Mississippi State Head Coach Chris Lemonis has gone with sophomore Lane Forsythe at the shortstop position to start the season. Forsythe was an integral part of Mississippi State's College World Series run as a freshman, earning College World Series All-Tournament Team honors. He played outstanding defense at shortstop and hit 4-11 in the Championship Series against Vanderbilt, but isn't off to a great start in 2022 going 2-10 with 4 strikeouts.

While Forsythe has started in Mississippi State's first four games, another Bulldog is chomping at the bit for the shortstop spot, and that's senior Tanner Leggett.

Bulldog fans remember Leggett's walk-off hit in the College World Series Semifinal against Texas to send Mississippi State to the championship series. Leggett hasn't slowed down since the end of last season; he's ridden that wave getting off to a hot start.

The Raymond, MS native has appeared in 3 games off the bench this season, getting 6 at-bats. In Leggett's limited time, he's made the most of it, hitting a double, 2 home runs, and knocking in 5 RBIs.

Leggett says he's just keeping a "simple approach." "I'm not trying to do too much, but the homers are coming."

When asked if Leggett could push for the shortstop position, Chris Lemonis said, "Yeah. He can play everywhere. He can play center field too. He's one of those guys who can play everywhere. He is pushing and that's one of the hardest decisions I'm dealing with. Really good players force your hand."

It will be a hard decision indeed. Both Forsythe and Leggett are excellent baseball players, but each brings a different thing to the table. Forsythe batted just .231 with a .595 OPS a season ago but is an elite defensive player, making zero errors throughout the NCAA Tournament last season. Leggett, on the other hand, is a little better offensively, having hit for a .658 OPS a season ago, and is on fire to start the 2022 season.

With Leggett's hot offensive start and Forsythe's reliability in the field, it will be interesting to see how Chris Lemonis handles his lineups from now on.