LSU baseball season preview: Third-base job in solid hands of junior-college transfer Christian Ibarra

As is usually the case with junior-college transfers, Christian Ibarra didn't ride onto LSU's campus or into the baseball program with trumpets blaring or on a wave of high hopes.

Most of the time, JUCO transfers are brought in to plug a hole or as a quick-fix, and Ibarra fits that description.

It's when junior-college players either blossom into stars or flat-out fizzle that people noticem. And then there's the Tigers' new starting third baseman.

Low-key and unassuming, Ibarra seems to be just as content to fade into the background as a quietly productive member of a team with high hopes than anything else.

The laid-back Southern California native gets the first crack at stepping in to replace Tyler Hanover, who started at third base for most of three of the last four seasons and was a steady - albeit not usually spectacular - presence in the LSU batting order.

What Hanover lacked in pizzazz, he made up for with the kind of little things a lot of hitters aren't able to supply. He was the LSU's bets bunter, was adept at moving runners over, he delivered an occasional big hit and was rarely a defensive liability after a transitional season as a freshman in 2009.

Those are exactly the shoes Ibarra could fill, although he might offer a little more power than his predecessor. For an added twist, at 5-foot-7 and 179 pounds, Ibarra is similar in size and stature to Hanover.

"I'm a contact hitter, so I think I can give this team somebody who can bunt, hit-and-run and do the little things to move guys over," said Ibarra, who played at West Covina High School and then Rio Hondo College in Whittier, Calif. "We have a lot of guys in this lineup who can drive runs in, and I want to do whatever I can to help them do that."

That would also entail being a similar defensive player to Hanover, and early indications are that Ibarra is solid at the hot corner.

He was a shortstop the last two seasons at Rio Hondo and earned All-State and All-Pacific Division Team recognition last season after batting .396 with 20 doubles, 6 HR, 40 runs and 50 RBIs in 45 games. The Marauders were 40-5 and made it to the California Final Four, the junior-college equivalent if a Super Regional.

There was competition between Ibarra and freshman Alex Bregman for both starting jobs on the left side of the infield, and the two are interchangeable.

Making the move to third isn't a huge adjustment for Ibarra, who said he played there as a youth.

"It wasn't that much of a difference," he said. "I've been playing third base my whole life until the last few years."

Now he's back in a familiar place in a special environment and playing next to a young pup who is being hailed as the cornerstone of the LSU program for the next three years.

LSU coach Paul Mainieri said he doesn't consider the new-look left side inexperienced because of Ibarra's two seasons at Rio Hondo and Bregman's maturity beyond his years.

"Christian has played a lot of baseball on that side of the field and is a very good defensive player," Mainieri said. "We're counting on him quite a bit, and I think he might surprise some people with how he swings the bat, too."

While the job at third base is Ibarra's for now, he will have to produce to hold onto it.

Senior Casey Yocom is the Tigers' roving backup and may be best suited at third base than shortstop or second. And if sophomore Tyler Moore gets revved up offensively, it could be hard for Mainieri to keep him out of the lineup.

"We have several guys who can play the position," Mainieri said. "I want to see what Christian can do over there."

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DEPTH CHART: Third basemen

Starter

(No., Name, Year, B/T)

14 Christian Ibarra, Jr., R/R (La Puente, Calif./Rio Hondo College)

Off the bench

(No., Name, Year, B/T)

28 Casey Yocom, Sr., R/R (.211, 11 R, 2 2B, 4 RBIs)

2 Tyler Moore, So., L/R (.261, 14 R, 4 2B, 4 HR, 27 RBIs)

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Source: http://www.nola.com/lsu/index.ssf/2013/02/lsu_baseball_season_preview_th.html

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