Derek Curiel goes in-depth on what he plans on bringing to the Tigers in 2025

BATON ROUGE–It may not have been the kind of end to the season that he was looking for, but LSU head coach Jay Johnson’s off-season is off to a fantastic start. 

This week, Class of 2024 signee Derek Curiel announced on his social media platforms that he was withdrawing his name from the MLB Draft and heading to Baton Rouge to join Johnson’s Tigers. 

Curiel will arrive on campus on July 5 and will be majoring in business

“I know that Major League Baseball is always going to be there,” Curiel said. “That actually drove me to go to LSU. I know after I have a good career at LSU that MLB will still be an option, whether it is in the first round or it’s in the last round. I will have a chance at pro baseball, but for me I just felt that for my development, LSU is the best path for me. Great fans, great atmosphere, great coaching; LSU is just a place that I wanna be. I just want to go out there, have fun and win a National Championship.”

The 6-3, 174-pound outfielder out of California (bats left, throws left) comes out of the same Orange Lutheran High School that produced former LSU signee and MLB First round pick Mikey Romero. With his confirmation that he will be on campus, Curiel would next be eligible for the MLB Draft in 2026 as he is a draft eligible sophomore. 

According to Perfect Game, Curiel is rated as the nation’s 10th-best overall player for the Class of 2024.

Most LSU fans haven’t seen Curiel play and have only read reports, so the future Tiger tried to give a MLB comp to himself and who he patterns his game after. 

“In the field I’ve always loved Kevin Pillar (of the Los Angeles Angels). He’s always 100-percent and will run through a wall if he has to. That’s how I play defense. I’ll dive into a wall, I’ll dive anywhere to catch the ball or rob a home run. In terms of arm strength people really judge it on the showcases that I did when I was younger. The last time I threw in front of a radar I would say is probably my sophomore year. I wasn’t 100-percent healthy during my junior and senior year during showcases (injury on glove hand). Sophomore year I was around 92 from the outfield. Now I’m up to around 96-98. I’ve always had a strong arm. I show it in games and I will show it at LSU day in and day out. People sleep on my arm strength. 

“Growing up I always loved to watch Jacoby Elsbury and how he played the game. I’m a Yankees fan; so I loved watching him growing up. At the plate and full player, I believe I’m a better fielding Christian Yelich. Christian can absolutely swing it and he and I actually have similar kinds of swings and similar body types.”

Expanding on what kind of player he is, the power is expected to come in time for Curiel, but his approach at the plate won’t change. 

“I will 100-percent hit .350 over .300 any day,” he said. “I don’t care how many less home runs it comes with. My job is to get on base as much as possible and I love to steal bases. I’m able to score runs just as much as what a home run does. 

“For me, my approach has always pretty much been the same. Stay in the middle of the field, singles and doubles. Of course the fun part is when we are playing at a big field and hit the ball into the gaps we can stretch them into triples. I never ever try to hit home runs, that’s probably why I don’t strike out so much. I just like to make contact with authority.”

Curiel was adamant what his top priority will be once he arrives on campus.

“The biggest part that is lacking for me in terms of my overall game is my physical strength,” he said. “ I’m 174 pounds at 6’3. That’s a little skinny. The biggest thing I need to work on is my strength. I truly believe I will be able to develop into a man at LSU. Great meals and a great training regiment; that was another big part of why I chose to come to LSU. Getting bigger and stronger will not only help me help LSU win, but it will speed up my maturity in the professional ranks.

“I haven’t grown into my man body like a lot of other guys yet. I mean I’m just starting to get facial hair too. If I can start the 2025 season at around 190 that would be good. That means gaining 16 pounds. Turn that number into around 200 pounds in 2026. That’s the heaviest I can probably get to and still be agile and do my thing.”

LSU returns two outfielders that saw significant playing time in the outfield in Josh Pearson and Ashton Larson. Jake Brown also returns for his sophomore season. Curiel is projected to make an impact early and compete for immediate playing time. 

“I feel like I’m a natural born centerfielder,” he said. “My biggest goal is to come in this fall and compete and earn that centerfield spot. I feel like that is where I could best help this team. I get good reads off the bat and I’m comfortable there. I can help my team win there. My defense is one of my best skills. 

“(playing centerfield) In my opinion it’s all instinct.  Obviously you can learn bits and pieces here and there. But, I feel like I’m a naturally born centerfielder and God has gifted me with that. I am born for that position, but if Coach Johnson needs somewhere else, I will absolutely do that. But, my goal is to make sure I earn that centerfield spot.”