After winning the national championship in June, LSU baseball continued its recent legacy of tremendous pro-production. Nine Tigers heard their names called in the 2025 MLB Draft, and two more inked free agent deals with MLB organizations following the draft.
Last month, Michael Braswell III inked a deal with the Kansas City Royals as a pitcher. His unique path to the pros inspires a look into what some of the other players in LSU’s pro class have been up to since winning it all last summer, and what could be expected of them in 2026.
LHP Kade Anderson
Anderson carried top-pick buzz with him throughout his sophomore season as LSU’s ace and college baseball’s best pitcher. He led LSU to its eighth national championship and was rewarded with a third overall pick by the Seattle Mariners in the draft.
The Mariners shut Anderson down after being drafted. The lack of pro seasoning and the strength of Seattle’s rotation mean he won’t go to the MLB in his first full professional season, as Paul Skenes did.
Still, he should start 2026 in the upper ranks of Seattle’s farm system. MLB Pipeline has Anderson ranked as the Mariners’ second-best prospect and the 23rd best in baseball. On Tuesday, Pipeline named him as the Minors’ third-best lefty prospect.
RHP Chase Shores
The Los Angeles Angels took a swing at getting Shores, a hard-throwing reliever who battled injury while at LSU, with the 47th overall pick. Los Angeles is hoping to harness the physical talent and develop a needed quality arm.
Similar to Anderson, the Angels shut down Shores after the draft. Because of that, it’s hard to determine what 2026 will look like for Shores, given his volatile player makeup and their record of fast-tracking young arms with promise like Ben Joyce. How Shores progresses in his first pro season will determine what level Los Angeles’s sixth-best prospect reaches in 2026.
RHP Anthony Eyanson
Eyanson was picked in the third round by the Boston Red Sox, compelled by the stuff on his breaking ball and the strength of his starting tandem with Anderson. After being drafted, he spent time in the Red Sox facility in Fort Myers before returning to California for the offseason in November.
Eyanson ranks 11th in Boston’s minor league system, behind a backlog of pitching talent. He’ll start in Double or High-A but could progress up the ranks with a strong season. Still, don’t expect him to break into the MLB until 2027 or 2028.
OF/DH Ethan Frey
Taken by Houston in the third round, Frey was immediately assigned to Single-A and mostly played in the outfield. He logged 122 plate appearances and went 33-for-100 with five doubles and three home runs. He was clean in the outfield, going errorless in 185.2 innings.
Frey is the seventh-ranked prospect in Houston’s farm system and its third-ranked outfielder. He will likely move up in 2026, but isn’t projected to debut in the MLB until 2028. That time could be cut down if the Astros consider moving Frey to first, where he played at LSU but has yet to play professionally.
INF Daniel Dickinson
Dickinson was taken by Milwaukee in the sixth round and sat out the rest of 2025 while he rehabbed a broken bone in his hand from the Baton Rouge Regional. Pipeline ranked him the Brewers’ 23rd best prospect thanks to his strong hitting and defense.
Dickinson likely slots into the lower ranks of the minors next year as he works back from injury. He will play the middle infield, but will likely call second base home.
INF Jared Jones
When Jones fell to the ninth round of the draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates felt they had a steal when they took the power-hitting infielder. Jones was assigned to High-A Greensboro and went 8-for-50 in 15 games, but slugged four home runs.
It’ll be interesting to see how he adjusts in a full year of pro ball. Currently ranked 27th in Pittsburgh’s system, he’ll likely need to prove he can hit for average in High-A before getting promoted.
3B Michael Braswell III
Last month, infielder Braswell signed a deal to join the Kansas City Royals organization. In an interesting wrinkle, he was signed as a pitcher.
Braswell made seven appearances at South Carolina in his freshman season. Still, the move came as a surprise when the then-free agent posted videos on Instagram of him throwing bullpen sessions towards the end of 2025. It succeeded at generating attention, and now Braswell will continue to chase his MLB dream on the mound.
He will likely start in Single-A as a proof of concept before making any upward moves, but his pitching career will certainly be worth keeping tabs on.
