Jay Johnson is not done in the transfer portal.
LSU is still combing the market for some pitching help, and some is expected this week. Offensively, it would be a surprise if there was another splash addition from the transfer ranks. In July, we’ll discuss which freshmen could show up and make an impact.
In Johnson’s five years, Steven Milam, Jared Jones, Derek Curiel, Mason Braun and Omar Serna have emerged as key hitters as rookies. There is enough talent in the current signing class to expect one or two to push for significant time.
Things will be crowded, though. The veteran bats have a lot of skins on the wall entering 2027. Here’s a look at what a lineup could look like.
INFIELD
Right now, Braun, Cade Kurland, Milam and Dawson Park appear to compose LSU’s first four. Jack Ruckert adds depth in the middle of the field, and John Pearson does the same on the corners. That’s one left-handed bat and one right-handed bat off the bench.
Kurland and Milam are fantastic glove men in the middle infield, and Park brings dynamic athleticism at third base which LSU badly lacked in 2026.
Offensively, the floor is very high with Milam and Kurland. Neither has hit for a tremendously high batting average, but both handle the bat well and can be counted on for double-digit homers if healthy.
Braun is an on base machine who is only going to grow into more slugging, and Park has elite bat speed and a very high ceiling LSU hopes to tap into.
Behind the plate, Cade Arrambide and Omar Serna can split time again while the other rests his legs as the designated hitter.
OUTFIELD
Pencil Bino Watters and his thunderous bat into left field. William Patrick and Jason Wachs should compete for the other two spots. Both are athletic enough and throw well enough to play either spot.
Jake Brown is the wild card. I’m going to mention him and leave him out of the rest of the conversation.
Watters and Wachs are middle of the order bats, and Patrick has a long way to go offensively. He’ll get a ton of at bats in the summer and fall.
That’s a very good defensive outfield. I’m not ready to call it a healthy Stanfield-Curiel-Brown, but all three guys can move with Patrick being an elite runner.
PROJECTED LINEUP
Let’s put a starting nine down. First pitch is only 34 weeks away, and we don’t know which freshmen are going to make it to campus. But why not?
1. Jason Wachs CF
2. Cade Arrambide C
3. Bino Watters LF
4. Omar Serna DH
5. Steven Milam SS
6. Cade Kurland 2B
7. Mason Braun 1B
8. Dawson Park 3B
9. William Patrick RF
Wachs did a great job of getting on base for Tulane and runs better than Braun, so I put him at the top of the order in front of lesser runners in Arrambide and Serna. I think Milam is a great table setter for a pair of potential RBI producers in Kurland and Braun who hit from opposite sides of the plate. Park and Patrick are probably your lowest two on base percentages, but they run really well if they can reach in front of a very potent top of the order.
With Milam as a switch hitter, you’ve got three left-handed hitters and five right-handed hitters around him. That’s six righties against a left-handed starter and four lefties in the first seven hitters against a righty.
Is this exercise important in mid-June? Nope. Does that make it any less fun? Also, nope. We’ll see what LSU can do from a pitching perspective the rest of the way this month. The draft will provide more color, as well.
