The portal appears to be light on high-end starting pitching options.
Lots of schools, particularly in the power leagues, have the funding to lock down aces for a couple of seasons. Generally a few come available, but not in the volume of the first couple of seasons of the transfer era.
LSU landed Gonzaga’s Landon Hood right out of the gates and have continued to shop in the transfer aisle for some pitching to help rectify a sloppy season from the mound.
Diego Velazquez was later to the portal because USC reached the Super Regional round after winning the College Station Regional and advancing to Chapel Hill. When he went in, LSU pounced.
WHAT WE KNOW
Velazquez was a high profile high school recruit. Perfect Game ranked him the No. 5 shortstop in California and the No. 15 player in a very, very talent-rich state.
He signed with USC and played a little bit both ways as a freshman. Most of his work was on the mound. He made 13 appearances including five starts. His ERA settled at 4.55, and he struck out 34 with nine walks in 29.2 innings.
USC lost its regional opener to Texas State and beat Lamar to advance to Sunday in losers’ bracket. Velazquez got the start in that game versus Texas State and worked 3.1 innings of two-run ball.
He’s a 6-foot-1 right hander with a fastball in the high 90s and a hard slider.
Early in the season, the Trojans got Velazquez some at bats. He was just 3-for-18 with a double and four walks. His high school defensive background is up the middle of the infield.
THE FIT
There is a lot to work with here.
First, Velazquez is obviously a great athlete. His pitching mechanics are incredibly efficient and repeatable. There’s zero wasted motion. That’s likely why he throws so many strikes. It’s also extremely encouraging that he consistently generates 96 to 97 mph with a fluid release like that.
It’s easy to project a couple of more mph on that heater. The secondary stuff has promise. He throws a hard slider and a really good changeup when he executes it.
Ext. look @ Diego Velazquez (‘28 elig.) of @USC_Baseball. Threw two shutty out pen tonight. Up to an easy 97, living 93-96. Power SL @ 85-89 was sharp vs. both handed hitters. Has been a dominant arm out the pen for the 23-1 Trojans this year. #PGCollege @PG_Scouting @PG_Draft pic.twitter.com/f4YEYcT1aU
— PG College Baseball (@PGCollegeBall) March 22, 2026
This is a player who has never specialized in his baseball life, and LSU is going to spend a lot of time with him on the mound. As athletic as he is and as naturally as baseball comes to him, Nate Yeskie should be able to unlock some things.
Jay Johnson said Tuesday night on Tiger Rag Radio that he envisioned a 2025 Casan Evans-type role for Velazquez meaning two or three inning saves. Evans was also a great prep shortstop with elite athleticism. Lots of similarities.
This is a power arm that should make a jump from his freshman year to his sophomore year. He’ll have two seasons in Baton Rouge.
HUNT’S PROJECTION
I think this is a really good addition. And I think he’s a key bullpen piece next year. The stuff was already pretty good, and it comes with strikes. When I saw his delivery and understand his background more, there is some very moldable clay here for Yeskie.
At the high end, this is Griffin Herring of 2024 and Evans of 2025. At the low end, he’s Grant Fontenot.
I think you’re looking at a fastball consistently at 96-98 and a lot of strikes. That will play.
I know many are thinking about left-handed pitching for this roster. That reasonable, but good pitching is more important than left-handed pitching. Velazquez was a nice pitcher as a freshman, I think he’ll be more than that in years two and three.
I do expect that he will work on some hitting and defense while at LSU. A source tells me they are keeping that door open. However, he’s being brought to Baton Rouge to pitch.
This could very well be a starting rotation piece in 2028, but for the short term, he may be a very high leverage reliever.
