If you’re only a half-hearted follower of the No. 7 LSU baseball team, it’s unlikely you’ll recognize many players who trot out onto Skip Bertman Field this weekend.
The Tigers lost eight position starters from last season’s 54-win squad, seven of which were selected in the 2015 MLB draft, including the No. 2 overall pick and five more in the first 10 rounds.
Junior center fielder Jake Fraley returns after starting 56 games last season, when he averaged .307 at the plate with 35 RBIs and 50 runs. There’s not a single senior position player on the team, and opening night’s projected starters include two freshmen and three sophomores.
Junior second baseman Kramer Robertson and Fraley enter the season as the Tigers’ the most experienced starters in the field.
Joining Fraley in the outfield are sophomore left fielder Beau Jordan and freshman right fielder Antoine Duplantis, who should be a terror on the bases and cover plenty of field.
Meanwhile, sophomore catcher Michael Papierski, sophomore first baseman Greg Deichmann, freshman shortstop Trey Dawson and junior JUCO transfer Cole Freeman accompany Robertson in the infield.
Another sophomore, Bryce Jordan, will bat at designated hitter.
With that said, the Tigers will probably spend the first half of the season trying to jell on offense and get to a point where they can consistently make plays behind the pitcher.
But luckily for Mainieri, the 2016 LSU team lines up perfectly with the oldest cliche in the scroll: what it lacks in returning position players, it makes up for with guys who have powerful and highly precise cannons for arms on the mound.
I’ll be the first person to say baseball sucks, but even I can’t deny it’ll be fun to watch this team pitch.
Returning as the Friday starter is junior pitcher Jared Poche after a 9-2 season with a 3.05 ERA. The lefty should be one of the top pitchers in the conference — Baseball America has him listed as the No. 34 draft prospect in the nation.
But the clearest demonstration of the staff’s strength lies in the fact that the reigning National Freshman Pitcher of the Year and First-Team All-American is second in the rotation.
While you’d have to be clinically insane to think sophomore right-handed pitcher Alex Lange will match his 12-0 mark with a 1.97 ERA, there’s no doubt he will put up another All-American caliber season.
The third starter is still up in the air. Mainieri is going with transfer senior lefty John Valek III this Sunday, but sophomore right-handed pitcher Austin Bain and junior JUCO transfer Riley Smith, a right-handed pitcher, will battle for the permanent spot with him.
The bullpen, comprised of familiar names, isn’t great, but it’s serviceable. In fact, sophomore righty Jesse Stallings was named to the initial Stopper of the Year Watch List after finishing second in the Southeastern Conference with 12 saves last season.
What I’m getting at is it’s not a question if there will be growing pains along the way, but the pitching staff should be able to put the team on its back while the youngsters work out their diaper rash.
It’s unreasonable for LSU fans to expect another 50-win season, but it’s hard to imagine the young talent won’t catch on and complement the pitching in time to make things interesting when the postseason rolls around.
Jacob Hamilton is a 21-year-old political science junior from Slidell, Louisiana. You can reach him on Twitter @

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Javier Fernández

LSU freshman pitcher Alex Lange (35) takes a breath at the bottom of the first inning during the Tigers' 5-3 victory against Cal State Fullerton in the NCAA Men's College World Series on Tuesday, June 16, 2015 at the TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha.