LSU baseball coach Jay Johnson will have some decisions to make when he fills out the lineup card.
The infield is mostly set with Jared Jones at first base, Daniel Dickinson at second base and on the left side of the infield will feature Steven Milam and Michael Brasell.
But in the outfield, Coach Jay Johnson says he has eight players to choose from for three spots.
The 2nd ranked Tigers open their season on Friday against Purdue Fort Wayne.
Auburn transfer Chris Stanfield is the most likely candidate to start at the centerfield. He started 52 games in center for Auburn last year. He hit .274 in 2024 with four home runs and 25 RBI.
Stanfield has speed and has a good arm, but how well will he hit? They are hoping he can drive the ball more in the gaps.
One of LSU’s top freshman recruits will likely start in left field. Derek Curiel is ranked as the best freshman in the country by Perfect Game and D1Baseball.com named Curiel as the SEC Preseason Freshman of the year.
The California native hit .388 with a .522 on-base percent in LSU’s fall intra-squad games. If Curiel hits, and Stanfield struggles at the plate, Curiel could move to center.
One of LSU’s top incoming freshman last year, Jake Brown, is expected to start in right field on opening day. The 2023 Gatorade Louisiana Baseball Player of the Year got off to a slow start last season, but swung the bat well in the postseason, including a .417 batting average in the SEC Tournament and hit a home run in the Chapel Hill Regional Championship game.
On paper that looks like a solid starting outfield, but how will Johnson find at bats for Josh Pearson, Ashton Larson, Ethan Frey, Mc Paul and Dalton Beck.
It will be hard for Johnson to keep Pearson out of the lineup. Pearson is a .256 career hitter at LSU, but he’s one of the Tigers’ most clutch hitters. Plus, he has three years of SEC experience and Johnson will lean on that. Expect Pearson to get some at bats at designated hitter.
Larson is another player who deserves playing time. Larson made 40 starts last season, most of those in right field and hit .298 with three homers and 16 RBI.
Frey is entering his third season. He had a chance to break through as a regular last season, but injured his shoulder and only had 57 at bats. Frey is someone who can hit lefties, so that might be his role this season, a part-time player who gets into the lineup against a tough left-hander.
Beck will have to fight for at-bats despite having a banner season at Incarnate Word last season. He led the Southland Conference with 18 home runs and also hit .377 and was named the Southland Newcomer of the Year.
Paul missed all of last season with an injury and appeared in a dozen games in 2023. He was ranked as one of the top outfielders in the country coming out of high school in Utah.
Johnson is expected to give most of these guys a chance, especially early on. The pressure will be on to get off to a good start at the plate and avoid huge mistakes in the outfield.
“It’s definitely a competition but I think that it’s a competition that makes everyone better, it’s not like a salty, I’m mad because this guy is playing and I’m not, I think everyone is coming together, make all the teammates the best they can be,” Brown said.
And Brown said just because you don’t start, doesn’t mean you won’t get in the game.
“There will be times that we roll out four, five different guys in one game, whatever it takes to win, I think everyone is okay with that