By Hunt Palmer
In this town, the Opening Day lineup is projected in July.
Transfer portal names start to file in. The MLB Draft comes and goes, and fans and analysts alike start putting pen to paper. Often times there are obvious insertions. For this 2025 team Jared Jones and Steven Milam were locks to play.
There are always question marks and projections, as well.
The only constant is change. Over the course of 56 games and a week in Hoover, pieces move. Guys slump or break out. Injuries happen, and matchups become important.
Some of my favorite LSU baseball trivia is Opening Day lineup-related.
For instance, who was the designated hitter in the opener for the 2009 national champs? It wasn’t Mikie Mahtook or Austin Nola. They weren’t in the lineup at all despite the fact that both would get game-winning postseason hits that summer and play for a number of years in the majors. Chad Jones manned the DH spot. He’d later leave for spring football and reemerge like a butterfly from a cocoon as the Dreadlocks of Doom in relief.
Two years later Ben Alsup was the Opening Night starter. Remember him? How about Blake Money three seasons ago Jay Johnson’s first starter. Caleb Gilbert in 2018. Those guys all found their way out of the rotation entirely.
Take the 2017 team that made the national final against Florida. At the end it was a lineup that featured Papierski, Deichmann, Freeman, Robertson, Smith, Watson, Duplantis, Jordan and Slaughter. But the Opening Night designated hitter was Bryce Adams. He finished the year with five hits.
The national title team of two seasons ago underwent a massive transformation over the course of the season. In the opener Paxton Kling hit leadoff and Ben Nippolt played second base. Gavin Dugas was on the bench, and Cade Beloso sat right next to him. When Tommy White got hurt in the first inning, Jack Merrifield was first off the bench instead of Dugas.
Just last year Josh Pearson started the year at second base. Milam was on the bench. Javen Coleman started the first Sunday game.
You’ll recall the late-season freshman emergences of Aaron Nola as a starter in 2012 and Zack Hess and a dominant closer in 2017. They were afterthoughts on opening weekend.
Ty Floyd wasn’t in the 2023 rotation the first few weeks. Riley Cooper and Chase Shores were. Floyd pitched a pretty important game in Nebraska.
I think you get the point. The first edition of the lineup is assured nothing but change. With all of that in mind, I know Tiger fans are all dying to see who will be the first nine guys out there with Kade Anderson.
I’ll oblige with my guess. Just don’t make me guess the first lineup when the calendar turns to June. See you at The Box.
- Chris Stanfield CF
- Steven Milam SS
- Jared Jones 1B
- Jake Brown RF
- Daniel Dickinson 2B
- Derek Curiel LF
- Luis Hernandez C
- Michael Braswell 3B
- Josh Pearson DH
