Who could be the next Razorback in MLB?

The 2023 Minor League Baseball season is a month old and one former Razorback — Dominic Fletcher — has already made his debut in The Show. There are 29 former Razorbacks currently in the minors looking to make their mark in the big leagues.

With nine former players on Major League rosters, who will be the next to make the jump? Well, there are five players that have compelling arguments:

After missing the 2021 season with myocarditis, Heston Kjerstad has skyrocketed through the Orioles system with quick stops at Single-A Delmarva and High-A Aberdeen. He is currently with Double-A Bowie and has offensive numbers rivaling his shortened 2020 season in Arkansas.

The former No. 2 overall pick is starting to show why he was selected so high and why he can play anywhere on the field, with starts at first base, left field and right field in 2023.

Kjerstad was named the Orioles Minor League Player of the Month for slashing .284/.392/.612 with six home runs in the month of April. He is ranked as the No. 5 prospect in the Orioles system.

2023 Stats: 26 games, 102 AB, .294 BA, 30 H, .385 OBP, 9 HR

Koch spent the first month of the season with the Indianapolis Indians and quickly climbed through the Pirates' A and AA teams in Bradenton, Florida, and Altoona, Pennsylvania, respectively, in 2022. Koch’s appearances at catcher for the Indians have been few and far between, as he has played in just 13 of the 32 games this season, splitting time behind the plate with Endy Rodriguez. Most of Koch’s early 2023 numbers offensively are career highs through his first four seasons.

2023 stats: 13 games, 35 AB, .257 BA, 9 H, .325 OBP, 1 HR, .990 fielding pct.

Cronin is one of two former Razorback pitchers playing Triple-A baseball, and he was on the Washington Nationals 40-man roster at the beginning of the season. The Navarre, Florida, native has always been a bullpen arm with zero starts in his time at Arkansas and minor leagues in 163 total appearances. Cronin is ranked as the No. 21 prospect in the Nationals system.

2023 Stats: 10 games, 5.56 ERA, 11 ⅓ IP, 11 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 11 BB, 11 K, 1.94 WHIP

A regular pitcher out of the bullpen for the Razorbacks in 2018, Loseke has done more of the same with the Yankees' minor league teams and spent of all of last season with Double-A Somerset. He opened the 2023 season with a promotion to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Batters are hitting just .163 — a career-best — against Loseke so far in this young season.

2023 Stats: 9 games, 1.84 ERA, 14 ⅔ IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 10 BB, 15 K, 1.23 WHIP

Reindl is a pitcher who has made a slower rise up the ladder than other former Razorbacks and has had a slow start to 2023. It’s not Reindl’s fault, as he has just been bit by the injury bug numerous times in last two years — he has been on the 7-day injured list twice this season already and five times dating back to last year. Reindl only pitched in 12 games last season and six so far in 2022, but he has delivered for the Smokies in his limited time.

2023 Stats: 6 games, 0.93 ERA, 9 ⅔ IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 10 K, 0.83 WHIP

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