LSU has hit some rough patches as it defends its 2009 national championship, especially lately. The Tigers have dropped nine of their last 11 games and they fell out of the latest Baseball American Top 25.
But there’s one Tiger who hasn’t hit any rough patches. After showing flashes of brilliance as a freshman, outfielder Mikie Mahtook (Harwich ’10) has sustained the brilliance this year and has become one of the top sophomores in the country. He’s hitting .344 with 12 home runs, 18 doubles and 44 RBI. He’s also 22 of 29 on stolen bases.
Those numbers are reminiscent of the junior campaign teammate Jared Mitchell had last year. Mitchell went on to become a first-round pick. And Mahtook is putting his huge season together a year early.
Mahtook was drafted in the 39th round out of high school and started making his mark at LSU a month into his freshman season. His move into the starting lineup was one of the changes that helped LSU catch fire on its way to Omaha. Mahtook earned SEC Tournament MVP honors and ended up hitting .316 with seven homers. In Omaha, Mahtook had the game-winning hit in game one of the championship series with Texas.
Over the summer, Mahtook went to the Prospect League and came home with top prospect honors from Baseball America, despite playing only six games in the league. The scouting report calls him a player “with true five-tool potential.”
Mahtook is already starting to live up to the potential. He’s been invited to Team USA, but hopefully we’ll see his continued progression happen on the Cape.