Despite spending the entirety of his junior season recovering from Tommy John surgery, Arkansas right-handed pitcher Peyton Pallette is going professional.
The Chicago White Sox selected Pallette 62nd overall, making the Benton native the second Razorback to be taken in the second round of the MLB draft.
Pallette played two seasons in Fayetteville, although he only recorded four appearances in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, he appeared in 15 games and started 11, posting a 4.02 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP in 56 innings. He issued 20 walks to his 67 strikeouts, good for a 10.8 K/9 ratio, and he earned a spot on the Newcomer All-SEC Team.
Pallette boasts a fastball that sits in the mid 90s but can run close to 100 miles per hour. His arsenal also includes a changeup and a devasting curveball, with a spin rate around 3300 RPM. Some scouts have compared him to former Vanderbilt and current Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Walker Buehler.
At 21 years old, the righty is the ninth White Sox selection to come out of the UofA. The 62nd pick is valued at approximately $1.18 million.
