What Casey Opitz's return means for Arkansas, 2 grad transfer catchers

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Casey Opitz was not selected in this week’s MLB Draft, but it wasn’t because of a lack of interest.

While the star catcher was expected to be one of three Arkansas players among the 160 picks during the two-day event, none of the 30 big league teams were willing to meet his asking price and he went undrafted.

Instead, Opitz will return to Fayetteville as a fourth-year junior and give the Razorbacks a key veteran for the 2021 season who head coach Dave Van Horn described during a Zoom videoconference Friday as one of the best players and the best leader on the team.

“I don’t think it all fell into place for him,” Van Horn said. “He got a lot of calls and there was a lot of interest in him, it just didn’t work out. I think you’ve got to give him credit. He knew he could come back and be draft eligible with some bargaining power next year and get to play with his teammates another year.”

Within 20 minutes of the conclusion of the draft, Opitz confirmed he wouldn’t be pursuing an undrafted free agent deal - which is limited to a max $20,000 signing bonus - and he’d be playing another year at Arkansas.

“Incredibly thankful for all the teams that made offers today,” Opitz wrote on Twitter. “Sadly, I didn’t feel that it was the right fit this year. … Blessed that this journey has brought me back to Fayetteville! Day 1 of 2021 starts tomorrow!”

Although there is some natural disappointment that comes from not being picked, Van Horn said it doesn’t appear to have him down, based on conversations his assistants have had with him and text messages he’s exchanged with him, and that Opitz will use it as motivation moving forward.

“What I’m getting out of it, he’s excited to come back,” Van Horn said. “He’s over it. He’s going to move on. His comment was, ‘I’m getting ready for the ’21 season. I can’t wait to get back.’ He’s pretty strong-minded, very confident.”

The unexpected development does create a conundrum with the roster.

Believing he was going to need to replace Opitz, Van Horn brought in a pair of graduate transfer catchers: A.J. Lewis from Eastern Kentucky and Robert Emery from San Francisco.

The duo knew they’d be splitting time with each other, but now Opitz returns as a clear-cut No. 1 option. It was a scenario that Van Horn discussed with both transfers beforehand and he expects at least one of them to pick another school for their final season. If both decide to leave, he said the Razorbacks could make another move at the position.

“They can do whatever they need to do if they don’t want to come in now,” Van Horn said. “We’re in the process of working through that right now. Obviously we’d like to at least keep one of them, and if we don’t we’ll go from there. We’ve got some other plans.”

Although Emery is solely a catcher, Lewis is an intriguing player because of his versatility. Named a first-team All-American for the shortened 2020 season, he has also played third base, first base and outfield in college.

“I’ve already talked with him (and) he’ll have that option to play outfield, he’ll have that option to play in the infield and catch,” Van Horn said. “One reason we wanted A.J. is because he is athletic and he can do other things besides just catch.”

Van Horn, like many coaches, prefers to have at least two or three catchers on the roster. That provides some flexibility at a position that naturally comes with wear and tear, so it’s impossible for one guy to catch every innings and injuries happen.

In addition to the two graduate transfers, the Razorbacks also have a couple of young options at catcher. Dylan Leach plans to graduate from Carthage, Texas, this summer and enroll early, while Cason Tollett will be back after being a true freshman this season.

He can’t comment on Leach yet because of NCAA rules, but Van Horn was asked about Tollett, who was a standout at Little Rock Christian before coming to Arkansas.

“He’s got to get his arm healthy and he’s got to go out and win a job,” Van Horn said. “He’s been working hard. He had some trouble throwing last year and we were pretty much thinking we might be able to redshirt him. We just didn’t know what to do because it’s all about getting healthy and showing us what he can do.”

Despite the issues it’s created with his roster, Van Horn’s excitement about getting Opitz back another year was evident.

Not only will he help Arkansas win games, but Opitz could blossom into a big-time draft prospect much like Blaine Knight and Isaiah Campbell in recent years after turning down money and returning to school.

“He’ll be the best catcher in the country returning to college as far as handling pitching staffs, calling pitches,” Van Horn said. “He’s definitely going to move himself up on the draft boards next year.”

Teammate Casey Martin, who was part of the same 2017 signing class and was one of the Razorbacks’ two draft picks this week, has high expectations for Opitz next season and that should mean good things for Arkansas in 2021.

“Opitz is going to walk in there with a chip on his shoulder I think,” Martin said. “He’s going to use it as motivation and he’s going to be a true leader. He’s going to lead that team to another World Series, so I can’t wait to watch him be successful and get everything he deserves.”