How the SEC tournament’s top-seeded teams have made the most of their depth in the face of injury

The road to the College World Series is a test of both health and depth.

There’s no question LSU has had its share of bad luck with injuries, losing potential starting right-hander Grant Taylor in preseason to a torn UCL and both right-handed relief pitchers Chase Shores and Garrett Edwards at the end of March and early April to the same injury. Catcher Brady Neal, who hasn’t played since April 7, took batting practice Saturday, but is not yet 100%.

But both Vanderbilt and Arkansas — two of the top seeds in the Southeastern Conference tournament starting at 9:30 p.m. Tuesday in Hoover, Alabama — will have dealt with their share of injuries this season. And No. 6 South Carolina is possibly without two members of its starting rotation. 

Potentially without starters Noah Hall and Will Sanders, along with a group of position players returning to play after extended absences, the Gamecocks battle Day 1 for a spot in the double-elimination bracket to play LSU.

“Even LSU’s pitching injuries happened early in the season enough to where they’ve found their new normal,” ESPN college baseball analyst Chris Burke said. “The challenge for South Carolina is that, literally at one point, it was their whole infield. There are some pitching injuries, Noah Hall is a huge loss, but midway through the season, they were leading the country in home runs and now they’ve finished fourth in the SEC. Even one of the players, Ethan Petry, has not been hurt, but has fallen off from a production standpoint.”

Most of LSU’s position-player injuries were short-lived. Tommy White dislocated his shoulder in the first game of the season against Western Michigan before returning for in late February. Gavin Dugas dislocated his shoulder against Kentucky in April, returning a week later at Ole Miss. Paxton Kling, while not always a starter, injured his hamstring against Tulane on April 11 but returned on April 29 against Alabama.

So even when it lost Edwards and Shores out of its bullpen, the Tigers were able to slug their way through victories over Kentucky, Ole Miss, Alabama and Georgia. That’s something South Carolina didn’t have when its injuries started to pile up. The Gamecocks started the year 13-4, taking the first four of its six series, tying one with LSU, and finishing its last four series with a 3-9 record, losing its chance at a first-round bye in the tournament.

LSU’s bullpen has been under the microscope as of late. The No. 3-seeded Tigers lost their third game against Auburn after walking six batters in the first inning, then gave up a nine-run lead against Mississippi State the following week.

“I think the panic button was pressed way too quickly,” Burke said of LSU. “I don’t think Ty Floyd is getting enough credit and between Jay Johnson and Wes Johnson, they are going to piece it together. The other thing to consider is you’re not dealing with another SEC team in the postseason, but just look at the numbers in the SEC, the offenses are insane.”

ESPN college baseball analyst David Dellucci disagrees with his colleague. Dellucci believes pitching in the postseason will require more depth. That’s something that Vanderbilt and Arkansas have figured out.

“You have to be able to rely on bullpen pitchers to come in and work long innings,” Dellucci said. “What happens when Paul Skenes gets out early? If a hitter sees a bullpen arm early on in the series, then he already knows what he’s got coming in and the pitcher will not be as effective. As a hitter, I’ve seen his breaking pitches. So if you’re going in a super regional or a first-round regional where you see a team twice, it makes them so much more hittable.”

No. 4 seed Vanderbilt’s Friday-night starter Carter Holton has battled injury throughout the season and last pitched in early May. Left-hander Hunter Owen, the team’s Saturday starter, will likely return for a short outing in the conference tournament. He didn’t play against Arkansas when the Commodores were able to take 2 of 3 games, including a surprise eight-run eighth inning comeback from a six-run deficit.

“They’re so deep and they have big power arms throughout the staff,” Dellucci said. “They have a guy named Devin Futrell who has carried the load, even without the No. 1 and 2 starters, he’s really been a pitcher they can rely on.”

Arkansas, who is the No. 2 seed in the tournament, lost right-hander Jaxon Wiggins to a torn UCL before the season then right-hander Koty Frank to a torn lat muscle in March. Top relief pitcher right-hander Dylan Carter also tore his UCL in April. As far as position players, the Razorbacks recently lost second baseman Peyton Stovall to a torn labrum while both outfielders Tavian Josenberger and Jared Wegner have battled injuries.

Right-hander Brady Tygart is working his way back from an elbow injury and has emerged as a starter, but only recently got his pitch count up to 60 last weekend against Vanderbilt.

“What they were able to do was take left-hander Hagen Smith, where he went from top 1 or 2 weekend starter to a hybrid pitcher — he can start or go long relief,” Dellucci said. “They didn’t need Hagen Smith in the bullpen, but they put him in another situation to produce over the weekend.”

So far, that has worked. Arkansas has the second-best staff ERA in SEC games (4.82).

For LSU, most of its injuries are old news. It has the lineup to compete, including players like catcher Hayden Travinski and right fielder Josh Pearson, who have both emerged as additional options to electrify a lineup.

“I think depth is important and we definitely have that, because we wouldn’t have been able to win 42 games and be in position to be a national seed if we didn’t have it,” LSU coach Jay Johnson said. “It’s hard to build with the Major League Baseball draft, injuries, evaluations, you know, the competitiveness in recruiting. Thankfully, we were able to have that this year to win with injuries.”