HawgBeat’s in-depth season preview of the 2019 baseball team concludes with a look at the outfield positions and designated hitter spot, where the Razorbacks should have a nice balance of offense and defense.

We took a broad look at Arkansas’ offense and examined how it’ll be much different than last year on Wednesday, followed by a closer look at the infield yesterday. Our preview series has also included a thorough look at the pitching staff, as well as shorter updates on Caleb Bolden having Tommy John surgery and Connor Noland splitting his time between two sports.

Right field

Two of Arkansas’ outfield spots are locked in, albeit with Heston Kjerstad flipping from left field - where he started 67 games as a true freshman - to right field.

He made the switch over the offseason at the request of head coach Dave Van Horn and played the position all fall. Despite misplaying or dropping a few fly balls throughout the season, Kjerstad was a pretty solid defender.

In the NCAA Regional against Dallas Baptist, he made a spectacular play to rob All-American Devlin Granberg of a potential game-changing home run. During the season, Kjerstad showed off his arm four outfield assists. Both skills, in Van Horn’s opinion, are better suited for right field.

Where Kjerstad really shined, though, was at the plate. He broke several UA freshman records - games played (69), at bats (262), hits (87), home runs (14), runs (65), RBI (58), total bases (145) and HBP (18) - that were previous held by the likes of Jake Dugger, Danny Hamblin, Dominic Ficociello, Jeff King, Zack Cox and Ryan Lundquist, and also tied the sacrifice fly record (7) held by Kyle Harris and Kevin McReynolds.

His 58 RBIs were a team high, while his 14 homers were tied with Eric Cole for the most and his .332 batting average ranked only behind fellow freshman Casey Martin for second on the team.

Not surprisingly, he was named the SEC Freshman of the Year and was recognized as an NCBWA Freshman All-American. Big things are expected of Kjerstad again in 2019, with D1Baseball.com and Perfect Game named him to their preseason All-America first teams. He was also ranked as the 12th best college prospect for the 2020 MLB Draft by D1Baseball.com, a list topped by Martin.

Center field

A familiar face will be roaming centerfield at Baum Stadium, as Dominic Fletcher has started 92.5 percent of Arkansas’ games at the position over the last two seasons.

Van Horn is keeping a close eye on him in the weeks leading up to the season because he’s dealing with a sore arm caused by throwing the ball too hard since returning from Christmas break, but Fletcher is confident he won’t miss any time.

“I’m feeling better,” Fletcher said last Thursday. “I’ll be ready to go this season.”

Having a healthy Fletcher in the field would be big for the Razorbacks. With numerous highlight reel plays on his resume, he is one of the top defensive center fielders in the country and was named to the SEC All-Defensive Team last season.

His defensive acumen is a big reason he’s No. 18 on D1Baseball.com’s list of the top college prospects for the 2019 MLB Draft, but Fletcher is also an offensive threat.

Over the last two seasons, he’s hit .290/.346/.480 with 22 home runs and 86 RBIs. There have been times when he hasn’t hit like he was expected to coming out of high school in California, but he really came on strong in SEC play last year, hitting .325 in the 30 conference games.

Some publications expect him to carry that over into the 2019 season, with Baseball America naming him a second-team preseason All-American and Perfect Game tabbing him to their third team.

His backup - and likely center fielder of the future - is also the projected starter in left field: Christian Franklin. He is good enough in the field that Van Horn would be comfortable putting him in center if Fletcher got hurt or just needed a day off.

“If that ever happened during the season, I could DH (Fletcher) and I wouldn’t have any problem putting Franklin out there in center and let him get some experience,” Van Horn said. “I would say if we started tomorrow, (Franklin) would probably pick up where he left off in the fall and probably be starting.”

Left field

The only outfield spot still up for grabs is left field, which Kjerstad vacated when he moved to the other side of the field. However, as Van Horn mentioned above, if the season started today, Franklin would likely get the starting nod.

He started both of the Razorbacks’ fall scrimmages and went 2 for 5 with a double, RBI and four runs, while showcasing his 6.5-second 60-yard dash speed with two stolen bases. Although he might not be the biggest offensive threat, Van Horn said he’s the better defensive option and did enough in the fall to earn the job.

“He’s gotten better, bigger, stronger,” Van Horn said. “Physically, he doesn’t look like a freshman.”

With Kjerstad’s move to right field, Franklin is essentially replacing Cole in the outfield. Those are big shoes to fill because he hit .313 with 14 home runs and 52 RBIs last season and didn’t make an error in 208 career chances.

“I think he’s a really good outfielder and he’s really going to help us out in left field,” Fletcher said. “We kind of needed someone to step up and be able to play left field out there and handle it.”

Another player capable of playing left field is JUCO transfer Matt Goodheart.

Designated hitter

There is no question that Goodheart will be in Arkansas’ lineup this season, but exactly where remains somewhat up in the air. If everything works out with Jordan McFarland at first base and Franklin in left field, he’ll likely be the Razorbacks’ designated hitter.

Goodheart’s bat should keep him in the mix regardless of where he ends up defensively. In his lone season at JUCO powerhouse San Jacinto C.C., the Magnolia, Ark., native hit .355 with seven home runs and 43 RBIs in 58 games.

“If you just talk about guys’ batting practice since they got back (from break), nobody on the team has hit the ball better than him,” Van Horn said. “It’s been fun to watch.”

Although his .355 batting average - which ranked fifth nationally in the JUCO ranks last season - jumps off the page, he has also shown good power with 22 extra-base hits and a .574 slugging percentage, speed with four triples and nine stolen bases, and plate discipline with 29 walks and a .464 on-base percentage.

Hitting coach Nate Thompson has been really impressed with what he’s seen from him so far, which includes a monster three-run home run in the fall scrimmage against Wichita State.

“I think he’s going to be a guy that obviously can hit and drive the baseball a little bit, but the other piece is he’s got a good eye, good approach and is going to be an on-base kind of guy,” Thompson said. “He’s just going to be a tough out, be a guy that can grind for us and he can pop one every now and then.”

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