By Hunt Palmer
The Major League Baseball Draft is 10 days away.
A handful of LSU Tigers will have options over the two-day process, but none may be as impactful to the 2026 team as Ethan Frey could be.
The junior from Rosepine emerged as one of the team’s top bats this season, posting a .331 batting average with 13 home runs. Both totals were second best on the team.
Frey spent the season as the primary designated hitter, initially platooning with left-handed bats but taking over full time when he started really hitting.
Frey’s size, strength and offensive production suggest he’s a solid offensive prospect. Defensively, he hasn’t found a position. That hurts a little bit and puts him in a position where he may slip a round or two which opens the door to a return to LSU for his fourth and final season.
We can’t know where Frey will be drafted until the process plays out, but what we do know is that LSU has met with all of its draftable players and laid out a plan for their return. That means on the field and off the field.
Frey’s decision will come down to draft slot, pro pay out, NIL/revenue sharing compensation from LSU and desire to live a college lifestyle versus pro lifestyle.
Some players love the college experience. Some hate PSYCH 2131 and can’t wait to get out of school.
Some players would rather fly charter and play in front of 10,000 at Dudy Noble Field instead of bussing to rural Montana in High-A.
It’s impossible to know what Frey will choose to do a week out, but we can weigh both hypotheticals.
IF HE STAYS
If Frey stays, he becomes the perhaps most potent bat in the Tiger lineup. He probably hits .320-plus again with 15 home runs. Jake Brown could eclipse that. Seth Dardar nearly posted identical numbers to Frey at Kansas State last year. The two were separated by five batting average points and both hit 13 homers. Brayden Simpson hit a ton at High Point. Steven Milam has the ability to have a…monster season.
But Frey is as likely as anyone to hit for a high average and slugging percentage if he returns.
Defense is the question. Frey was a high school catcher. Those days are behind him. He’s worked in right field and briefly at first base. Candidly, neither has been poetry in motion.
If Chris Stanfield returns, Curiel and Brown are significantly better outfielders than Frey which would leave him at first base or designated hitter. If Stanfield leaves, left field would open up as Curiel likely moves to center with Brown in right. Frey could play some there.
There is also the possibility that Brown moves in to first base. I find that remote as Brown is a better outfielder than first baseman.
John Pearson and Dardar are also options at first base.
Frey won’t improve his professional positioning with another year in college. If he returns, he’ll have to sign in the 2026 draft for something like $15,000 even if he’s the best defensive left fielder in the country. That’s the fate of senior signs. But he’d sure help LSU.
IF HE GOES
He’ll likely sign for something in the low six figures as an outfielder. That leaves one outfield spot for LSU to fill if Stanfield isn’t back. None if Stanfield returns.
Over at first base, Jay Johnson will have options with Dardar, Simpson, Pearson and perhaps a freshman like Omar Serna or Mason Braun. The transfer portal is also still open.
LSU would miss Frey’s bat in the lineup, but talent is not in short supply in Baton Rouge.
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