Jay Johnson plucks a big time arm out of the portal
LSU has seen a mass exodus of pitchers leaving the baseball program for one reason or another and Jay Johnson is using the transfer portal to restock the cupboard.
Enter Jacob Mayers, a righty flamethrower from Nicholls. Mayers is a Louisiana native, and played high school at St. Amant. In 2023 he earned freshman All-American honors and was named the Southland Conference freshman of the year after posting a 9-1 record with 105 strikeouts and a 2.02 ERA. His signature outing came in the NCAA Tournament as he went toe to toe against Luke Holman and Alabama. Against the Tide in the Tuscaloosa Regional opener, Mayers went 5.2 innings where he gave up three hits, a pair of runs, and struck out eight.
This season Mayers had an up and down sophomore campaign. Mayers struck out 106 in 70.2 innings, but he also had control issues and led the country in walks with 76. For his career he has 134 walks in 146.1 innings. In two seasons Mayers has a career 14-2 record in 31 starts with 211 strikeouts and a 3.26 ERA.
I’m not sure what the right word is to describe this addition. I think “gamble” is too harsh of a word. Mayers is going to be a bit of a project, but if he and pitching coach Nate Yeskie can harness all that talent, LSU could have a devastating bullpen arm and possibly another supremely talented option for the weekend rotation.
TRANSFER: Jay Johnson and the LSU Tigers do it again. They land Nicholls State RHP Jacob Mayers. The 6-5 righty flashed first round stuff as a freshman in 2023 but struggled with walks this spring. Absolutely electric FB up to 98 with huge carry. Bullet slider in the low-80s he… pic.twitter.com/3udC9TIBPx
— Joe Doyle (@JoeDoyleMiLB) June 23, 2024