- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,152,793
- Reaction score
- 59
With their loss in the SEC tournament, the baseball season is now over for the LSU Tigers. They finished 30-28 on the year overall and 9-21 in conference play. Head coach Jay Johnson is going to do everything in his power to make sure that this doesn't happen again.
Johnson admitted to making mistakes in roster construction before the season and it led to the Tigers being unprepared in certain areas this year. They are going to take a long look at what they have before making any more additions in the portal.
Here is a quick look at the most glaring needs they have heading into the offseason:
On the surface, there are a lot of positives about the state of the pitching staff going into next season. It was a really young group this year, so a lot of people will be returning.
Their top two innings-leaders will return in William Schmidt and Casan Evans. Cooper Moore was off to a great start before his injury and he should be back. Those are the three starting pitchers at then beginning of the season and they could return if they so choose. The problem is, will that be enough? The pitching this season was brutal and could need a breath of fresh air.
They will certainly need to retool their bullpen, as they had almost no reliable relievers. Gavin Guidry might be back, but he could also declare for the draft if he hears some buzz there. There are some exciting young names in the LSU pen, but they'll need more than just them to turn their staff around next year.
The coaching staff didn't succeed with their choices to address the lack of power out of the transfer portal, but thankfully, Cade Arrambide exploded for 18 homers and Jake Brown had 16 before his injury. They ranked No. 24 in the nation in home runs, but will be losing Brown and potentially Steven Milam, who had 11.
As of now, they'll be leaning on Arrambide, Omar Serna Jr. and John Pearson for the biggest power strokes on the team. They'll need to find some gems in the transfer portal if they want to return to gorilla ball, though.
Heading into the season, the Tigers had an outfield of Brown, Derek Curiel and Chris Stanfield. That is as good of a defensive group as a team could hope to have. Now, all three of them will be leaving the program.
LSU has some good young outfielders, but could use some veterans with more experience and more reliable bats while maintaining the athleticism. It's not an easy thing to pull off, which is why the Tigers were so happy with this year's squad.
Continue reading...
Johnson admitted to making mistakes in roster construction before the season and it led to the Tigers being unprepared in certain areas this year. They are going to take a long look at what they have before making any more additions in the portal.
Here is a quick look at the most glaring needs they have heading into the offseason:
1. Pitching
On the surface, there are a lot of positives about the state of the pitching staff going into next season. It was a really young group this year, so a lot of people will be returning.
Their top two innings-leaders will return in William Schmidt and Casan Evans. Cooper Moore was off to a great start before his injury and he should be back. Those are the three starting pitchers at then beginning of the season and they could return if they so choose. The problem is, will that be enough? The pitching this season was brutal and could need a breath of fresh air.
They will certainly need to retool their bullpen, as they had almost no reliable relievers. Gavin Guidry might be back, but he could also declare for the draft if he hears some buzz there. There are some exciting young names in the LSU pen, but they'll need more than just them to turn their staff around next year.
2. Home Run Power
The coaching staff didn't succeed with their choices to address the lack of power out of the transfer portal, but thankfully, Cade Arrambide exploded for 18 homers and Jake Brown had 16 before his injury. They ranked No. 24 in the nation in home runs, but will be losing Brown and potentially Steven Milam, who had 11.
As of now, they'll be leaning on Arrambide, Omar Serna Jr. and John Pearson for the biggest power strokes on the team. They'll need to find some gems in the transfer portal if they want to return to gorilla ball, though.
3. Outfield Defense
Heading into the season, the Tigers had an outfield of Brown, Derek Curiel and Chris Stanfield. That is as good of a defensive group as a team could hope to have. Now, all three of them will be leaving the program.
LSU has some good young outfielders, but could use some veterans with more experience and more reliable bats while maintaining the athleticism. It's not an easy thing to pull off, which is why the Tigers were so happy with this year's squad.
Continue reading...
