With a roster full of talented position players, Smoke Laval has finally found a way to play everybody he wants.
With five outfielders — Ryan Patterson, Quinn Stewart, J.C. Holt, Bruce Sprowl and Jon Zeringue — capable of being every day players and Laval also wanting to find a spot for slugger Will Harris, Laval has come up with a formula he hopes will be successful for LSU.
Against left-handed pitching, Laval will play right-handed hitters Patterson, Sprowl and Zeringue in the outfield while Stewart will fill the designated hitter role, and Will Harris will play first base.
This move sits the left-handed hitting Holt, whose batting average has plummeted to .246 after he hit a sparkling .346 as a freshman in 2002 in the lead-off spot.
Third baseman Ivan Naccarata, who hits from the left side as well, also will take a seat against southpaws as his batting average has fallen to .287 after he spent the majority of the season hitting over .300.
With Naccarata on the bench, Clay Harris moves from first base to third base while his brother Will shifts to first.
The move seems to be a smart one.
Naccarata, a native Canadian, has hit just .158 in his last 10 games, while Holt has hit .125.
Both have struggled against left-handed pitching. Naccarata hits .200 against lefties compared to .380 against right-handers. Holt hits just .240 against left-handers and .260 against right-handers.
Stewart and Harris, the two right handed hitters moved into the lineup against left handers, have produced well in this situation. Stewart hits .292 against left-handers and Harris .318.
In contrast, against right-handed pitching, Stewart hits .261 and Harris has hit .150 in 20 at-bats.
Against right handed pitching, Naccarata and Holt will be back in the lineup, and Patterson will be the designated hitter.
“Right now, Naccarata is struggling,” Laval said. “He’s dropped considerably, especially against left handed pitching. Will’s alright. His numbers are down, but the lefties that he’s played against are quality left handers. I got to believe Naccarata and Holt will hit. While you’re waiting these other guys are doing a pretty good job.”
Laval, who unveiled the lefty lineup against Vanderbilt on Sunday, is likely to break it out again this weekend against Tennessee, who boasts two left-handers in its starting rotation.
However, Laval said he has to be careful about substituting for the lefty-righty matchups in games. If he pulls either Naccarata and Holt or Harris and Stewart off the bench, he is down to three hitters who have had a combined 15 at-bats.
With a team devastated by injuries, including position players Eric Wiethorn, Dustin Weaver and Matt Horwath all out for the remainder of the season, Laval would be down to catchers Ty Jensen, Shawn French and outfielder Rhett Buteau.
“If somebody gets hurt, I might have to put a pitcher in there,” Laval said. “Are we banged up or what? I never thought of that.”