We need to talk about the LSU pitching staff and bullpen...

Casan Evans: Photo by Georgia Jones (LSU Athletics)

By Andrew Riedell

LSU pitching is a topic I feel should have been talked about sooner, the Tigers possessing a luxury only a handful of SEC teams have in their pocket. That is, two bullpen arms who could translate from being a closer to a front line starter in Casan Evans and Zac Cowan.

When I saw Casan Evans name on the lineup card to start Sunday's game I was not shocked but it did catch me a little off guard but it was a genius decision by head coach Jay Johnson and pitching coach Nate Yeskie that worked out in the end.

I do wonder, though, if Zac Cowan was told the same thing that Casan was told: that if he wasn't used on Friday or Saturday, he would possibly start Sunday. Cowan does have starting experience at Wofford, but pitching in the Southern Conference is much different than at the SEC level. When LSU releases their pitching lineup for this weekend, will we most likely see a rotation headlined by Kade Anderson and Anthony Eyanson but with a "TBA" on Sunday again? Most likely. Let's talk about it.

The last two weekends, we have seen two different Sunday starters, Connor Ware vs. Alabama, and Casan Evans vs. Tennessee. This most likely means the end of the Chase Shores starting days at LSU, which I think might work out for him. Saturday, we saw him enter the game from the bullpen, with his first two fastballs both coming in at 100 mph. I think we will see Jay Johnson continue to play this chess game with opposing SEC coaches over the next three weeks, as the season wraps up, in the best interest of both his staff and his team.

Casan Evans worked out well on Sunday, but LSU also had the luxury of having its second best reliever, Zac Cowan, follow him after having thrown only a hand full of pitches on Friday. I do not believe Jay is going to significantly change the staff in any way, shape, or form since it has been solid all season outside of Sundays. Heading into the tournaments, I believe the Tigers need more bullpen arms to step up, especially with Gavin Guidry no longer available, so let's talk about the options they have.

Freshman arms:

LSU has been very lucky with the freshman arms they have brought in this year especially guys like Casan Evans and Will Schimdt who both were projected to go high in this past draft. The first guy I wanna talk about though is William Schimdt who seems to has taken on that "midweek merchant" title as he has struggled mightily in SEC play pitching to a 22.50 ERA in his four games he has pitched in as he has also walked nine guys as well during conference play. At some point I do believe this "freshman slump" will come to an end soon and he will most likely be their fourth starter entering postseason play. The second freshman arm that I want to talk about is Mavrick Rizy who Coach Jay Johnson once said he expects to throw him the most this season out of the bullpen. He has pitched himself to a 5.40 ERA in his 6.2 innings in SEC play his problem is not really walking people it is that he is getting hit around as he has pitched to a .346 opponent batting average. The crazy thing is he isn't getting hit hard for extra base hits, he is getting killed by singles so it feels like if he can finish hitters quickly and control the run game better he can be the key piece out of the bullpen that Jay Johnson wants. The last freshman arm I wanna talk about is Cooper Williams who I think is such an underrated piece in this bullpen as he is a lefty that gets alot of ground balls and can throw multiple pitches for a strike. I believe he deserves more chances.

Returners:

For the returners their are a hand full of guys that we should be talking about needing to step up but the obvious name is Chase Shores. Shores coming off of Tommy John is going through control issues which a lot of pitchers go through in their first year post surgery. (Trust me I experienced it myself.) Obvious he needs to get his control issues down and execute more of his off speed pitches because he will be unhittable especially in short inning stints where he can ramp his fastball up to 100 mph. Jaden Noot is another guy that has gotten midweek opportunites and has succeeded in them but has not gotten the opportunites to really play on conference. I think it is mostly because he has been starting midweeks but his stuff is really good his offspeed pitches are filthy and I believe he can be a back end guy just like Cowan and Evans are in the bullpen right now. Then of course I have to talk about one lefty and that guy is DJ Primeaux who has been inconsistent too he has been either really good or walking people left and right. He is just like Cooper Williams in my opinon but with better off speed. He can come in for lefty/lefty chances but I feel like he is really inconsistent to even get those opportunities.

Transfers:

LSU brought in some key pieces this past season and with three weeks left in the regular season, we have seen them either struggle this season, not get chances to throw, or they have been hurt.

The first guy I wanna talk about here is Jacob Mayers, the Nicholls transfer who has been used as a reliever after being their ace last year. Mayers has always struggled with his command. Last year at Nicholls, he walked 76 batters in 70 innings. He has gotten his velocity up this season, but he has still struggled with his command here and there. I am very interested to see if he gets opportunities going forward.

Next up is the USF transfer Chandler Dorsey, someone I believe has not gotten enough chances to throw. I have heard from sources he struggled in the winter and fall before the season started, but I believe he is good enough to be a solid bullpen option.

Last but not least is someone who might be making their LSU debut very soon, Deaven Sheerin. He is coming off an ACL injury and has been progressing very well. Coach Jay Johnson said in his post game comments Tuesday night that Sheerin threw a simulated game last Thursday, and they will look to use him when the opportunity seems right. I have gotten to see Sheerin warm up in pre-game situations, and his stuff is legit, good enough that he can be an option that LSU needs.

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