LSU Baseball's Lack of Pitching Depth Keeps Leading to This Same Issue

After beating Southeastern Louisiana on April 28, LSU head coach Jay Johnson talked about the Mississippi State series and the two starting pitchers the team was missing; Casan Evans and Cooper Moore.

"This is why having pitching depth is important," Johnson said. "You're asking guys to do too much. It's just it is what it is, and that's when you get exposed."

Johnson again said the team has to ask guys to do too much when talking about Danny Lachenmayer's poor outing Thursday against Florida. It happened in a similar way Friday with freshman Marcos Paz—a game that LSU lost 11-1 in seven innings.

Friday was Paz's fourth SEC start, and he hit a career-high 84 pitches through four. Then no one was warming up and he came back out in the fifth, where he walked a batter then gave up a home run and struck out his last batter.

"We probably should have taken him out after the fourth," Johnson said. "I made the decision...we obviously need to get some development going, that I wanted him to go back out and face three hitters, and he did that. But I think he was a little bit out of gas."

Uncelebrated returns for Evans and Zion Theophilus

Casan Evans pitches in a 2025 game against Tennessee | SCOTT CLAUSE / USATODAY Network / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Evans' availability for the weekend has fluctuated. Johnson said Wednesday that he would "definitely" pitch this weekend. Then it seemed to change Thursday.

"Do I love not having William Schmidt and Casan Evans against Florida?" Johnson said. "No, I hate it. It makes me sick to my stomach."

Then, he appeared out of the bullpen in the sixth inning. Johnson said after the game that Evans pitching Friday was "always the plan" and he may have misspoke or was misquoted.

Evans' sixth inning was strong, but then he allowed a walk, a single and a home run in the seventh to chase him and ice the game. It was a strange appearance, as it was Evans' first relief outing of the year, and was not necessarily expected.

While he won't be pitching in Hoover on a week and a half rest that might be too long, the outing could have gone to a pitcher who needed some last-minute SEC experience before getting a chance in Hoover.

With the game 7-1 when Evans entered, it just felt strange for him to be in such a low-leverage situation.

The freshman Theophilus returned to Alex Box after having to stay home Thursday with a sickness. He was tasked with getting the final out of the seventh inning after Evans couldn't. Theophilus gave up a solo homer that led to the run-rule victory for Florida.

A freshman staying in for an inning too long, a sophomore coming in as a surprise and a freshman coming in fresh off a sickness was a recipe for failure, and the pitching staff continues to be stretched. It doesn't even compare to what it needs to face in Hoover.

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