Subscribe to HawgBeat today and receive 50% off an annual subscription PLUS we'll send you a gift code for the remaining cost ($49.50) to use on the Rivals Fan Shop! Click here to sign up
In a surprising development, Casey Opitz was not among the players selected in the this year’s MLB Draft.
Arkansas’ star catcher was projected to be one of 160 amateur players selected over the five-round draft, but unlike teammates Heston Kjerstad (Orioles, 1st round, 2nd pick) and Casey Martin (Phillies, 3rd round, 87th pick), he didn’t hear his name called.
At this point, Opitz can either sign with a professional organization as an undrafted free agent or return to Fayetteville as a fourth-year junior. Both decisions have consequences.
As part of the modified rules for this summer’s shortened MLB Draft, players who don’t get selected can sign as free agents for a maximum signing bonus of only $20,000. That is about one-tenth of what Opitz likely could have expected as a draftee in a normal year.
If he chooses to play with the Razorbacks another year - which he has said he’d do if he goes undrafted - Opitz would join what has suddenly become a crowded position. Thinking he’d need a veteran behind the plate, head coach Dave Van Horn brought in not one, but two graduate transfer catchers for the 2021 season.
A.J. Lewis was an All-American at Eastern Kentucky this season, while Robert Emery put up solid numbers at San Francisco. That doesn’t even include Cason Tollett, a true freshman this year, and Dylan Leach, who is skipping his senior season to come to Arkansas as an early enrollee.
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the NCAA has granted eligibility relief across the board, which gave Lewis and Emery and opportunity to transfer and would make Opitz a fourth-year junior in 2021. That would mean he’d still have a year of leverage for next summer’s draft, which would likely lead to a much larger signing bonus than what he’d get as an undrafted free agent.
The extra year would also allow Opitz to break free from the stereotype as purely a defensive catcher.
Although he had a knack for delivering in the clutch and showcased good plate discipline, Opitz hit just .243 with only six extra-base hits (three doubles, three home runs) as a sophomore in 2019. Those struggles at the plate continued with Team USA over the summer.
However, he bulked up and added some weight during the offseason and Van Horn believed he was on his way to a much more productive junior season.
In a small sample size, Opitz showed significant improvement. In addition to hitting .302, he had already exceeded last year’s total of extra-base hits. He had a team-high six doubles, as well as one triple and one home run.
Unfortunately, the season was canceled after just 16 games and that prevented him from putting more on tape that could have significantly improved his draft stock for this year’s draft.
Instead, he has the reputation as one of the best defensive catchers in the country. Opitz made a living throwing out potential base stealers - gunning down 40 percent during his career - and was also known as an excellent receiver who could steal strikes for his pitchers.
His arm was a known commodity coming into the 2020 season, as Baseball America declared during the preseason that he had the “best catcher arm” in college baseball based on their conversations with MLB scouts.
At one point during ESPN2’s broadcast of the draft, analyst Kyle Peterson expressed his surprise that Opitz hadn’t been drafted, claiming he can “catch and throw at the major league level right now.”
College Students, get a year of HawgBeat coverage for just $11.95. Request details via email from your school account (.edu) to nchavanelle@yahoo.com.
