LSU Baseball
By Hunt Palmer
Entering the season, LSU boasted perhaps the best outfield in the country.
Derek Curiel and Jake Brown produced excellent seasons, but Brown’s was cut short by a broken hand. Chris Stanfield collided with the Milwaukee catcher on the second day of the season and was never the same. He also strained his hamstring in Starkville.
Curiel didn’t add significant power as a sophomore. His grand slam in Knoxville was the highlight, but he only hit six on the year. Still, he led the team with a .353 batting average and 13 steals, mustered a .957 OPS and played elite centerfield defense.
Brown exploded for 16 homers in 42 games. If he plays another 14 and then five or so postseason games as LSU generally does, he’d have hit 20 or 23.
Stanfield only hit three doubles after an awesome season in that department a year ago. He was a .232 hitter who missed 19 games.
THE INFIELD
WHO IS GONE?
Chris Stanfield
WHO CAN RETURN?
Derek Curiel, Jake Brown, William Patrick, Daniel Harden, Edward Yamin
THE OUTLOOK
Curiel and Brown are going to get seven-figure offers early in the draft. It would be one of the biggest upsets in college baseball this offseason if either ever played at LSU again. The chances of that aren’t zero, but they’re close.
That’s going to leave a huge amount of competition for three spots that I find to be wide open.
Patrick remains an intriguing prospect, but opposing pitchers overmatched him at times offensively. In 41 at bats, he produced one extra base hit and struck out 15 times. There have been plenty of exceptional athletes, and Patrick is one of those, who have made big jumps from yar one to year two. Brown did it in 2025. Andrew Stevenson and Mikie Mahtook comes to mind. Patrick needs a ton of summer ball at bats and a strong fall.
Harden was 2-for-19 this year. He’s a good athlete, and one of those two was a homer. But it’s two hits. Yamin was 9-for-41 (.20), and 18 of his 32 outs were strikeouts. Those two aren’t exactly young players. Yamin has played four years of college baseball. Harden has played three. Yamin participated in Senior Day against Florida. That could be a sign he’s moving on.
OVERVIEW
LSU needs help here. That has to come from the portal and the signing class. As I wrote on the infield preview, this series is about the current roster. The draft impact is a July storyline. It’s May.
Mason Braun can play the outfield if Jay Johnson finds a great hitter to play at first base. Patrick could develop into a really good player.
But when you lose Brown, Curiel and Stanfield, you realize how big a hole you’re looking to plug. Right now, you don’t have a player who has proven to be an all-around SEC outfielder.
A proven college bat with great speed needs to be a priority in the transfer portal. The lineup doesn’t need a 10-home run hitter in that spot. Johnson told the media he wants defense and contact hitting from that profile.
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