Kjerstad debuts in Top 100 prospects list, other Hogs on Top 30 lists
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Arkansas has only one former player on MLB Pipeline’s latest Top 100 Prospects list, but there are several Razorbacks throughout its organizational Top 30 rankings.
On the heels of being selected second overall by the Baltimore Orioles, outfielder Heston Kjerstad debuted at No. 68 on the top-100 list Tuesday.
Kjerstad is one of just 13 players selected in this summer’s MLB Draft who made the Top 100 and one of 103 to make the Top 30 for the individual teams.
In the Orioles’ organization, he checks in at No. 3 - behind only last year’s No. 1 overall pick, Adley Rutschman, and 2018 first-round pick Grayson Rodriguez. Last year, former Arkansas pitcher Blaine Knight was No. 16 in Baltimore’s top-30 list, but he is no longer listed.
The Razorbacks’ only other draftee this year was shortstop Casey Martin and he debuts as No. 9 on the Philadelphia Phillies’ top-30 list.
While Knight fell off the Orioles’ list, three other Arkansas players from its 2018 national runner-up team are among the top 30 prospects in their respective organizations: Matt Cronin (Nationals, No. 12), Isaiah Campbell (Mariners, No. 13) and Dominic Fletcher (Diamondbacks, No. 23).
Trevor Stephan, who was the Razorbacks’ ace in 2017, is ranked as the 25th-best prospect in the New York Yankees’ organization.
Two players on the 2018 team who transferred to other schools are also on the top-30 lists. Pitcher Jackson Rutledge, who became a first-round pick after one year at San Jacinto J.C., is the Nationals’ third-best prospect, while pitcher Bryce Bonnin checks in at No. 23 for the Reds after spending the last two years at Texas Tech.
It’s also worth noting that outfielder Alerick Soularie, who was a member of the same Arkansas signing class that included Kjerstad, Martin, Rutledge and Bonnin, is 24th in the Twins’ organization. He never made it to campus, instead heading to San Jacinto J.C. and eventually following former assistant Tony Vitello to Tennessee.
Canaan Smith, a catcher from Texas, was in that 2017 class, as well, but he was a fourth-round pick in that summer’s MLB Draft and didn’t go to college. Now an outfielder, he’s 22nd in the Yankees’ organization.
That’s a couple spots ahead of another former Arkansas signee, Josh Breaux. The JUCO catcher was a second-round pick in 2018 and is now No. 24 on the Yankees’ top-30 list - just ahead of Stephan.
All three of the Razorbacks’ signees taken in this year’s draft are also on their respective organizations’ top prospect lists. Outfielder David Calabrese checks in at No. 16 for the Angels, while two-way standout Masyn Winn and pitcher Markevian “Tink” Hence are seventh and 10th for the Cardinals.
Two other former signees featured in the Top 30s are Daniel Tillo (Royals, No. 24) and Benjamin Rortvedt (Twins, No. 29). They were members of Arkansas’ 2017 and 2016 signing classes, respectively.