For the first time in 22 months, LSU baseball will take on a Southeastern Conference opponent this weekend, a three-game series with Mississippi State. After 18 non-conference games, here are four big questions the Tigers need to find answers to with SEC play right around the corner.
Is the bullpen back on track?
LSU’s bullpen struggles are no secret. The group has surrendered multiple late inning leads and made games closer than they should have been. In LSU’s last four games, relievers have allowed 24 runs on 23 hits. Eight relievers tout an earned run average above five.
Coach Paul Mainieri said Monday that he wasn’t panicking just yet, but that there was, “a little bit of cause for concern” with some pitchers.
“The positive of course is that our starting pitching is so outstanding,” he said. “We just have to sprinkle a little magic dust on those guys down there and hopefully it’ll get better for us.”
There are a couple of bright spots, however. Mainieri said Thursday that he’s been pleased with how Devin Fontenot has pitched, calling his last two outings on Saturday and Tuesday his best of the season.
“The last two outings really gave me hope,” he said.
He was also bullish on Garrett Edwards, who has pitched several ninth innings in recent games and collected two saves out of three opportunities last week. When asked who would pitch those late game situations moving forward, Mainieri said those two will take on that role.
“For right now, I think we’re going to use him (Edwards) at the end of the game and I like Fontenot in the eighth inning,” he said. “It could change… as far as a matchup or who’s available. Sometimes a save situation is in the eighth inning. It’s good to know we can feel better about counting on Devin and Garrett.”
Both Edwards and Fontenot have only allowed one run each over their last five appearances. With the late inning arms trending up and the starting rotation among the most dominant in the conference, the middle relievers will need to be relied on as the quality of opposing lineups gets better to smoothly transition from the starters to Fontenot and Edwards.
Is there a catcher competition?
Along with Cade Doughty, Hayden Travinski has been LSU’s hottest hitter over the past week. Travinski is hitting .438 on the season, including three hits, two home runs and six RBIs over his last two games.
Nursing an elbow injury he sustained prior to the season, Travinski has only been able to hit. Tuesday was his first start behind the plate, the day after he was given the green light to start catching and throwing. Mainieri likes what he saw from him defensively Tuesday, highlighting when he threw out a runner going for second base.
Mainieri provided no tell as to who, if anybody, has the leg up in the competition at the position. He cited several different factors that would play into whether it’s Travinski or Alex Milazzo behind the plate.
“It might be on a given day depending on who we’re facing,” Mainieri said. “What the climate conditions are… the style of play of the opponent, the kind of pitcher we’re facing… whether or not we want to emphasize defense or offense on a given day… how our pitchers feel throwing to certain catchers is another factor.
Milazzo, batting .162, has not been challenged for the starting gig up to this point. Jake Wyeth has served strictly as a backup who occasionally gives Milazzo a day off. Travinski’s emergence offensively has brought something new to the position group, one that may challenge Milazzo for his place in the lineup.
“Travinski has certainly thrown himself into the mix,” Mainieri said. “It’s apparent Travinski brings an element to the catching position offensively that we haven’t had.”
Who plays center field?
Mainieri’s toughest decision may come in center field, a position where three different players have started games this season.
Giovanni DiGiacomo, the opening day starter, returned this week from a pulled hamstring that occurred in February. Brody Drost and Mitchell Sanford have made a handful of starts in his absence, with Drost taking it early on but Sanford taking over when Drost began to struggle at the plate.
“The book got out on him,” Mainieri said, describing the freshman’s dip in production.
Sanford is hitting .364 with one home run and three RBIs in his last three games, including Tuesday where DiGiacomo made his return when he took over for Sanford in center field as a defensive replacement. Although ready to suit up, Mainieri says DiGiacomo isn’t available in a full-time role quite yet.
“I can utilize him in other ways than just starting him in center field,” Mainieri said.
As DiGiacomo progresses, Sanford will get the start in center field this weekend against Mississippi State.
“Mitchell will be in there tomorrow night,” Mainieri said Thursday. “He’s the best against left-handed pitching.”
Can Cade Beloso get out of his slump?
The junior designated hitter has been experiencing a slump in recent games. In the three game series against UTSA and Tuesday’s win over Southeastern, Beloso has a combined three hits in 18 at bats. As a result, he was dropped from his usual spot in the batting order, fourth, to seventh with Gavin Dugas, Sanford and Travinski moved ahead of him.
Beloso is still making solid contact. He frequently hits balls with an exit velocity tracked at over 100 miles per hour. Unfortunately for him, his batted balls are all too often directly at a defender.
Fontenot, another veteran with recent struggles, was removed from his ninth inning closer role to a more friendly early inning, low leverage situation reliever. Mainieri made the change to get Fontenot his confidence back, and it’s seemingly worked for him. Mainieri is likely anticipating a similar resurgence in Beloso, one of only two hitters regularly in the lineup who has faced SEC pitching in his career.
LSU baseball freshman Cade Doughty (4) congratulates his team after LSU's 7-4 victory against Indiana in Game 2 on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020 in Alex Box.
