Van Horn weighs in on Arkansas' injury problems
The number of injuries for the 2023 Arkansas baseball team seems to grow each week, and another name was added to the fold Wednesday.
Right-handed pitcher Dylan Carter announced that he will be done for the season after suffering a torn UCL. Carter is the third Razorback pitcher to suffer a season-ending injury this year.
After receiving good news following Carter's first MRI, the second MRI was done with dye and it revealed the tear. Van Horn said it was kind of shocking when he learned that Carter's season was done.
"Just disappointed," Van Horn said Thursday. "I felt bad for him. I found out at like 4:30 in the afternoon. I gave him a call. I think we had all individually called him to see how he was doing and talk to him a little bit.
"But yeah. You don’t replace him really. When he was rolling along there, he was pitching 90-93 and throwing the slider for a strike and pitching in some really tough, leverage situations. We gotta have some guys pick it up."
Not only did Carter join Jaxon Wiggins (torn UCL) and Koty Frank (torn lat) as Diamond Hogs that are done for the year, but he was just the latest in a long line of players to be injured at some point for Arkansas baseball this year. When I say long line, I mean a long line...
~ Jaxon Wiggins - torn UCL (season)
~ Koty Frank - torn lat (season)
~ Brady Tygart - sprained UCL (returned)
~ Jared Wegner - broken thumb (out indefinitely)
~ Parker Rowland - back (returned)
~ Tavian Josenberger - hamstring (out indefinitely)
~ Peyton Stovall - shoulder (out for Mississippi State series)
~ Peyton Holt - tweaked ankle (returned)
~ Dylan Carter - torn UCL (season)
One might think there is no way that this many injuries to a team is just a coincidence and maybe there is some kind of common denominator. Van Horn said he thinks it's "just kind of the luck of the draw."
"I mean, same schedule, same just about everything, honestly, and the injuries, you look at it for the most part, it’s been older pitchers," Van Horn said. "Guys who’ve thrown a lot. Big-time summer ball last summer for Dylan, then fall ball. It starts to add up. I would say just about every pitcher that’s been playing ball and is a guy that’s been playing a lot, the elbow injury is just around the corner. I mean it’s just a matter of time."
Van Horn went on to add that Arkansas sophomore left-hander Hagen Smith, who will start Friday night at Mississippi State, had Tommy John surgery as a junior in high school. Elbow injuries are becoming more and more common on the pro level and it's trickling down to the college level.
LSU baseball has now seen three pitchers suffer season-ending torn UCL's in Garrett Edwards, Chase Shores and Grant Taylor. Ole Miss ace Hunter Elliott underwent Tommy John surgery on Wednesday.
"I just think throwing a baseball overhand is some serious stress on an arm," Van Horn said. "We've had two center fielders have Tommy John over the years. Just taking in-and-out, and then bingo, it pops. When you're playing a sport, there's always danger of getting hurt.
"We hate it. In a perfect world, I wish we could start the season later and have a little more time to get these pitchers right before we open the season. I think that has a little bit to do with it."
As far as the injuries to position players, that's just the way the game goes. Shoulders, tendonitis, hamstrings, ankles and more are bound to happen at some point. Unfortunately for Arkansas, it continues to happen to significant contributors.
The hope for the Hogs is to have Wegner (out since April 11) and Josenberger (out since April 22) both back within the final two weekends of the regular season, which will follow this weekend's series at Mississippi State. Stovall's injury was explained by Van Horn as tendonitis and they are working to get the inflammation down and taken care of.
Arkansas will take on Mississippi State for a three-game series beginning at 6 p.m. CT Friday at Dudy Noble Field in Starkville, Mississippi. The game will be streamed live on the SEC Network Plus.