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FAYETTEVILLE — Head coach Dave Van Horn is no stranger to signing an excellent recruiting class only to see it picked apart by the pros.
With the No. 3 class in the country for 2020, according to Perfect Game, the veteran coach had a particular interest in last week’s MLB Draft. He figured a handful of his signees would be selected and he was right.
In a span of about an hour and a half Thursday, the Cardinals took Texas two-way standout Masyn Winn (54th overall) and in-state right-hander Markevian “Tink” Hence (63rd) and the Angeles took speedy Canadian David Calabrese (82nd).
The trio has until Aug. 1 to reach a deal, but with slot values ranging from $744,200 to $1.34 million, it is highly unlikely any of them ever suit up for the Razorbacks.
“They’ll sign,” Van Horn said. “Those teams wouldn’t have taken them if they hadn’t been in contact with them and pretty much gotten some dollar figures figured out.”
What makes this year’s draft different, though, is Van Horn was still left with some highly talented players who likely would have been picked in the five-round draft had they not stuck to their high asking prices.
In-state signees Cayden Wallace from Greenbrier and Nick Griffin from Monticello were considered top-100 draft prospects by various publications, as was Nate Wohlgemuth from Oklahoma. There was also a chance to lose Michael Brooks from Florida and Jaxon Wiggins from Oklahoma.
Those five players form the core of what could be a special class for the Razorbacks. Van Horn said anywhere between seven or 12 of the signees could be impact players from Day 1 next season.
“It’s hard to put a number on it, but we’ve got guys coming in here that are physically ready to go,” Van Horn said. “We’ve got some confident, strong kids coming to campus that will definitely help us out. … We feel really good about the kids coming in.
“They’re going to help us win, and they’re going to get better and develop. I truly believe in the 2023 draft, these freshman that are coming in now, you’re going to see their names pop up pretty early.”
Kjerstad's Path to the Bigs
Only one player in Arkansas’ illustrious baseball history - Jeff King in 1986 - has been drafted higher than Heston Kjerstad, who went second overall to the Baltimore Orioles last Wednesday.
He is the second top-10 pick Van Horn has coached with the Razorbacks, though, joining Andrew Benintendi. After winning National Player of the Year honors in 2015, the talented outfielder was taken seventh overall by the Boston Red Sox and made his big league debut a little over a year later.
Van Horn said he thinks Kjerstad could follow a similar track. If there was a normal minor league season this summer, he believes his slugger might have had an outside shot to reach Double-A this year.
Instead, he’ll likely have to wait until Baltimore’s instructional league this fall to prove himself as a big league hitter and more than capable outfielder, which Van Horn strongly believes will happen.
“Next year I hope he gets to Double-A,” Van Horn said. “If you’re in Double-A, anything can happen. They can call you up in September, you get a couple of big hits and there you go. I think he’s going to move pretty fast. Physically, mentally I feel like he’s on his way.”
