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LSU Opens Preseason Baseball Practice at "The Box"

Worsham: Three Takeaways from Baseball Media Day

Three Takeaways from Baseball Media Day

LSU Baseball held its annual Media Day on Friday, and head coach Paul Mainieri tackled a number of topics, from his proven and dependable outfield to his new-look rotation and the introduction of three recruiting classes: a loaded freshman group, a talented core of draft-eligible returnees, and some established collegiate stars back to full health.

Among all the items up for discussion – and there were plenty – here are three that stood out.

1. Josh Smith is Back

There aren’t many question marks about the 2019 LSU Baseball team, which is why the Tigers enter the season ranked No. 1 in a number of preseason polls.

The outfield is loaded. The staff is stacked.

But, for those who want to get picky, questions could be asked of the LSU infield.

That’s fine by Paul Mainieri. His answer to any concerns about that group is simple.

Josh Smith is back – and better than ever.

The junior shortstop missed all but six games of his sophomore campaign with a back injury after a Freshman All-American debut in 2017, but Mainieri sees a new man as practice kicks into full gear.

“I think he may be one of the best all-around shortstops in the country,” Mainieri says. “I think Josh is an ultra-talented kid. I don’t think last fall and certainly not into the spring did we see his true ability as a shortstop, because that back was bothering him more than he was leading on to me. He was just a little slow in his reactions and getting to the ball. Now that he’s 100 percent, his quickness is so much better.”

The bulk of Smith’s experience in the SEC has come at third base, where he started 71 times during LSU’s 2017 run to Omaha, next to All-American shortstop Kramer Robertson. That season, Smith hit .281 with 16 doubles and 48 RBI, including a .297 average in postseason play.

Back at his preferred position this spring, Smith brings to Mainieri’s mind a different infielder whose shoes Robertson filled at LSU, a player who has since become one of the best players in Major League Baseball.

“You hate to make comparisons, but it reminds me of the way (Alex) Bregman played shortstop,” Mainieri says. “He’s going to be one of our best hitters and clutch hitters. He’ll solidify our infield.”

2. Eight Freshmen, Two Spots

In the battles for two coveted spots – the Saturday starting pitcher and the starting first basemen – Mainieri has whittled down the competition to four freshmen per spot.

The search for a Saturday starter to sandwich between aces Zack Hess on Friday and Eric Walker on Sunday will boil down to Landon Marceaux, Cole Henry, Chase Costello, and Jaden Hill.

At first base, the competition includes Gavin Dugas, Drew Bianco, Cade Beloso, and CJ Willis.

Marceaux is the early favorite to start on weekends. Mainieri compares his curveball to Mi’Khail Hilliard’s, his change up to Eric Walker’s, and adds that Marceaux – a 6-foot tall right-hander and two-time all-state pitcher at Destrehan High School – throws harder than both.

Hill, Costello, and Henry, meanwhile, each stand 6-foot-4 and offer serious right-handed velocity from the hill.

“If I had to guess right now, I would say it would be Landon Marceaux,” Mainieri says. “But we have three weeks to go before opening day.”

Mainieri said the plan will be to start one of the four on Saturdays, with two others getting the Tuesday and Wednesday mid-week starts. He hopes to know his best rotation by the time SEC play arrives.

“Right now, I’d say based off the fall, Landon Marceaux is half a notch ahead of those other guys,” Mainieri says.

At first base, Bianco and Dugas are converted infielders who could end up at second or third base for LSU. Mainieri says neither has flashed the defensive prowess yet to unseat veteran starters Hal Hughes (third base) and Brandt Broussard (second), however, who the Tigers will lean on in the early, colder months of the season where defense takes precedent over offense.

Beloso, a lefty hitter and the reigning Louisiana Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year, is the most natural first baseman of the punch and brings plenty of pop to the plate. Willis, meanwhile, was recruited as a catcher but is still building back his throwing arm to full strength after a shoulder injury last spring.

3. Zack Hess is the Man

Don’t even ask about it.

After making the switch from electric closer to Friday night starter in 2017 with mixed results, Zach Hess is back in the prime part of LSU’s weekend rotation.

And, despite his past success out of the pen, he’s not going anywhere.

“I can tell you on Friday night, it will be Zack Hess,” Mainieri says. “Let’s go ahead and just say this right now, right out front, okay? Zack Hess is going to be our Friday night starter for the entire season. There’s no consideration to moving him to the bullpen. He’s our dude, and I think he’s ready to be, if not the best, one of the very best pitchers in the Southeastern Conference.”

Hess played under Mainieri this summer with the U.S Collegiate National Team, making three dominant starts in which he did not allow a single run. After posting a 7-6 record with a 5.05 ERA as a sophomore, Hess returned to LSU, declining to enter the professional ranks despite a draft selection from the Atlanta Braves.

“I think you’re going to see very quickly the improvement Zach has made,” Mainieri says. “Very consistent, he’s in the strike zone, he’s throwing his changeup more. He looks like a first round draft pick to me. I’m very much expecting that he’s going to go out there and assert himself as the leader of our staff right from the get go.”

Quotes and Notes

  • Mainieri on sophomore right fielder Daniel Cabrera: “I believe he’s capable of being one of the greats this school has produced throughout the years. You hate to put too much on one player, but the reality is, Daniel is blessed with a lot of ability and great athleticism.”
  • Hess on senior Antoine Duplantis, who enters the season 85 hits shy of the school record for a career: “He’s the best hitter in the history of the SEC. It’s not even close. I’m not saying it because he’s on my team and he’s my boy. I tell him that because it’s the truth. I faced every kind of hitter in the SEC the past three years, I faced international competition, and AD is the toughest guy to get out and it’s not even close.”
  • Mainieri says Saul Garza is set to start the season in the heart of LSU’s lineup as a designated hitter. The junior catcher, who hit 23 home runs last season in junior college, had meniscus surgery during the offseason and cannot return to the plate until after the start of SEC play, but Mainieri is counting on his bat at opening day. “He’s what they look like,” Mainieri says. “A good lokoing kid, powerful. He’s got the tools. He looks like a future major leaguer to me. He puts on a display in batting practice. That brand new video board out there is in danger when he’s taking batting practice.”
  • Sophomore pitcher Ma’Khail Hilliard missed the fall with a sore shoulder, but Mainieri expects him to throw in an intrasquad scrimmage on Friday. Hilliard threw for two months after fall with no pain, but last week, facing live hitters for the first time, he felt soreness the following day. The second-year right-hander earned freshman All-American honors last year after posting a 9-5 record with a 3.79 ERA.