College students, get a year of HawgBeat coverage for just $11.95! Request details via email from your school account (.edu) to andrewhutchinson413@gmail.com.
FAYETTEVILLE — The transformation Arkansas saw in Kevin Kopps from 2020 to 2021 will likely never be matched in college baseball, but there are a couple of breakout candidates on the current roster.
Even though it’s highly improbable that either has as dominant of a season as Kopps or wins the Golden Spikes Award, head coach Dave Van Horn sees the potential for senior left-hander Evan Taylor and sixth-year senior outfielder Braydon Webb to have huge 2022 seasons.
Talking about his pitching staff prior to the Fall World Series earlier this month, Van Horn mentioned several known commodities - Peyton Pallette, Connor Noland, Jaxon Wiggins, Zebulon Vermillion, etc. - before throwing out Taylor’s name.
Despite having pitched only 14 2/3 innings, and posted a 7.36 ERA, over the last three innings, Taylor has shown in practice that he’s more than capable of being a serviceable arm for the Razorbacks.
“Evan Taylor has really good stuff, but hasn’t really put it together here,” Van Horn said. “We’re hoping this is going to be a breakout year for him. Lefty with really good stuff, it’s just a matter of him taking it to the game and he’s done it so far this fall.”
Taylor wasn’t a heralded prospect coming out of Florence, Ala., as there were five left-handed pitchers ranked ahead of him in Alabama alone in the Class of 2018, but he’s had several ‘wow’ moments since arriving on campus.
There have been multiple instances when Van Horn has watched Taylor pitch and thought he’d be really good, only for it not to materialize when the season rolled around.
“I discussed that with him after the season was over and I did all the talking, let’s just put it that way, and I see a different pitcher,” Van Horn said. “It’s time and I think he knows that. I think he’s going to do it.”
Even in his 17 appearances at Arkansas, Taylor has shown flashes. He has 20 strikeouts in 14 2/3 innings - an average of 12.3 per nine innings - and opponents are hitting just .185 against him.
However, command has been an issue, as he’s issued 14 walks, hit a batter and thrown five wild pitches in his career. Van Horn is hopeful, based on what he’s seen this fall, that Taylor will put it all together in 2022.
“I hope that 10 years down the road, we have a conversation something along the line of, ‘Hey coach, I’m really glad that you kind of told me what you thought after the season about my ability and how I wasn’t using it,’” Van Horn said. “Because it’s there. If he’s serious, he could be really, really good out of the pen and a left-hander that can come in and get lefties and righties out.”
Offensively, Webb is coming off a season comparable to what Kopps experienced in 2020 before the pandemic.
Expected to be a significant contributor after having previous success (hitting .340/.452/.400 in the shorted 2020 season), he got off to a miserable start last year and ended up splitting time in the lineup.
A guy who has also battled injuries during his career, Webb hit just .174 with 43 strikeouts in 92 at bats last year, but when he made contact, it was usually hard. In fact, 10 of his 16 hits went for extra bases, including six home runs.
Van Horn said he’s finally healthy and came into the fall “with an edge.” It’s resulted in him hitting over .350 with seven or eight home runs in intrasquad scrimmages.
“Sometimes guys just make a jump and a lot of times it’s more mental than physical,” Van Horn said. “They just feel like, ‘Hey, I belong. I’ve been here, I’ve done that - good or bad.’ I think that’s kind of the way Webb feels now. It’s like, ‘To heck with it, I’ve had two years here where I thought I was going to be the guy and I wasn’t.’”
On top of his potential at the plate, Webb was also 6 for 6 on stolen base attempts last season and is an “incredibly gifted outfielder,” Van Horn said. There’s a chance he takes over the starting job in center field with Christian Franklin moving on to the professional ranks, especially if Cayden Wallace moves to third base, where he’s considered the front runner.
All of the tools are there for him to become the Razorbacks’ next great center fielder and Van Horn believes he can do it as a sixth-year senior - much like Kopps - in 2022.
“Athletically, there’s not a better athlete on our team than Braydon Webb,” Van Horn said. “He’s one of the best athletes I’ve ever coached. He can run, throw, hit, hit for power. I mean, he has all the tools. Now it’s just time for him to go do it and he’s done it this fall.”
