When it came to its bullpen, LSU was expected to man an arsenal.
It underwent a complete revamp over the offseason, with head coach Jay Johnson and his coaching staff signing highly touted transfers in Paul Skenes, Thatcher Hurd and Christian Little along with freshmen that could be on MLB right now in Chase Shores and Jaden Noot.
Couple that with promising developments from players like Grant Taylor, Ty Floyd, Nate Ackenhausen and Garrett Edwards and you had arguably one of the best bullpens in the nation.
Then, a lot went wrong.
By the season’s opener against Western Michigan, two of the aforementioned sported season-ending injuries in Taylor and Noot. The loss of Taylor stung in particular, as he was projected to be the No. 15 prospect in the 2023 MLB draft, had a promising freshman season and notably progressed into a starting caliber pitcher for the Tigers through the offseason.
Other promising pitchers expected to be a part of the rotation in Kaleb Applebey and Jason Bollman received the same designation. And Javen Coleman, who had Tommy John surgery last spring, has a vague timetable for his return, though head coach Jay Johnson could see him back in the coming weeks.
“I do think Javen Coleman will pitch this year, I don’t know when,” Johnson said. “We have two benchmarks we have to get past, but it’s getting closer.”
Though the injuries surrounding the bullpen would slow down at the start of the season, they would pick back up in late March.
Ackenhausen and Shores each saw their last action against Tennessee over two weeks ago before being added to the injury report. Then, Edwards went out in the most recent series against South Carolina with an elbow injury.
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That one paragraph features three of LSU’s top-six pitchers in terms of ERA, all of which were displaying tremendous promise leading up to their injuries. In Shores’ last game, he didn’t allow any earned runs against Tennessee through two innings, helping the Tigers close out game two and clinch the series.
Ackenhausen and Edwards had arguably been LSU’s two most reliable relievers, with Edwards having fans and analysts speculating on whether he should move up in the rotation. Of the three, Ackenhausen is most likely to return soon, but even that’s questionable.
“I sure hope so. He’s like one of our best pitchers and he’s only thrown six times. We’ve got to get him back,” Jay Johnson said on Ackenhausen. “He’s working hard. The guy couldn’t have Easter Sunday without his coach calling and saying ‘hey, are you in the training room right now?’.”
Injuries haven’t been the only problem. Though Skenes is a solidified top-pick in the 2023 MLB draft and arguably the best pitcher in the country, the other starters have had their struggles.
As it stands, Floyd, Hurd and Little have started the most games apart from Skenes.
Hurd allowed six earned runs in his last start against Tennessee, a short showing that seemingly dropped him down a peg or two within the rotation.
Floyd’s most recent start was up-and-down. He pitched in three innings against the Gamecocks last weekend, two of which went well and one where he gave up four earned runs thanks mostly to a large array of walks and hit batters.
He’s scheduled to start in game two against Kentucky, another opportunity to gauge his progress.
In Little’s most recent action against the SEC, he posted a 108.00 ERA in 0.1 innings against Arkansas, giving up four critical earned runs in a 3-9 loss before quickly being removed from the action.
He started against Tulane as well, where he posted a 9.00 ERA and threw 40 pitches in one inning. Johnson did see promise in that performance however, enough to start him in game three against Kentucky.
“To get out of that inning with one run was a great accomplishment,” Johnson said on Little’s performance. “I thought he did a good job of minimizing damage and that’s when you know you have something or stuff or toughness.”
There’s potential there, but if he continues to struggle, there’s a chance other rotational players move up.
Freshman Griffin Herring currently has a 0.75 ERA through 12 innings and has pitched a 0.00 ERA in seven of his eight appearances. While his sample size in terms of innings pitched is still small, especially when compared to Skenes, Floyd and Little, his short-term appearances have been notable.
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Two of those 0.00 ERA performances came in back-to-back appearances against Tennessee and South Carolina, two games where he was more involved than in previous weeks, pitching a combined five innings. Herring credits Johnson for effectively preparing him for some of those bigger moments in terms of confidence.
“He put me in good positions to get my feet wet originally, getting a couple midweek opportunities,” Herring said on Johnson. “Going into the bigger games, I think that gave me a lot of confidence knowing that I could compete at the college level.
Against the Gamecocks, he stifled their batters for three innings, keeping the Tigers in the game long enough for them to eventually rally. Johnson was adamant about his role continuing to grow, believing he’ll be ready for another bump up in the rotation soon.
“He’s going to start, it’s just a matter of when,” Johnson said on Herring. “He came in at a really tough spot after an injury, bases loaded, no outs and they only scored one run. We won by one run.”
In the same discussion, he touched on fellow freshman Gavin Guidry, who posts the third best ERA on the team through very limited playing time. Guidry notably closed out LSU’s victory against South Carolina in dramatic fashion and Johnson noted he could see more action as well.
“The situation’s obviously changed a little bit, to where it’s more of a necessity,” Johnson said on whether Guidry would be bumped up within the rotation. “Obviously, if we put him in that game, a game that was tied on the road against a top-five caliber team, that tells you where he’s going to be in that situation.”
The bullpen is still in a rough spot, but things could be progressing in the right direction. It features arguably the best picture in the nation in Skenes and a vast array of promising young players that can fill the holes left behind by injury. If it gets some of its depth back, it could return to that arsenal-level status it had in the preseason.
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