HawgBeat's coverage of the Razorbacks' Road to Redemption in Omaha is brought to you by Arkansas Oral Surgery, which has offices located in Conway and Russellville.
FAYETTEVILLE — Seven Arkansas players heard their name called during the three-day, 40-round 2019 MLB Draft that concluded Wednesday.
That is the fifth most from any SEC school and tied for the 16th most from any school. Making it more impressive, though, is that all came in the first half of the draft. Only two schools - Vanderbilt (11) and UC-Santa Barbara (8) - had more picks in the first 20 rounds, with Stanford and UCLA tying the Razorbacks with seven.
This year’s draft class also gives head coach Dave Van Horn 97 players taken in the MLB Draft since he took over at Arkansas in 2003, with 108 total selections. (Players like Isaiah Campbell and Zack Plunkett have been drafted twice.)
“I’m really excited for these guys,” Van Horn said. “These are guys that have battled different things, whether it’s just getting on the field, injuries or waiting their turn. … They can relax and just play ball this weekend.”
More on each draftee can be found below, but it is also worth mentioning that three members of Arkansas’ 2019 recruiting class also got drafted.
Fresno City C.C. outfielder Chet Allison was the first off the board, going to the Dodgers in the 24th round. High school signees Jason Hodges and Dominic Tamez didn’t get drafted until late, with the Reds and Mariners picking them in the 34th and 35th rounds, respectively.
This is a common battle for college coaches, especially those at programs like Arkansas that recruit high-caliber players. Whether or not they actually make it to campus likely depends on how much money the professional teams can offer and how much each player is willing to accept.
For Rounds 11-40, MLB teams can sign players for up to $125,000 without penalty. Anything above that number will count toward their bonus pool for the first 10 rounds.
That is why teams like to draft college seniors in the back half of the first 10 rounds. They don’t have leverage and typically sign for well below slot value, allowing that money to be spent on high-priority early-round picks or late steals. (For example, Carson Shaddy received a $10,000 signing bonus last year despite having a slot value of $136,900.)
“I feel like today, they’re going to be taking a lot of the high school guys and they’re going to be offering them over slot money by a lot,” Van Horn said just before the final day of the draft started Wednesday morning. “They’re working deals. They are going to try to save money maybe Rounds 5-10 so they’ll have it for those rounds.”
None of the signees going in the first 10 rounds is likely a good sign for Arkansas, but it’s not a guarantee that they will come to school.
Last year, right-hander Wade Beasley from Horatio, Ark., was taken in the 24th round and still signed with the Brewers, receiving a signing bonus of $257,500.
“So far so good, but I say it all the time, ‘They’re trying to buy these kids out of college, they have a checkbook and we don’t,’” Van Horn said. “We’ll just see what happens.”
The deadline to sign is July 12, so we should have more clarity on which of those recruits - if any - end up playing for the Razorbacks in about a month.
Dominic Fletcher - Diamondbacks - Competitive Balance Round B, 75th pick
Slot value: $831,100
Many fans and experts expected Isaiah Campbell to be the first Arkansas player taken in this year’s draft, but Fletcher beat him by one pick.
Although he likely could have been drafted out of high school as a top-100 prospect in Cypress, Calif., he bet on himself by coming to school and putting together a solid three-year career in the SEC.
Fletcher has been the Razorbacks starting center fielder his whole career, earning a reputation as one of the best defenders in the conference. In fact, he was named to the SEC’s All-Defensive Team his last two years.
“Fletcher’s just been a magician in center field,” Van Horn said. “He’s got a feel, a knack for moving one way or the other. He makes great reads. He’s got an accurate arm and he’s not scared of the wall… He’s just fearless out there.”
Where he made his money this year was at the plate, as he’s been much more consistent at the plate as a junior. After hitting .290/.346/.480 over his first two years, Fletcher is hitting .312/.378/.526 going into the super regionals. He also has an SEC-high 23 doubles, team-high 56 RBIs and 10 home runs.
Because of that uptick in production, Fletcher knew he had a chance to get picked pretty high, but now that it’s behind him, he is focused on getting back to Omaha - something he reiterated multiple times with the media Wednesday.
“It went about like I thought it would,” Fletcher said. “It’s an honor to get drafted, especially by a good program like that, but we’re focused on the Super Regionals now. It was a great day for me and my family, but now we’re focused on the playoffs.”
Isaiah Campbell - Mariners - Competitive Balance Round B, 76th pick
Slot value: $818,200
Because he took a medical redshirt in 2017, Campbell was actually draft-eligible last year and was picked by the Angels in the 24th round. That was not a true indicator of where he could have gone, as there were signability concerns.
Being a redshirt sophomore, Campbell could return to school and still have leverage. He admitted he “turned down some pretty good money,” though. There is no way of knowing where he would have been selected, but MLB Pipeline rated him as the No. 109 overall prospect last year and that pick had a slot value of $512,800.
Using that figure and his current slot value, Campbell increased his value by more than $300,000.
“He believed in himself, he bet on himself,” Van Horn said. “He came back and he bettered himself in the draft and obviously was our ace and the leader of our pitching staff.”
His selection in the MLB Draft came just a couple days after he pitched arguably the best game of his career, limiting TCU to one run in eight innings while moving Arkansas one win closer to the super regionals. The performance improved him to 11-1 on the season with a 2.27 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 108 strikeouts in 103 innings.
Already in town for the regional, Campbell’s parents stuck around and watched the first day of the draft with him in his apartment.
“I think my parents were probably more nervous that I was,” Campbell said. “I kind of had an idea of what teams were after me and what picks and stuff. … I was just there more for the excitement of living my childhood dream out.”
With the Mariners, there’s a chance Campbell could pitch in Arkansas again in a few years because Seattle’s Double-A affiliate is the Arkansas Travelers, which play in North Little Rock.
It is also a comfortable landing spot for him because he already knows a couple coaches on the Mariners’ staff: Director of Pitching Development & Strategies Brian De Lunas and Pitching Strategist Forrest Herrmann. Campbell worked with them at P3, a pitching center in St. Louis that he went to while in high school in the Kansas City area.
For the Razorbacks, Campbell is a shining example of why coming to school - or sticking around for an extra year as a draft-eligible sophomore - is a good idea.
“For me personally I will be able to use his story down the road,” Van Horn said. “Kids in our program see what he’s done (and) kids that we’re recruiting… It’s been great to see.”
Matt Cronin - Nationals - 4th round, 123rd pick
Slot value: $464,500
Armed with a high-spin rate fastball and a still-developing curveball, Cronin has been one of the best closers in college baseball the last two years.
As a junior this season, he has already racked up 12 saves with a 2.00 ERA, 13.3 strikeouts per nine innings and a .163 opponents’ batting average. With three more saves, he’d break the single-season school record he set as a sophomore.
“He’s done a good job and he’s having a really good year…a little more quietly than last year, it seems like,” Van Horn said. “He’s thrown more strikes this year than he did last year. His velocity is the same, maybe a little better. He’s actually got a little bit of a breaking ball now.”
Much like Campbell, Cronin said he watched the draft with his parents and he was far from the most anxious of the group.
“My dad was probably the most nervous in the room,” Cronin said. “He was pacing and on his laptop trying to keep track of who’s been drafted and where I might fall based on that, but it’s the major league draft - things can change in a hurry.”
Jack Kenley - Tigers - 8th round, 232nd pick
Slot value: $181,200
Despite not being a regular starter in his first two seasons, Van Horn predicted before the season that Kenley would have the type of year that got him drafted.
However, he admitted that he never could have predicted just how productive he’s become at the plate. After hitting just .190/.352/.226 with three doubles and 12 RBIs in limiting playing time over his first two years, Kenley has exploded with a .324/.441/.571 slash going into the super regionals. He also has 10 doubles, four triples, 12 home runs and 50 RBIs.
Those numbers - along with his solid defense - helped him jump all the way into the eighth round. Kenley said he found out about getting picked via a message from Campbell in a group text.
“I guess the feed I was watching was a little delayed, so the first thing I saw was a congrats from Isaiah,” Kenley said. “My next call was to my dad. That was just a lot of fun.”
Jax Biggers, who Kenley backed up at shortstop his first two seasons, also sent him a text to say how proud he was. Interestingly, Kenley got picked seven spots ahead of where Biggers was selected by the Rangers last year.
The Tigers announced Kenley as a shortstop and he said he would like to stick on the left side of the infield, despite his stellar play at second base this season.
Jacob Kostyshock - Rockies - 8th round, 249th pick
Slot value: $164,700
When Kostyshock was drafted by the Rockies, his first call was to his parents and he admitted it was “pretty emotional.”
“All the years of hard work have finally paid off,” Kostyshock said. “It’s been a long time coming for me. … I’ve been working for a moment like that since I was six years old. It was pretty surreal.”
Considering how his first two years at Arkansas went, Kostyshock getting picked in the eight round is even more incredible. He had the worst ERA on the team last season and had a combined 6.52 ERA and 2.02 WHIP as a freshman and sophomore.
However, he has increased his velocity and can now light up the radar gun, touching 97 and 98 mph at times this season. That has helped him post a 2.89 ERA as one of the Razorbacks’ top set-up guys before Cronin closes things out.
“When I think about how I did the last two years here, it’s not exactly what I wanted, but I’m happy that I was able to do what I did this year and continue on doing,” Kostyshock said. “To end it with the draft is pretty sweet.”
Cody Scroggins - Red Sox - 9th round, 287th pick
Slot value: $148,200
Perhaps the most unusual journey to the MLB Draft at Arkansas belongs to Scroggins. When asked about his career Wednesday, the Bentonville native described it as “crazy.”
“I started as an infielder - shortstop, to be exact, behind (Michael) Bernal - then moving to pitcher and unfortunately having Tommy John surgery,” Scroggins said. “Next thing you know, I’m pitching in the College World Series, then…my name gets called yesterday.”
Scroggins pitched some in high school, but stopped after his sophomore year because he was committed to the Razorbacks as a position player.
However, one day during practice, Van Horn approached him about picking it back up. Wanting to get on the field any way possible, Scroggins did a bullpen session with then-pitching coach Dave Jorn immediately after practice and threw about 18 of 20 pitches for strikes.
He threw only 3 1/3 innings in four appearances as a freshman in 2016, but was almost solely a pitcher for his summer league team that year, leading him to become a full-time pitcher from that point on.
After missing nearly all of 2017 with Tommy John surgery, Scroggins was a key bullpen arm late in the year on Arkansas’ national runner-up team. As a starter and reliever this season, he has a 4.19 ERA and 53 strikeouts in 43 innings.
“I just felt like if he wasn’t going to hit enough to play everyday, that he might be able to make a living for a while pitching,” Van Horn said. “His stuff is as good as anybody we have. If he stays healthy, he may play for a long time.”
Zack Plunkett - Dodgers - 20th round, 611th pick
The only Arkansas player taken on the final day of the draft was Plunkett. It is actually the second straight year he’s been a Day 3 pick, as the Diamondbacks took him in the 37th round last season.
As the Razorbacks’ backup catcher, Plunkett has started 16 games and is hitting .265/.457/.490 with two home runs and nine RBIs. However, his path to the big leagues might be on the mound.
Despite not pitching in college, the Dodgers announced him as a pitcher. Sources have told HawgBeat that Plunkett has been clocked at 95 mph off the mound in the bullpen, but command is still an issue.
If he does convert to a pitcher at the professional level, there is already a model for him to follow who also happened to be a catcher for the Razorbacks. Blake Parker didn’t make the switch until after he began his pro career and he is now in his seventh season as a journeyman big leaguer.
Other Notable Draft Picks
~RHP Jackson Rutledge (Nationals, 1st round, 17th pick): Played at Arkansas last year before transferring to San Jacinto C.C., where he went 9-2 with a 0.87 ERA and 134 strikeouts in 82 2/3 innings to vault into the first round
~RHP Logan Gragg (Cardinals, 8th round, 245th pick): Prairie Grove native who spent two years at Connors State J.C. before ending up at Oklahoma State, where he is 3-3 with two saves and a 5.26 ERA
~RHP McKinley Moore (White Sox, 14th round, 410th pick): UALR pitcher who started the Trojans’ 17-7 win over the Razorbacks, giving up three earned runs in two innings
~OF Logan Allen (Rays, 14th round, 428th pick): Bryant native who played at UAFS, where he hit .362 and was named to the Heartland Conference All-Defensive Team this year
~RHP Cody Davenport (Royals, 20th round, 589th pick): Fayetteville native who played at UCA, where he was the Bears’ ace with a 1.98 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and four complete games
~LHP Chandler Fidel (Indians, 23rd round, 700th pick): Did not pitch in UALR’s win over Arkansas, but was the Trojans’ ace with a 3.65 ERA and 101 strikeouts in 101 innings
~1B Kyle MacDonald (Yankees, 27th round, 825th pick): Played two seasons at Arkansas State, hitting .324 with 20 home runs and 95 RBIs
~CF Luke Bandy (Red Sox, 29th round, 887th pick): Bentonville native who went to Dallas Baptist, where he hit .338 with six home runs, 32 RBIs and 26 stolen bases this year
