base, left field, in the bullpen or even the starters.
On the mound, the preseason narrative revolved around the youthfulness of both the starting staff and bullpen. I don’t get many chances to do this, but so far so good for my “Don’t worry about the young pitchers” prediction on Opening Day.
Sophomore Jared Poche’ and freshman Alex Lange are a combined 12-1. Better than that, the pair has left the mound with the lead in 15 of their 17 starts. I’m sure coach Paul Mainieri would like to see the pair be 17-0, but he has to be happy with his top two starters being able to give the lead to the bullpen in more than 88 percent of their starts.
Freshman Jake Godfrey struggled with command and pitched at least six innings once this year, but the Tigers haven’t suffered for it and are 8-1 in his starts.
Last weekend, fellow freshman Austin Bain replaced Godfrey in the weekend staff and took the loss last Saturday while filling in for Lange, who was scratched with arm tightness. The jury is still out on Bain, so the Sunday starter is in question.
Regardless of whether Bain can handle the Sunday starts, the Tigers’ bullpen has enough capable arms to carry the Tigers an inning or two at a time if need be.
Sophomore Hunter Newman has yet to allow an earned run in 12 appearances. Bain, Parker Bugg, Doug Norman, Zac Person and Russell Reynolds all have double-digit appearances and a sub-4.00 ERA. Add in freshman closer Jesse Stallings’ Southeastern Conference-leading 11 saves, and the Tigers might have the strongest bullpen in college baseball when it was a point of concern just two weeks ago.
The lineup has performed much the same way.
Once-glaring weaknesses at second and third base are now filled with more-than-competent seniors Jared Foster and Conner Hale. Foster is top-five in the SEC in home runs, while Hale is hitting .317 with 30 RBIs.
The preseason strengths have been just that.
Junior shortstop Alex Bregman is doing things everyone has come to know he’s capable of in the field and at the plate. Senior catcher Kade Scivicque and junior first baseman Chris Chinea are not only hitting for power, but also for average this season. The outfield is performing on par with expectations.
Even with all the success and consistent top-5 ranking this year, LSU hasn’t put together a dominant weekend yet in SEC play. The Tigers have won four of their five conference series, dropping two out of three against Kentucky predominantly because of pure bad luck.
There’s still plenty of time left for LSU to put it all together and fully hit its stride before the conference tournament and the ensuing NCAA regionals.
And if I was Mainieri, that’s exactly how I would want it.
Brian Pellerin is a 21-year-old mass communication junior from Kenner, Louisiana. You can reach him on Twitter @Pellerin_TDR.