Photo credit: LSU Athletics
By Hunt Palmer
Chris Stanfield’s two best tools never slump. He can always run, and he can always track the ball down in centerfield.
How much LSU got from the Auburn transfer offensively remained to be seen. Though Jay Johnson will tell you he always felt pretty good about it.
Stanfield squared Paul Skenes up twice as a freshman in 2023 and led Auburn in multi-hit games in 2024. He never slugged on The Plains and hit .276 as a depth piece in the lineup.
There was playing time to be had in the LSU outfield as Paxton Kling and Mac Bingham moved on. Josh Pearson wasn’t an established starter, and Jake Brown and Ashton Larson were coming off solid, if unspectacular, freshman seasons.
Stanfield started in centerfield on Opening Day and never looked back. He led the Tigers in SEC games with a .326 batting average and clubbed 14 of his team-beat 15 doubles in league games.
Save one bad day in College Station, Stanfield played excellent defense and anchored the bottom of the lineup. He hit there 56 times and played centerfield in 65 of 68 games.
Stanfield’s professional profile isn’t eye-popping. He hits for zero power and doesn’t hit the ball the opposite way very often. Without significant swing changes, neither of those issues are going to be corrected.
In a 40-round draft, Stanfield would be nearly a lock to move on to pro baseball. In a 20-round draft, that’s not a guarantee. The feeling is that Stanfield would like to start his pro career, but a team will need to take him to make that happen.
IF HE STAYS
Stanfield likely assumes the role he just played beautifully. He’s the centerfielder and eight or nine-hole hitter. That type of production is vital when Derek Curiel is hitting leadoff. Doubles are golden when they come in front of someone who is going to flirt with .400 next year.
That would give LSU another elite outfield defense. Range in the outfield is a luxury in SEC play and a necessity in Omaha.
If Stanfield returns, LSU’s outfield once again becomes perhaps the best in the country.
IF HE GOES
Centerfield opens up, and Curiel likely moves over from left to take that spot. Brown’s arm in right field is a plus tool. Left field becomes an open spot for either Ethan Frey’s surprise return or a newcomer.
LSU will miss Stanfield’s speed and doubles, but a chance for someone to slug a little bit more opens up. Stanfield hit just one home run this season. With Jared Jones’s 20-plus home runs on the way out and Frey’s 13 likely gone, LSU will be searching for some pop elsewhere in the lineup. Stanfield’s replacement will almost assuredly bite into that missing production.
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