We are 12 days away from Arkansas baseball, and HawgBeat is continuing its annual lineup preview series for the 2024 Diamond Hogs.
With scrimmage coverage, analysis, interviews, previews, the Diamond Hawgs Podcast and more, HawgBeat provides the best Arkansas baseball coverage around.
We continue things with the number two spot in the lineup, which catcher Hudson White is projected to fill...
#8 - Hudson White - C
Jr. | R/R | 6-1 | 200
Keller, Tx. / Byron Nelson HS
2023: 44 games started, .296/.395/.547, 10 2B, 11 HR, 49 RBI, 27 BB/31 K, 2 SB
A right-handed hitter, White isn't necessarily a shoe-in at the catcher spot, but he is the most accomplished on the roster and did earn the number two spot in the Diamond Hogs' most recent preseason scrimmage.
Through the fall and spring scrimmages, White is slashing .238/.405/.405 with an OPS of .805 and 10 hits, one double, two home runs, six RBIs with 10 walks to just five strikeouts.
"You’ve got Hudson White, who came in here from Texas Tech, who was splitting time back there with a younger player," head coach Dave Van Horn said on Jan. 25. "And he has made a huge jump on the defensive end. He throws well. Athletically he could play other positions.
"And he was our best hitter in the fall, as far as just barreling up the ball, hitting the ball all over the field, tough out, taking walks, fouling off pitches. You know he’s going to be in the lineup and it’ll be hard to beat him out. But that’s a good problem."
Though his preseason numbers don't jump off the page, White has a proven track record as the Big 12 Freshman of the Year and 68th overall prospect in Future Star Series' most recent ranking of the top 200 college prospects for the 2024 MLB Draft.
"I’m not all about not having an everyday guy," Van Horn said. "I want our players to know that when they walk through the door, they don’t have to look at the lineup most of the time. I think it just makes for a better player, a better situation. If you earn the job, you’re the best catcher, you’re the best hitter, the pitchers like throwing to you."
A contributing factor to White being slotted at the number two spot is because left-handed second baseman Peyton Stovall is projected to leadoff for the Razorbacks during the 2024 season. Having the option to flip between left and right handed-hitters throughout the lineup prevents a team from matching up pitchers in critical situations.
"I don't want to put two of them back-to-back, if we go left in the top then we go right in the 2, then probably left or right, then left or right," Van Horn said. "Just try to mix it up through the first five the best we can, so later on in the game they're not getting us two for one bringing in a hotshot lefty to get us."
Arkansas will host James Madison at Baum-Walker Stadium on Friday, Feb. 16 for Opening Day. The first game of the season is set for a 3 p.m. CT first pitch and it will be streamed on the SEC Network+.
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Catcher position 'good problem to have' for Diamond Hogs
Arkansas 2B Peyton Stovall to have fresh mindset in 2024
Arkansas SS Wehiwa Aloy showcases power-potential in preseason
Takeaways from Dave Van Horn's preseason press conference
