An unfamiliar sound echoed around Alex Box Stadium on Monday afternoon as the normal ping of a metal bat was replaced by the crisp crack of a wooden bat.
The man wielding the lumber, however, was about as familiar as they come at the stadium, and looked right at home taking batting practice along with his former teammates.
Former LSU standout Mikie Mahtook took cut after cut in the batting cage wearing a gray Tampa Bay Rays shirt and gym shorts, looking every bit the lithe athlete that led the Tigers in 10 offensive categories last season.
Mahtook was in Baton Rouge while waiting for his first official pro baseball camp to start after the Rays selected him in the first round of last June’s MLB draft.
“I was just trying to get my swing back and get in a rhythm,” Mahtook said.
Mahtook left for the Rays’ spring training complex in Port Charlotte, Fla., on Tuesday. He was using the facilities in Baton Rouge to prepare because he hadn’t swung a bat since participating in the Arizona Fall League, a showcase for top prospects.
He didn’t disappoint the Rays in his time out West.
Because Mahtook waited until the 11th hour to sign with the Rays, he didn’t play in the rookie league reserved for draft picks, making the Arizona Fall League his first professional experience.
“I was kind of surprised when they sent me out there — it was an honor for them to send me out there with the other prospects,” Mahtook said. “I feel like I played pretty well and hopefully I can take that momentum into spring training.”
In 18 games, Mahtook hit .338 with three home runs and 14 RBIs.
His batting average was five points higher than the Washington Nationals’ Bryce Harper, widely considered MLB’s best prospect, and his play earned him an invitation to play in the rising stars game.
It was almost like Mahtook never left.
He shared the batting cage with senior utility man Grant Dozar, and chided him good-naturedly when he didn’t help pick up the balls they’d hit to the outfield grass.
Mahtook has even been a regular at LSU home games, sitting right behind LSU’s dugout — an unusual perspective for him.
“It was the first time I ever sat in the stands at the new stadium,” Mahtook said. “It was a little weird. … It was hard to watch them and not be playing.”
Junior first baseman Mason Katz, who took Mahtook’s No. 8 uniform at his suggestion, called Mahtook one of his closest friends and best coaches.
“It’s been awesome, he’s been helping me all year. He’s been just like a coach to me,” Katz said. “I’ll believe what he says, he hit so well here that I’m going to take his advice every time.”
Katz said Mahtook’s departure was “depressing” but for the former All-American, it’s on to bigger and better things.
“I’m looking forward to starting my pro career, this is really just the beginning of it,” Mahtook said. “It’s going to be a grind … but it’s going to be fun.”
 
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Contact Luke Johnson at [email protected].