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Portal Profile: The Pitchers

Jul 17, 2025 | 10:30 AM
Danny Lachenmayer

North Dakota State Athletics

By Hunt Palmer

The college baseball transfer portal is settling down.

June and early July are a whirlwind, but most of the high-end players who entered have found a home. LSU is likely looking for one more pitcher, but Jay Johnson and Nate Yeskie had added some excellent pieces in a short time.

LSU has led the nation in pitching draftees with 15 over the last two drafts. There are plenty of innings to fill, and this group will vie for high-leverage spots in the draft.

Danny Lachenmayer, LHP, North Dakota State – This is the jewel of the portal pitching haul. Lachenmayer surged late as the primary reliever on the North Dakota State staff that reached a regional. He’s 6-foot-3 and 195 lbs., and throws from a high arm slot. He closed the season on an absolute heater. In his last 14 outings, 13 were scoreless. He pitched 22.2 innings and allowed just two earned runs with 31 strikeouts against eight walks. Only three of his 24 appearances lasted longer than two innings, but I’d love to see Lachenmayer extend and make a push to be a starter. Right now, the likely starter options at LSU are largely right-handed—Casen Evans, Zac Cowan, Cooper Moore, William Schmidt, Jaden Noot, Marcos Paz. Lachenmayer, along with Cooper Williams, provides a left-handed option. If he pitches effectively in the fall, which is very clearly the expectation, Lachenmayer could be stretched out in January to see if he can be a southpaw option in the rotation. Either way, expect Lachenmayer to be a key piece to Nae Yeskie’s staff in 2026.

Santiago Garcia, LHP, Oregon – Garcia, like, Lachenmayer, found his groove midway through the season and dominated. In his last 10 appearances, he worked 9.2 innings of one-run baseball. He struck out 12 and walked four. This summer, he’s been brilliant on Cape Cod. In 11 innings, he hasn’t allowed a run and has struck out 15 against five walks. That’s a 27-to-9 strikeout to walk ratio in his last 20.2 innings. Garcia isn’t a flamethrower. His fastball sits a tick above 90 mph, and he’s got a huge curveball. He’s been nothing but a reliever at Central Arizona Community College and Oregon over two seasons, and that role isn’t expected to change in Baton Rouge. Johnson has always said he’s going to try to build his teams with left-handed hitters and left-handed pitchers. This portal class reflects that.

Ryler Smart, LHP, Tennessee – Speaking of left-handed pitchers, Smart is another one. He’s a load at 6-foot-4 and 236 lbs. He’s the hardest thrower of this crop of lefties, too. His fastball can reach the mid 90s. He was clocked at 93 in high school where he was a Top 200 recruit out of Pearland, Texas, who signed with Tennessee. He missed all of 2025 with Tommy John surgery. He is throwing, and he needs polish. He was a high velocity high schooler who struggled with command a little bit. But the upside is extremely high. LSU gets two years with Smart, and considering the age, injury, profile and LSU roster, he may be eased in slowly.

Cooper Moore, RHP, Kansas– Moore is a very high-floor add. He proved at Kansas that he can throw a ton of strikes and eat innings. It’s unlikely that Moore becomes Anthony Eyanson and finishes third in the country in strikeouts. It’s likely that he starts games for LSU and goes five to seven steady innings. I love the line against a West Virginia team LSU fans are familiar with. He gave up 10 hits against the pesky Mountaineers that worked Kade Anderson and Anthony Eyanson hard. But he was able to limit them to three earned runs over eight innings with eight strikeouts and two walks. He only walked more than two hitters once in 15 appearances. Moore has a fastball in the low 90s and a really good changeup that’s brutal on left-handed hitters. Evans is the likely Friday starter. If high-upside options like Schmidt, Williams, Marcos Paz and Lachenmayer don’t pan out, Moore is a safe rotation option right behind Evans much like Zac Cowan.

Dax Dathe, RHP, Angelo State – What a story Dathe is. He began his career as a hitter at Houston. He transferred to Grayson College where he played both ways, hitting .329 with eight homers and striking out 62 in 39 innings. Texas Tech liked him on the mound, so they signed him to pitch. He only worked five times for Texas Tech in 2023 and transferred to Division 2 Angelo State. He led the Lone Star Conference with 98 strikeouts in 72 innings in his second season there. The fastball is a good one. It can creep up to 96 mph. He spins a hard slider, too. Walks were a concern. He issued four walks on four different occasions against Division 2 hitters. Still, Dathe is a sixth-year player with a live arm. He profiles similarly to Connor Benge as a short reliever.

Hunt Palmer

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