LSU Baseball Preview: New Names for 2014

With so many players leaving in the bullpen last season and losing three starters in the infield, there is plenty of opportunity for the new faces of the LSU baseball team to find immediate playing time. Half the team is new this year, so let's take a look at the new names and see where they could potentially fit in for the team this season.

JUCO transfers

Pitchers

Position Players

The pitchers are a very interesting bunch. The two big headliners for the pitchers are Zac Person and Brady Domangue. The two combined for 24 wins, 201.1 innings pitched, and 216 strikeouts last season for LSU Eunice. Both guys possess upper 80's fastballs with Domangue's sometimes hitting the low 90's. Both guys are also described as having strong breaking balls that they use as out pitches. Coach Mainieri has said that Domangue has a shot to be the guy to replace Chris Cotton as the closer, which makes sense given his ability to get strikeouts (he had 118 in 114 innings last year). Kyle Bouman projects as another middle reliever, and he has some impressive stats. Bouman pitched 58 innings last year for Jefferson County CC where he had 53 strikeouts, a 0.948 WHIP, and a 1.71 ERA. Henri Faucheux is the most unproved of the bunch. After a year at ULL (9.90 ERA, 11R 9K in 10 IP) Faucheaux only pitched 15 innings last season in JUCO and gave up 5 runs in his three appearances.

Kade Scivicque and Conner Hale provide depth at catcher and in middle infield. Scivicque came into camp and challenged Chris Chinea and Tyler Moore for the starting catcher position, but Coach Mainieri stated that Scivicque was just behind Moore and Chinea. Scivicque's bat makes him especially intriguing though. Scivicque hit 0.321 in 2013 and 0.333 in 2012, so he could potentially work his way into the lineup if he proves he can hit reliably and play solid defense. Conner Hale looks to be Jacoby Jones' replacement at second base, but could also get a look at first base. Hale was the Suncoast Conference player of the year last year, hitting 0.366 with 23 extra base hits and 65 RBI. With numbers like that, Hale seems like a solid replacement for Jones.

Overall, this is a very good group of JUCO transfers that should contribute immediately to the 2014 campaign.

HS Players

Pitchers

Position Players

Two guys who stand out for starting roles are Parker Bugg and Jared Poche. Bugg is a tall hard throwing righty from San Diego. Build wise, Bugg is a lot like Kevin Gausman, tall and thin but with good power off the mound with a low 90's fastball. Bugg has been battling mononucleosis, so he may miss the start of the season. Bugg was drafted in the 34^th round of the MLB draft and is the only LSU commit that was drafted to make it to campus. Jared Poche is a hard throwing lefty with a consistent 90's fastball. Hard throwing lefties are rare, and since Poche also has a strong curveball, he is definitely the most intriguing of the high school pitchers. Poche had a great senior year, going 12-0 with a 0.61 ERA in 80 innings and 143 strikeouts.

Of the position players, it's the infielders who have the best shot at seeing significant playing time this year. Danny Zardon and Kramer Robertson could challenge Conner Hale early on for playing time at second base. By all accounts, Zardon is a polished infielder with a strong bat. Zardon hit 0.506 his senior season with four homeruns and 31 RBI. Robertson seems to be cut from the same mold as Zardon, the only difference being he went to high school in Texas instead of Florida and he was a starting quarterback for his high school football team. Robertson hit 0.425 his senior year with 5 home runs.