When LSU baseball takes the field for the first time Feb. 16 at Alex Box Stadium to kick off the season against VMI, it'll look much different.

Despite the bevy of personnel changes as well as a couple on Jay Johnson's coaching staff, the expectations for the Tigers won't change. No. 2 LSU is a preseason consensus top-3 team and D1 Baseball rated its transfer portal haul this offseason as the second-best in college baseball.

The Tigers won College World Series championship No. 7 last season and the bar remains at that level for Johnson's club heading into 2024, with Opening Day arriving this weekend.

LSU baseball newcomers that will be key

There'll be few new faces in LSU's lineup this season. And those guys are filing some key spots defensively as well as holes in the batting order.

For starters, South Carolina transfer Michael Braswell looks set to be the Tigers' shortstop. On offense, he should first get a look at hitting leadoff, where he'll be key in setting the table for Tommy White and Hayden Travinski, which both could hit in the 2-hole.

Arizona graduate transfer Mac Bingham has already accomplished plenty in his college career and fills big roles for LSU in left field and in the lineup. Also in the outfield, don't be shocked to see more and more of freshman and Sulphur native Jake Brown in right field as the season progresses. He's had a good preseason and his left-handed bat will come in handy.

Jay Johnson could make up LSU's starting rotation with these pitchers

Everyone knows about Thatcher Hurd, who went six innings in NCAA championship-deciding Game 3 against Florida last season giving up two runs. The two other names to watch for to make up the Tigers' starting rotation are Alabama transfer Luke Holman and UCLA transfer Gage Jump.

Jump hasn't pitched since 2022 as he had Tommy Johnson surgery that prevented him from playing during 2023 for the Bruins.

LSU BASEBALL PRESEASON RANKINGS Here's where LSU baseball ranked in preseason USA Today Sports Coaches Poll

LSU BASEBALL TRANSFER PORTAL RANKINGS LSU baseball transfer portal class ranked No. 2 by D1 Baseball

I think Alabama junior transfer Luke Holman ends up being LSU's Friday night starter. He filled that role for the Crimson Tide last season and had a lot of success going 7-4 with a 3.67 ERA while holding opponents to a .186 batting average. And he's had a good preseason in Baton Rouge.

LSU Tigers lineup projection

As mentioned earlier, Braswell appears to be the guy at the top.

The other questions are first base, second and center field. And I think Hayden Travinski settles in at designated hitter this season. He may start out catching but the Tigers' best lineup may feature him at DH and have Brady Neal behind the plate with Alex Milazzo playing here and there.

Johnson has said West Monroe native Josh Pearson will be moving to second from the outfield. Senior Ben Nippolt is another option for the Tigers in the middle and I think he sees some time.

Sophomore Jared Jones and freshman Ashton Larson could play first, but Jones likely may get the nod early on. In center, sophomore Paxton Kling has garnered a ton of buzz and has hit the ball well this offseason in scrimmages and workouts.

LSU's lineup will have a good mix of seasoned vets and youth, and could look like this: Braswell, White, Bingham, Travinski, Kling, Neal, Jones, Brown and Pearson.

Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers and Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers and Cajuns coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU/UL athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU baseball 2024: Rotation, lineup projections plus key newcomers