LSU Baseball dealt a crushing blow by Vanderbilt transfer
For all intents and purposes, LSU Baseball has had the perfect offseason thus far. The Tigers have added a plethora of young talent via recruiting, they’ve secured some of the nation’s top transfers and they’ve filled the vacant positions in the coaching staff. This is exactly the summer that Jay Johnson and his team needed after a solid debut campaign that saw the former Arizona coach post a 40-22 record in Baton Rouge. It’s not a stretch by any imagination to claim that LSU is building something special under Johnson.
The 45-year-old has done a lot of good for the program this summer, but perhaps his most impressive job was done in recruiting transfer players. The Tigers essentially wiped the floor with their competition in recruiting the transfer portal with first team All-American Paul Skenes headlining the class. Unfortunately, it’s not all sunshine and roses at Alex Box Stadium as we inch closer to the beginning of the 2022/23 school year.
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LSU Baseball was dealt a crushing blow by Vanderbilt transfer on Monday
The 2022 MLB Draft put a dent in LSU’s plans for the upcoming season as a handful of commits decided to test the waters in the minor leagues. These high school draftees opted to forego the entirety of their college careers to pursue their dreams of one day making the big leagues. Luckily, the Tigers planned on most of these individuals taking that route and planned accordingly.
The biggest disappointment for Johnson was a number of transfers he landed opting to go play in the MLB. LSU took its time and waited for these announcements to become official before putting out an official list of transfers that’ll be coming to campus in a number of weeks. The school’s press release named Thatcher Hurd (UCLA RHP), Christian Little (Vanderbilt RHP), Paul Skenes (Air Force RHP/UT) Tommy White (NC State 3B) and Carter Young (Vanderbilt SS) as the five players to be joining the Tigers from other college programs ahead of the 2023 season.
However, one player, Young, ultimately went back on his decision to sign for LSU. He put pen to paper ahead of the MLB’s 4 p.m. Monday deadline and signed with the Baltimore Orioles:
Per sources the #Orioles have signed 17th round pick SS, Carter Young for $1.325 million. Young hit 23 home runs with an .807 OPS over 135 games with Vanderbilt. He transferred to LSU following the season.
— Geoff Pontes (@GeoffPontesBA) August 1, 2022
Young was drafted 497th overall (17th round) by the Orioles in the recent MLB Draft. While the shortstop’s base hitting stats may not have been anything special, he had a knack for the clutch throughout his time at Vanderbilt. Young racked up a total of 90 RBIs during his college career, which would’ve been a huge contribution to the Tigers’ squad.
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Jack Pineda and Young’s decisions to both go pro mean that LSU is facing some serious question marks at shortstop next season. Jordan Thompson will look to lock down the starting spot in the coming months, but his defense will need to seriously improve if he wants any chance at being a regular starter in 2023.