LSU freshman class making big contributions
LSU finds itself in a tightly-contested Southeastern Conference race heading into the final three weekends of the regular season.
Entering the opener of a series against South Carolina at The Box on Friday (7 p.m. Central/SEC Digital Network), the Tigers are one of four teams trailing the three leaders – Auburn, Kentucky and Mississippi State – by one game.
LSU had high expectations at the beginning of the 2017 season as it returned eight of its nine everyday players, its top two starters and its closer. However, freshmen have ended up playing key roles for this Tigers team.
Two first-year players are regularly in the lineup – third baseman Josh Smith and centerfielder Zach Watson. Jake Slaughter had been the starting first baseman until three series ago. He has now been replaced by junior college transfer Nick Coomes.
In addition, two freshman pitchers are important members of the staff. Eric Walker has been the No. 3 starter all year. Zack Hess, who was the midweek starter for six weeks, is now closer Hunter Newman’s set-up man in the bullpen.
It has been six years that the Tigers had multiple freshmen with large roles as position players and pitchers. In 2011, freshmen JaCoby Jones and Ty Ross were the starters at second base and catcher, respectively. Freshmen Kevin Gausman and Kurt McCune were in the weekend rotation that season.
Smith and Watson could join a select group under coach Paul Mainieri – an everyday starter as a freshman who batted at least .300. There were nine such first-year players in Mainieri’s first ten seasons at LSU, including future major leaguers Jones, Alex Bregman, DJ LeMahieu and Mikie Mahtook.
Smith, who played at Baton Rouge Catholic High School, was the top-rated recruit in the 2016 signing class. Smith was drafted last June by the Detroit Tigers. He has been LSU’s starting third baseman since opening day. Smith, who is hitting .284 with 35 RBIs, is expected to be the starting shortstop in 2018.
Watson made the shift from high school infielder at West Monroe (La.) West Ouachita to college outfielder with the Tigers. Watson was put in the starting lineup in centerfield about three weeks into the season. He is hitting .302 with 13 RBIs. Watson had a 15-game hitting streak in April.
Walker and Hess were in a two-way competition for the No. 3 starter’s spot since the beginning of fall practice. Walker, who is more consistent with his command, won the job. He has lost just once in 11 starts. Opponents are batting only .244 against Walker.
Mainieri decided to keep Hess as a midweek starter for the first month and a half of the season. However, when bullpen problems surfaced, Hess could no longer be a luxury as simply a fourth starter. Hess, who was drafted by the New York Yankees last year, has been quite effective in relief.
Here is a breakdown by position of freshmen who have seen significant playing time under coach Paul Mainieri.
FIRST BASEMEN
Sean Ochinko (2007): 56 games, 56 starts, 191 AB, .277 BA, 7 HR, 32 RBI
Tyler Moore (2012): 47 games, 31 starts, 134 AB, .261 BA, 4 HR, 27 RBI
Jake Slaughter (2017): 36 games, 31 starts, 116 AB, .259 BA, 2 HR, 20 RBI
SECOND BASEMEN
JaCoby Jones (2011): 56 games, 56 starts, 195 AB, .338 BA, 4 HR, 32 RBI
Kramer Robertson (2014): 47 games, 30 starts, 100 AB, .200 BA, 1 HR, 20 RBI
SHORTSTOPS
DJ LeMahieu (2008): 68 games, 67 starts, 258 AB, .337 BA, 6 HR, 44 RBI
Austin Nola (2009): 50 games, 36 starts, 121 AB, .240 BA, 3 HR, 18 RBI
Alex Bregman (2013): 67 games, 67 starts, 282 AB, .369 BA, 6 HR, 52 RBI
THIRD BASEMEN
Tyler Hanover (2009): 65 games, 53 starts, 209 AB, .321 BA, 5 HR, 47 RBI
Chris Reid (2016): 55 games, 47 starts, 167 AB, .287 BA, 1 HR, 14 RBI
Josh Smith (2017): 45 games, 44 starts, 155 AB, .284 BA, 3 HR, 35 RBI
OUTFIELDERS
Blake Dean (2007): 56 games, 56 starts, 206 AB, .316 BA, 7 HR, 46 RBI
Ryan Schimpf (2007): 42 games, 31 starts, 107 AB, .262 BA, 4 HR, 11 RBI
Jared Mitchell (2007): 55 games, 55 starts, 209 AB, .258 BA, 3 HR, 21 RBI
Leon Landry (2008): 63 games, 57 starts, 214 AB, .271 BA, 5 HR, 26 RBI
Mikie Mahtook (2009): 63 games, 49 starts, 196 AB, .316 BA, 7 HR, 38 RBI
Mark Laird (2013): 63 games, 59 starts, 241 AB, .307 BA, 0 HR, 18 RBI
Andrew Stevenson (2013): 54 games, 33 starts, 119 AB, .193 BA, 1 HR, 14 RBI
Antoine Duplantis (2016): 66 games, 66 starts, 272 AB, .327 BA, 2 HR, 39 RBI
Zach Watson (2017): 38 games, 31 starts, 126 AB, .302 BA, 2 HR, 13 RBI
CATCHERS
Micah Gibbs (2008): 54 games, 48 starts, 174 AB, .322 BA, 2 HR, 35 RBI
Ty Ross (2011): 52 games, 46 starts, 148 AB, .223 BA, 1 HR, 20 RBI
STARTING PITCHERS
Chris Matulis (2009): 13 games, 7 starts, 47 IP, 6-2, 4.82 ERA, .293 opponents’ BA
Kurt McCune (2011): 14 games, 14 starts, 90 IP, 7-3, 3.31 ERA, .221 opponents’ BA
Kevin Gausman (2011): 14 games, 14 starts, 90 IP, 5-6, 3.51 ERA, .215 opponents’ BA
Aaron Nola (2012): 19 games, 16 starts, 90 IP, 7-4, 3.61 ERA, .251 opponents’ BA
Jared Poche (2014): 16 games, 16 starts, 92 IP, 9-3, 2.45 ERA, .222 opponents’ BA
Alex Lange (2015): 17 games, 17 starts, 114 IP, 12-0, 1.97 ERA, .212 opponents’ BA
Eric Walker (2017): 11 games, 11 starts, 61 IP, 5-1, 3.69 ERA, .244 opponents’ BA
RELIEF PITCHERS
Paul Bertuccini (2007): 23 games, 0 starts, 22 IP, 1-2, 4 saves, 3.32 ERA, .238 opponents’ BA
Austin Ross (2008): 21 games, 2 starts, 52 IP, 3-1, 3 saves, 2.58 ERA, .268 opponents’ BA
Daniel Bradshaw (2008): 26 games, 2 starts, 55 IP, 4-5, 4 saves, 4.12 ERA, .243 opponents’ BA
Matty Ott (2009): 37 games, 0 starts, 50 IP, 4-2, 16 saves, 2.68 ERA, .237 opponents’ BA
Jordan Rittiner (2010): 26 games, 5 starts, 58 IP, 4-4, 2 saves, 4.37 ERA, .325 opponents’ BA
Ryan Eades (2011): 18 games, 6 starts, 43 IP, 4-1, 4.81 ERA, .292 opponents’ BA
Parker Bugg (2014): 26 games, 1 start, 36 IP, 2-2, 2 saves, 2.75 ERA, .211 opponents’ BA
Jesse Stallings (2015): 31 games, 0 starts, 33 IP, 1-2, 12 saves, 2.73 ERA, .209 opponents’ BA
Doug Norman (2015): 21 games, 3 starts, 35 IP, 5-1, 2.04 ERA, .262 opponents’ BA
Jake Godfrey (2015): 21 games, 9 starts, 55 IP, 7-1, 4.61 ERA, .277 opponents’ BA
Austin Bain (2015): 21 games, 6 starts, 55 IP, 2-3, 3.95 ERA, .216 opponents’ BA
Caleb Gilbert (2016): 25 games, 5 starts, 45 IP, 4-4, 1 save, 5.04 ERA, .313 opponents’ BA
Zack Hess (2017): 15 games, 6 starts, 40 IP, 4-1, 3.40 ERA, .184 opponents’ BA