Tag: Grant Taylor

Alabama starting pitcher reportedly visiting LSU as a transfer

The Crimson Tide’s ace could be bound for Baton Rouge in the transfer portal.

LSU already has a couple of transfers on board this offseason after winning a national championship in 2023, and it’s in the mix for even more.

One of those players is former Alabama starting pitcher [autotag]Luke Holman[/autotag], who will be making a visit to Baton Rouge early next week. That news was first reported by On3’s Matthew Brune.

Holman, who entered the transfer portal on June 22, was the Crimson Tide’s Friday night starter this year. He had an earned run average of 3.67 while striking out 87 batters compared to the 31 walks he issued.

For an LSU staff in need of starting pitching following the departures of [autotag]Paul Skenes[/autotag], [autotag]Ty Floyd[/autotag] and [autotag]Grant Taylor[/autotag], Holman would be a huge addition.

He’s perhaps best known around the country for being the ace that former coach Brad Bohannon scratched for back tightness ahead of Game 1 against the Tigers earlier this season. Bohannon was later fired after it was determined that he was in communication with someone who placed a large bet on the game.

Holman is looking for a fresh start in the transfer portal, and that could come with the team he was ultimately scratched against.

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LSU pitcher Grant Taylor confirms he’ll be signing with White Sox

Grant Taylor’s time with the Tigers has come to an end.

As many expected, LSU right-handed pitcher [autotag]Grant Taylor[/autotag] will not be returning to the Tigers in 2024.

Taylor, who was picked with the No. 51 pick in the competitive balance second round on Sunday night, has opted to sign with the Chicago White Sox instead of returning to LSU for what would be his redshirt sophomore season.

He didn’t see any action this spring after he required Tommy John surgery. He was expected to play a role in the weekend rotation after appearing in 17 games with two starts as a true freshman.

Taylor finished that season with a 5.81 earned run average in 31 innings pitched, striking out 39 batters with 21 walks.

Taylor’s departure along with LSU’s two primary weekend starters in [autotag]Paul Skenes[/autotag] and [autotag]Ty Floyd[/autotag] will leave this team with a lot of pitching questions in 2024 as it looks to defend its national title.

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Washington Nationals draft Gavin Dugas in 6th round

Dylan Crews won’t be going to the nation’s capital alone.

[autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag] won’t be going to Washington, D.C., alone. [autotag]Gavin Dugas[/autotag] was selected by the Washington Nationals in the sixth round of the 2023 MLB draft.

Dugas played at LSU for five years and played in 201 games for the Tigers. He was the embodiment of what it means to be an LSU Tiger. When LSU needed a clutch play, Dugas always seemed to come through. He spent last season flipping between second base and shortstop but he may find himself in the outfield at the next level.

Dugas has a career batting average of .287 with 35 doubles, five triples, 44 homers, 148 RBI and a national championship trophy. Dugas becomes the sixth player from last year’s team to be selected in the 2023 MLB draft, joining [autotag]Paul Skenes[/autotag], [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag], [autotag]Ty Floyd[/autotag], [autotag]Grant Taylor[/autotag] and [autotag]Tre Morgan[/autotag].

He will likely head to Single-A to start his career in the minors, possibly back on the same team as Crews unless they send Crews straight to Double-A.

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LSU RHP Grant Taylor selected by Chicago White Sox in second round of 2023 MLB draft

Grant Taylor missed the entire 2023 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Despite missing the entire 2023 season due to injury, LSU right-handed pitcher [autotag]Grant Taylor[/autotag] was selected by the Chicago White Sox with the 51st pick in the second round of the MLB draft on Sunday night.

The sophomore underwent Tommy John surgery prior to the season after undergoing a torn ACL. Prior to his injury, he likely would have been a part of LSU’s starting pitching rotation.

As a freshman in 2022, the Florence, Alabama, native made 17 appearances with two starts. In 31 innings pitched, he had a 4-1 record, 5.81 earned run average and 1.710 walks plus hits per inning pitched. He also struck out 39 batters.

Taylor impressed over the summer in the Cape Cod Collegiate Summer League, and it was enough to land him a spot in the second round of the draft.

It remains to be seen whether Taylor, who is still recovering from injury, will sign with the White Sox or return to Baton Rouge for what would be his redshirt sophomore season.

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Report: LSU reliever Garrett Edwards to miss remainder of the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery

Edwards hasn’t pitched since April 7 at South Carolina.

LSU’s bullpen took a major hit on Wednesday with the news that right-handed pitcher [autotag]Garrett Edwards[/autotag] will miss the rest of the 2023 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery to repair a torn UCL.

The news was first reported by Leah Vann of The Advocate.

Per Vann, Edwards was seen wearing a brace during this past weekend’s series against Alabama. He hasn’t pitched since April 7 against South Carolina when he was pulled in the fifth inning after he was injured while throwing a pitch.

It’s a tough loss for a Tigers bullpen that is already missing a couple of key pieces and has struggled a bit in recent weeks. Edwards becomes the third LSU pitcher this season to undergo Tommy John surgery, joining [autotag]Chase Shores[/autotag], who had surgery last month, and [autotag]Grant Taylor[/autotag], whose preseason injury caused him to miss the entire year.

In 23.1 innings pitched out of the bullpen, Edwards had a 1.93 ERA with 27 strikeouts to just five walks. He earned a 4-0 record in 2023 and also recorded a save.

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LSU relief pitcher Garrett Edwards exits Game 2 vs. South Carolina with arm injury

LSU’s pitching depth is being tested severely.

LSU’s pitching staff has already been heavily strained by injuries this season, and the situation went from bad to worse in Friday’s Game 2 against South Carolina when relief pitcher [autotag]Garrett Edwards[/autotag] left the game in the bottom of the fifth inning.

After losing the opener on Thursday night, Edwards allowed a run and loaded the bases in the fifth. After walking a run home with a full-count ball, Edwards was clearly in pain and had to be pulled.

Despite allowing three earned runs in one inning on Friday, Edwards has been arguably the Tigers’ most reliable arm out of the bullpen this season. Prior to his appearance against the Gamecocks, he had a 4-0 record and 0.81 ERA in 22.1 innings pitched while also recording a save.

It’s the latest in a long line of tough injuries to the pitching staff. Projected weekend starter [autotag]Grant Taylor[/autotag] was injured during the preseason, as were 2022 signees [autotag]Kaleb Appleby[/autotag] and [autotag]Jaden Noot[/autotag]. Freshman Chase Shores suffered an injury in the Tennessee series, and his status is unclear.

Coach [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] likely will not address Edwards’ status after Game 2 because it’s the first game in a doubleheader, but we’ll keep you posted with any updates.

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Star LSU pitcher out for the year

Grant Taylor will miss the entire 2023 season after suffering a UCL injury.

[autotag]Grant Taylor[/autotag] was a rockstar out of the bullpen for LSU last season. He was a guy that had a few anomalies that ballooned his ERA, but other than that he was one of the most reliable guys out of the bullpen all year.

LSU’s pitching staff is loaded this year, but that stiff just took a hit by losing Taylor, who will miss the entire 2023 season with a UCL injury.

Taylor had a 4-1 record last season with a 5.81 ERA. As I said earlier, there were a few anomalies last year that torched his season ERA. A 54.00 ERA against Ole Miss and a 9.00 ERA against Grambling and McNeese hurt him a lot.

When the game was on the line though, Taylor and [autotag]Eric Reyzelman[/autotag] always seemed to pull the Tigers through. With Taylor out for the year, that may relegate [autotag]Blake Money[/autotag] to bullpen duty for most of, if not the full 2023 season.

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Tommy White leads LSU baseball to a big win over Louisiana

White, an NC State transfer, had three home runs in 18 innings to lead the Tigers past Louisiana in the two-part scrimmage.

On Sunday, LSU baseball played an 18-inning scrimmage game against the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns at Moore Field in Lafayette, Louisiana.

The game was divided into two nine-inning segments with a break in between both segments. LSU won the first game 8-2 and won the second game 5-2. The Tigers were led by NC State transfer [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag]. His teammates call him “Tommy Tanks” for a reason as White finished Sunday’s 18-inning scrimmage 6-for-8 at the plate with one double, three homers and five RBI.

On the mound, [autotag]Grant Taylor[/autotag] and [autotag]Ty Floyd[/autotag] led the way in the first nine innings as they combined to pitch six scoreless innings with no hits, no walks, and seven strikeouts. [autotag]Chase Shores[/autotag], [autotag]Nate Ackenhausen[/autotag] and [autotag]Bryce Collins[/autotag] combined to pitch seven innings allowing one hit, one walk and 13 strikeouts in the second nine innings.

LSU will be back in action this Friday as the Tigers begin the annual Purple/Gold World Series.

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Tigers take down Kentucky in late-night SEC Tournament opener after numerous delays

The Tigers are moving on to the winner’s bracket after comfortably handling Kentucky despite a shaky start

After a long hiatus due to a first-round bye and a plethora of rain, the LSU Tigers finally got to take the field at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium and play in their first game in the SEC Tournament on Thursday night.

LSU got to skip the single-elimination round as it entered the tournament as the No. 4 seed. That meant that the Tigers would play the winner of No. 5 Auburn and No. 12 Kentucky.

Coming into the week, no No. 12 seed had ever won a game in the SEC tournament, but the Wildcats beat AU to set up a second-round matchup against LSU to begin double-elimination play. Their luck ran out on Thursday night, as LSU advanced into the winner’s bracket with an 11-6 victory.

It will face top-seeded Tennessee on Friday night in the third round in what will be the first matchup against the Volunteers this season.

[autotag]Ma’Khail Hilliard[/autotag] got the start on the mound for the Tigers, and Kentucky jumped on him in the top of the second inning with a two-run homer to take an early lead. But in the bottom of the third, LSU got those runs back, plus one.

With bases loaded, [autotag]Tre’ Morgan[/autotag] grounded out to the pitcher, but [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag] was able to score. That was followed by the red hot [autotag]Tyler McManus[/autotag] hitting a two-RBI double to put LSU on top 3-2.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Tigers put up three more runs to extend their lead to 6-2. Crews singled to center field to bring home [autotag]Gavin Dugas[/autotag], [autotag]Josh Pearson[/autotag] singled to bring home [autotag]Drew Bianco[/autotag], and Crews scored on an insane play at the plate where he dodged the catcher’s tag and eventually led to Kentucky’s head coach getting thrown out when the run was confirmed after video review.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, the bases were loaded for Thompson, and he came through with a single to clear the bases and make it 8-2 Tigers. McManus then got his third hit of the night as he singled to bring Pearson home and make it 9-2 LSU.

Hilliard’s day was finished as the Tigers entered the top of the seventh inning with [autotag]Devin Fontenot[/autotag] on the mound. For Fontenot, it was his 111th career appearance, which broke the record for most career appearances. Hilliard’s final line was six innings pitched allowing two runs on four hits, two walks and six strikeouts.

Kentucky scored a run on Fontenot to cut the lead to 9-3 as we went to the bottom of the seventh. Pearson became the first LSU player with five hits in an SEC Tournament game as he launched a two-run moonshot to right field to make it 11-3.

And oh yeah, he’s just a freshman.

In the top of the eighth inning, Kentucky hit a three-run homer to cut the lead to 11-6 and bring [autotag]Grant Taylor[/autotag] out of the bullpen. After retiring the first batter he faced for out number three, Taylor stayed on the mound for the ninth.

After walking the first batter of the ninth, Taylor was replaced by [autotag]Riley Cooper[/autotag], who was greeted with a single. Cooper retired the rest of the Wildcats, and the Tigers won 11-6.

With the victory, LSU will play in the winner’s bracket against No. 1 Tennessee on Friday night in the late game. That start time is TBD, but at least the forecast shows no sign of rain — for now.

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Tigers drop the series to the Rebels after Game 2 loss on Saturday

It was not a good Saturday for LSU baseball as Ole Miss won both games to take the series.

After dropping Game 1 on Saturday morning by a 5-3 margin, LSU looked to tie the series up in Game 2. But Ole Miss was having none of that.

The Rebels took an early lead and never looked back as they beat LSU 11-1 to take the series. It’s the first conference series loss since losing to Arkansas in April. [autotag]Devin Fontenot[/autotag] got the start on the mound for the Tigers and Ole Miss jumped on him early as they scored four runs in the first two innings to take a 4-0 lead.

In the fourth inning, [autotag]Grant Taylor[/autotag] came in to pitch for LSU and he was greeted with two singles, a strikeout, and a walk before he exited the game.

[autotag]Blake Money[/autotag] then came in out of the bullpen and after an error by the LSU infield, Ole Miss scored five more runs to take a 9-0 lead in the fourth inning. In the fifth inning, Money gave up his only earned run on a solo homer to make it 10-0 Rebels.

LSU finally got on the board in the bottom of the fifth as [autotag]Cade Doughty[/autotag] reached on a fielder’s choice and [autotag]Gavin Dugas[/autotag] scored.

That would be the only run the Tigers scored in the game. The Rebels tacked on one more run in the top of the eighth inning after another LSU error making the final score 11-1.

It was not a good time to drop a series as we’re only a couple of weeks away from the SEC tournament as well as the NCAA announcing who is hosting regionals. LSU will look to avoid a sweep on Sunday with the first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. CT.

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