Category: Arkansas baseball

How does Arkansas adjust with Pallette out for the year?

Razorbacks baseball opens the season four weeks from today, and the young man expected to throw the first pitch is out for the season. Peyton Pallette will miss the 2022 season thanks to a UCL injury that will reportedly require Tommy John surgery

Razorbacks baseball opens the season four weeks from today, but the young man expected to throw the first pitch won’t be there. Peyton Pallette will miss the 2022 season thanks to a UCL injury that will reportedly require Tommy John surgery. That leaves the Omahogs without a clear Number One starter.

Recent history suggests they will adjust, and at least one pitcher will emerge. And it’s as likely as not that it will be a kid who isn’t grabbing many headlines this winter.

Matt Jones at WholeHogSports dives deep into how the Razorbacks have replaced valuable starters and relievers over the past few years. Pitching coach Matt Hobbs knows a thing or two about rebuilding a staff. And most observers believe the talent on the Arkansas pitching staff is at or near an all time high.

As Jones points out, this team is far more than one pitcher.

What Pallette’s injury doesn’t change is the perceived strength of this year’s Razorbacks, the lineup. What it lacks in experienced pitching, Arkansas has in position veterans like Robert Moore, Brady Slavens, Jalen Battles, Cayden Wallace, Braydon Webb and Zack Gregory.

The 2021 Razorbacks had a special run. Expecting them to repeat that in 2022 only sets fans up for disappointment. But the one thing that team did not do is certainly attainable for this year’s team: getting back to the College World Series.

Arkansas Baseball Takes First Loss of Year

Projected bullpen ace for Arkansas likely to face Tommy John surgery

Peyton Pallette entered the season with great expectations. He expected to anchor the pitching staff for the defending SEC Champions. Baseball America had him rated as the #13 overall prospect for the 2022 MLB Draft. And he was poised to bounce back from an injury-shortened 2021 campaign.

Unfortunately for him and Hogs fans everywhere, he will not get a chance to meet those expectations. Pallette will miss the season with a torn ulnar collateral ligament. The junior will requite Tommy John surgery. Kendall Rogers at D1Baseball was first to report this.

Pallette left a relief outing against Florida late last season with an elbow injury. The Hogs would go on to clinch the SEC regular season title that weekend. Head Coach Dave Van Horn told members of the media shortly thereafter that Pallette would be shutdown for the rest of the season. Initial reports indicated that Pallette did not tear his UCL and that he was preparing for the 2022 season.

It is unclear if this recent news is directly related to the 2021 injury.

Arkansas Baseball No. 2 in Preseason Rankings

The first of the three most respected college baseball rankings was released today with D1Baseball dropping their Preseason Top 25. The defending SEC champions start the season at #2, just behind preseason #1 Texas. The Hogs open their season on February 18 at home against Illinois State.

The first of the three most respected college baseball rankings was released today with D1Baseball dropping their Preseason Top 25. The defending SEC champions start the season at #2, just behind preseason #1 Texas. The Hogs open their season on February 18 at home against Illinois State.

Aaron Fitt is high on the Hogs, arguing that this team may be deeper and more talented top to bottom than the 2021 Hogs.

 If the unproven commodities on the mound can live up to their prodigious talent, this might wind up being the best Arkansas team ever, because the offense and defense will be elite once again.

SEC brethren Vanderbilt, defending National Champions Mississippi State, and Ole Miss round out the preseason Top 5. Arkansas has 16 games scheduled against ranked teams, the first of which will be against #6 Stanford in the Karbach Round Rock Classic on Saturday, February 26 at 6:00pm. The Cardinal are coming off a trip to Omaha last year.

Neither the Baseball America nor the USA Today Coaches Poll have been released.

Arkansas Baseball Loaded with 2022 MLB Draft Talent

Once again the Arkansas Razorbacks baseball team is loaded with MLB prospects likely to be taken early in this summer’s draft.

With only one month until first pitch at Baum Walker Stadium, fans and media alike are getting focused on the upcoming baseball season. Area scouts looking at OmaHogs talent may be the most excited. Once again the Arkansas Razorbacks baseball team is loaded with MLB prospects likely to be taken early in this summer’s draft.

Baseball America released their first Top 100 MLB Draft Prospects today. Dave Van Horn has two everyday starters on that list as well as the preseason ace of the staff. Robert Moore, Peyton Pallette, and Cayden Wallace are all likely in their final seasons on The Hill. They make up the core of what should be a team ready to defend its SEC championship.

D1Baseball Looks at Arkansas Baseball’s Newcomers

Don’t let the snowy weekend forecast fool you; spring is in the air. The OmaHogs start their 2022 campaign in 35 days.

Don’t let the snowy weekend forecast fool you; spring is in the air. The OmaHogs start their 2022 campaign in 35 days. Even the most loyal of fans will need to check their scorecards a few times early in the year, as several new faces will dot the lineup and the bullpen. While stalwarts like Casey Opitz and Christian Franklin will be missed, it is time to get to know the next crop of talent assembled by Dave Van Horn and his staff.

D1Baseball came to town last fall to evaluate the new recruits. They ranked Arkansas as the #3 recruiting class last year, and many of those newcomers will see playing time early and often. No one has created more buzz than freshman infielder Peyton Stovall.

With a quiet setup and a simple, quick and compact stroke from the left side, Stovall is a line-drive machine with power to all fields, but he’s also uncannily disciplined for his age — coach Dave Van Horn raved about his control of the strike zone, which could make him a perfect leadoff man as a freshman. He’s a versatile defender who likely fits at first base on this experienced team but figures to slide to second or third down the road.

You can read the full breakdown from D1Baseball here, along with the rest of the Top 25 recruiting classes from last year.

Another Top 10 for Arkansas Baseball

Preseason baseball polls continue to roll in, and the OmaHogs continue to show how much respect the program has around the country. Despite losing loads of talent College Baseball Nation ranks Arkansas at #4 in its 2022 Preseason Top 50. 

Preseason baseball polls continue to roll in, and the OmaHogs continue to show how much respect the program has around the country. Despite losing Golden Spikes winner Kevin Kopps, conference Friday night starter Patrick Wicklander, and mainstays Casey Opitz and Christian Franklin, College Baseball Nation ranks Arkansas at #4 in its 2022 Preseason Top 50.

The Hogs already have been pegged #9 from Perfect Game and down at #20 from Collegiate Baseball News. College baseball has many groups providing rankings throughout the season, but the three garnering the most attention are USA Today Coaches Poll, D1Baseball.com, and Baseball America. None of those three have released their preseason rankings just yet.

The Hogs kickoff the 2022 season just 40 days from now on Friday, February 18 when they take on Illinois State at Baum Walker Stadium in Fayetteville.

Baseball America: Re-Ranking of 2016 recruiting classes shows Arkansas knew what it was doing.

Four key players still in professional baseball

I love the concept of re-evaluating a recruiting or draft class (no matter the sport) a few years later. That’s really when we know how well a franchise/program evaluated the available talent. As is often the case, we commonly see 3-star recruits and late-round draft picks blossom once in the right spot.

This week Baseball America looked back at the 2016 recruiting class. Arkansas was coming off its worst season under Dave Van Horn, but managed to build a class that would anchor its run to back-to-back trips to Omaha.

Arkansas hosted three straight regionals from 2017-19, made the College World Series in both 2018 and 2019 and finished as national runner-up in 2018. This class played a key role in all of those teams. Cronin was one of the best relievers in the country throughout his college career, emerging as a dominant force at the back of the bullpen. Fletcher was a three-year starter in center field for the Razorbacks and was the top draft pick in the class at No. 75 overall in 2019.

You can read the rest of the article here.

Preseason All-America Accolades for Arkansas Duo

Both Peyton Pallette (JR, RHP) and Robert Moore (JR, 2B) have been named preseason All-American by Perfect Game.

At the time of this posting, parts of Arkansas are under a winter weather advisory. Every point north of Interstate 40 in the state has a chance of seeing sleet and/or snow. And it’s safe to bet at least one athlete is at the JB & Johnelle Hunt Baseball Center and simply doesn’t care.

Maybe it’s junior 2B Robert Moore. Or perhaps it’s junior RHP Peyton Pallette. Both of them have been named preseason All-American by Perfect Game. And both are probably a little ticked off about being on the third team and not the first or second.

Pallette is ranked #5 and Moore #8 by Baseball America among MLB draft prospects in college this spring. According to that publication Pallette is the best right-handed pitcher available. And depending on where overall #1 college prospect Jace Jung (Texas Tech) plays this spring – either 2B or 3B –  Big Game Bob is at worst 2nd team All-American.

What’s more, can you imagine the chips on the shoulders of Cayden Wallace and Jace Bohrofen? Or Jalen Battles? Or Jaxon Wiggins? Not even one was acknowledged on the preseason list.

The only thing more dangerous than a group this talented is a group this talented with something to prove.

First pitch at Baum Stadium is 45 days away.

Repeat POY? Moore named preseason All-American

Arkansas second baseman Robert Moore was named second-team All-American on Tuesday.

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Robert Moore was one of the best hitters in the SEC last year. For anyone who follows college baseball, that automatically made him one of the best hitters in the nation.

His return in 2022 for the Arkansas baseball team is a boon and Tuesday the junior second baseman was named a Collegiate Baseball Newspaper second-team All-American. 

Moore, the son of Kansas City Royals general manager Dayton Moore, hit .283/.384/.558 for the Razorbacks last year. His 16 home runs and 130 total bases led the team. He also had 53 RBI and 10 doubles.

Baseball America has Moore as the No. 8 college prospect for next year’s MLB draft. The only second baseman ahead of him is Texas Tech’s Jace Jung, who made Collegiate Baseball’s first-team All-American bunch. Jung was a finalist for the Dick Howser Trophy as college baseball’s best player last year, but lost to former Arkansas pitcher Kevin Kopps.

Arkansas opens its season February 18-20 at Baum-Walker Stadium against Illinois State.

Diamond Hogs check in at No. 20 in first baseball poll of the winter

Five SEC teams are ranked ahead of Arkansas in the first major poll of the preseason.

Arkansas is one of six SEC teams ranked in the Top 25 in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper preseason poll.

The Diamond Hogs checked in at No. 20 in the first baseball poll to drop this season. Other polls of note that should come out in the next few weeks are Baseball America, D1Baseball.com and the USA Today Coaches Poll.

With that number of polls, the rankings tend to skew even more wildly than in football and basketball where the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches polls typically have small differences.

The Razorbacks open the season February 18-20 at Baum-Walker Stadium against Illinois State. They have to replace all-everything pitcher Kevin Kopps, the reigning Player of the Year by almost every publication, and four other starters in the field.

The lineup will lean on infielders Robert Moore and Brady Slavens. Moore hit .284/.384/.558 and led the team with 16 home runs. Slavens hit .284/.347/.560 with 14 homers and 12 doubles.