By Hunt Palmer
Jay Johnson made a call in late March last year.
He was playing defense at the hot corner. While Michael Braswell only hit .189 for the season with two homers, no stolen bases and more sacrifice bunts than extra base hits, he caught the ball. Braswell made three errors in 93 chances last year and was sparking in Omaha.
That meant Tanner Reaves was headed to the bench. Reaves’s last start where he got three at bats was March 27 against Mississippi State. That was game 27 of 68.
Now Reaves is competing over at second base, and there’s a new transfer in town over at third.
WHAT WE KNOW
Trent Caraway has taken the vast majority of the reps over at third dating back to the fall.
He started 63 games for Oregon State last year on a College World Series team, but it wasn’t his strongest season.
He hit .268 with 15 doubles and 12 home runs. Six of those came in the NCAA Tournament which is an Oregon State record. The five in the regional earned him Most Outstanding Player honors.
That’s the potential he has.
Caraway was the Gatorade Player of the Year in California as a high school senior. His 49 hits as a senior were the most in his high school’s history which is impressive considering Royce Lewis, the 2017 No. 1 over MLB Draft pick, set it.
He’s 6-foot-2 and over 200 lbs. That gives him the frame to defend and hit for a lot of power at third base.
LSU’s coaching staff was very happy with Caraway’s defense in the fall, but by Caraway’s own admission, he was making a lot of offensive changes at the same time.
John Pearson has slimmed down a bit and has played some third base. He got 21 at bats last year, mostly against left-handed pitching. He did homer against Tennessee.
Brayden Simpson and Seth Dardar have played third in their college careers but not much at all since arriving at LSU.
HUNT’S PROJECTION
The distance between the ceiling and the floor for Caraway is as large as any player on the roster this year. It’s reasonable to think a guy who hit .268 for a program without a conference last year could absolutely struggle in the nation’s toughest conference.
It’s also reasonable to trust LSU’s player development program with a talent this great and predict a huge breakout.
I’m going somewhere in the middle of the two.
Caraway is going to play solid defense at third base and hit seventh or eighth early in the season. He’ll have four weeks in a low-pressure spot in the order to keep working on the offensive tweaks Johnson has implemented to get ready for SEC play.
The pull-side power for Caraway is real, and he’s going to run into some longballs. I think he’ll hit double digits. The question is, does he his .265 with a bunch of strikeouts, or does he elevate that up around .300 with a more complete and consistent approach?
Luis Hernandez, Hayden Travinski and Brayden Jobert are some examples of guys Johnson has used as power threats down in the order at times.
Defensively, third base defense is a huge differentiator in college baseball. Most teams have a really good glove at shortstop. Often times a bat ends up at third. That can lead to misplays. Caraway’s draftability will be because of his bat, but the defense should be a ticked improved from the 12 errors last year.
Caraway’s offensive progression could be a huge indicator in the length of LSU lineup.
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