Who’s Back? A look at the draftable Tigers

By Hunt Palmer

A week and a half have passed since LSU landed from Omaha.

Exit interviews have taken place. Lockers have been cleaned out.

Cade Arrambide was taking at bats for the Chatham Anglers on Cape Cod Tuesday night. Meanwhile, Chase Shores, Daniel Dickinson, Anthony Eyanson and Jared Jones were appearing on MLB Network.

Jay Johnson and his staff are putting together the next iteration of the LSU baseball program, and the MLB Draft is coming up July 13. Nothing is certain until the draft begins and ends, but here’s a second look at the LSU players with draft options and what I’m hearing about their futures.

THEY’RE GONE

Kade Anderson, Soph., LHP

• He’s a top five pick and a legend in purple and gold. Not much more to say.

Anthony Eyanson, Jr., RHP

• He’s a top 50 pick and will always be mentioned in the same breath as Anderson which is pretty damn good company to keep. Eyanson finished third in the country in strikeouts. He’s another testament to the pitching development that LSU can offer transfer players.

Jared Jones, Jr., 1B

• Jones returned to LSU to play a big role in an Omaha run. He did. He’s still not going to be a top two round pick because he plays first base and struggled at times with high end pitching. But his power is awesome, especially to the back side of the field, and that tool is gold in the professional ranks. Jones is another all-time great in the program.

Chase Shores, rSoph., RHP

• You can’t teach 6-foot-8 or 101 mph. Shores has both. He profiles as a reliever right now which can cause a slip in the draft, but someone is going to call his name in the first 60 picks. Two of the best showcases for scouts are the SEC Tournament and Omaha. Shores worked 9.2 innings over those five outings and allowed just four runs (all in one outing versus Arkansas), on five hits. He walked three and struck out 11 earning a pair of saves.

Daniel Dickinson. Jr., 2B

• Dickinson is a top 100 prospect. The hand injury will heal, and scouts will like the profile of a player who hit 39 home runs and stole 51 bases in three years while playing great defense. I don’t know that any of Dickinson’s tools are eye catching, but they’re all pretty good. He earned his shot at big time college baseball and passed that test. Now it’s time to test things at the next level.

Jacob Mayers, Jr., RHP

• Mayers is 6-foot-5, 220 lbs., and just doesn’t allow hard contact. He yielded four hits (.085 batting average) in 15 innings over the course of the season, and only one of those went for extra bases. He also struck out 26 with a high 90s fastball and good slider. Whether or not he can throw enough strikes will determine his professional future. But that likely starts in three weeks.

LIKELY GONE

Ethan Frey, Jr., OF/1B

• This is the biggest decision on the board for LSU because Frey’s return would make him the biggest thumper in the order. Frey started just once in the outfield in 2025 and was the designated hitter 45 times. This just isn’t about defense, though. Frey is a corner outfielder, not a potential shortstop or catcher that really needs to show those tools. He’s a good athlete who can run. Someone will give him a chance to play in the outfield. He can’t create enough value in left field to offset the loss of his junior leverage. That’s why I’d be stunned to see him return. I think he’s a fourth or fifth round bat that will sign. LSU’s only hope is that Frey just values playing for the home state school in front of 9,000 as opposed to taking a low-six figure deal to go ride buses in the minors. Based on discussions, those odds appear extremely thin.

Chris Stanfield, Jr., CF

• Stanfield has two plus tools. He can run and defend. His arm is average, and he has no professional power profile. Plus, he rarely hits the ball the other way. That makes him a tough draft. Conversely, he’s a really good college player. He can hit doubles (led LSU’s team) and run balls down in the gaps. Money likely won’t be a factor here. He can make some money professionally. He can make some money at LSU. My read on it is that neither will be life-altering. Does he want to move on after three SEC seasons, or does he want to play “meaningful” baseball one more year? That’ll be his decision. It sounds like that decision is going to be to try professional baseball.

TOSS UP

Conner Ware, Jr., LHP

• No one hit Ware in the 2024 fall. He was remarkably consistent outing after outing. And then he was great against Dallas Baptist in a midweek start. That was the high point for Ware. He’s still a big lefty with four pitches that he has thrown for strikes in JUCO and the fall (when scouts are at Alex Box Stadium in numbers). Ware has his leverage, and he can probably command more professional money than NIL money. This one is truly 50-50. if I had to call it, I’d say he turns pro.

LIKELY BACK

Zac Cowan. Jr., RHP

• Cowan has proven himself to be a really good college arm. He was a successful ace at the md-major level and pitched to a 2.93 ERA in SEC games (2.94 overall) as a reliever. Then he made a great start in the College World Series. He’s short and doesn’t throw hard, and his breaking ball isn’t a plus pitch. These are professional drawbacks. Like Stanfield, there’s some money to be had either way. Does Cowan want to try to be a weekend starter in the SEC on another Omaha team? Has he had enough college? I think he comes back to LSU to carve out a weekend rotation spot.

Tanner Reaves, rJr., INF

• Reaves ultimately lost his platoon job at third base because LSU needed Braswell’s defense. He’s an option at second or third base for LSU, and he’s always going to be able to differentiate himself on the infield because so few infielders hit left-handed. I wouldn’t pencil Reaves into an infield spot just yet. He’ll have competition from Brayden Simpson and Seth Dardar at the very least. But I expect him back.

Jaden Noot. rSoph., RHP

• Noot was really impressive late in the season. He had 12-to-2 strikeout to walk ratio in 9.1 SEC innings. He struck out 44 hitters in 32.2 innings on the season and has a year of leverage remaining because of the Tommy John surgery he had in 2023.

DJ Primeaux, rSoph., LHP

• Primeaux has a good arm. He doesn’t throw enough strikes right now. In 14 innings this year, he walked eight and hit seven more. He did get 13 strikeouts and only allowed a batting average of .224. He’s a solid left-handed bullpen option, and he’s got a year of leverage as well. Since he’s not an elite draft prospect, I would expect him back to try to bolster his stock as a more trusted bullpen option. He’ll have competition with Danny Lachenmayer, Santiago Garcia and Ryler Smart coming in via the transfer portal as viable southpaws.