Tag: ProHogs

After six years in minors, Grant Koch is getting a call to The Show

What a journey for Fayetteville’s own. Congrats, Grant.

Six years of minor-league baseball and Grant Koch is finally getting his shot.

The former Arkansas catcher is being called up by the Pittsburgh Pirates from Triple-A Indianapolis. He will replace catcher Joey Bart.

Koch had a slash line of .167/.211/.259 for the Indians in 2024, but is coming of a 2023 in which an OPS of .708, a career high. The Fayetteville native and FHS product has been in the Pittsburgh organization since being taken in the fifth round by the franchise in 2018.

Koch is the second Arkansas player taken out of the nine Razorbacks taken in that draft who signed to make it to the Majors. Evan Lee, a two-way player during his time with the Diamond Hogs and also an Arkansas native, pitched in four games for the Nationals in 2022.

Of the nine players – not including Zack Plunkett and Isaiah Campbell, each of who were selected but did not sign – taken that year, only Koch, Lee, Jax Biggers and Jake Reindl are still playing in the MLB/MILB system.

Koch played three years with the Diamongs Hogs (2016-18) during which time he collected an .802 OPS and hit 22 home runs.

His biggest chance of playing time with the Pirates will be on days which Paul Skenes starts. The two were battery mates earlier in the season in Indianapolis.

Williams, Joe get best of Gafford as Thunder hammer Mavericks in NBA Playoffs

Game, Blouses. Jaylin and Isaiah’s OKC bunch had little trouble with Gafford’s Mavs in Game 1.

Former Arkansas forward Jaylin Williams scored 11 points and nine rebounds. Former Arkansas guard Isaiah Joe scored six points on two 3-pointers. And ex-Razorbacks center Daniel Gafford notched a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

More importantly for all three, the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of their Western Conference second-round series on Tuesday.

Williams, Joe and Gafford headline what remains of an Arkansas contingent in the NBA playoffs. Bucks guard Patrick Beverley and Bucks forward Bobby Portis – both former Razorbacks players, as well – were likely the most famous duo. But Bevereley was frustrated as Eastern Conference’s No. 3-seed was knocked out in the first round.

The Thunder are having no such trouble as the West’s No. 1. They have yet to lose in the 2024-25 playoffs, sweeping New Orleans in the first round and handling Dallas with ease in the opener.

Mavericks star Luka Doncic shot just 6 of 19 from the floor and scored 19 points in the loss. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, his counterpart on the other side of the court, scored 29.

Game 2 between the teams is set for Thursday at 8:30 p.m.

Patrick Beverley throws basketball, hits woman in face as Bucks eliminated

Long-time clown Patrick Beverley, the guy who admitted to cheating at Arkansas, should face a heavy fine and suspension.

Former Arkansas basketball player and NBA veteran Patrick Beverley has long been considered one of the most antagonistic players of his generation. What he did Thursday was unexpected and unacceptable.

The Bucks guard, with his team trailing by 20 points in the final minutes of a game in which they would ultimately be eliminated, threw a basketball at a fan behind the Milwaukee bench. He appeared to be throwing at a male Pacers fan, but the ball, instead, hit a female fan in the face.

The ball came back to Beverley who then threw it again toward the man. The fan deflected it and the two continued a verbal exchange for next several seconds.

Beverley, now in his 12th NBA season, defended his actions after the game, saying the fan had been heckling the Bucks’ bench the entire night. He followed up Friday morning with a prayer emoji, claming he had to, and would be “better.”

As of Friday morning, the NBA was investigating.

Beverley played two seasons at Arkansas in 2006-07 and 2007-08 before leaving to play basketball overseason. He later said he left because of he cheated in class and that the cheating was not limited to himself on the basketball team.

Baltimore promotes outfielder Heston Kjerstad to majors

Kjerstad is back in The Show. Can he stay this time with the Os?

Outfielder Heston Kjerstad made his MLB debut Tuesday after Baltimore promoted the former Arkansas star from Triple-A Norfolk.

Kjerstad, the No. 2 overall pick from Arkansas by the Orioles in 2020, made his big-league debut last year, playing in 11 games for the Birds. He started the 2024 season with the Tides and has slashed .349/.431/.744 with 10 home runs and 30 RBI in just 102 plate appearances.

On Tuesday in his debut against the Angels, Kjerstad went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts in the Orioles’ 7-4 loss.

The spot in the majors opened when Baltimore outfield Austin Hays was placed on IL with a calf injury. Hays was an All-Star for the Orioles in 2023, but was hitting just .111 with zero extra-base hits at the time of his injury.

Kjerstad entered the year as the No. 29 prospect in all of baseball and the fourth highest-rated prospect in the Orioles system. Despite being drafted in 2020, Kjerstad didn’t truly start his career until 2022 after a heart condition knocked him out of the entire 2021 season. A hamstring injury delayed his beginning in 2022, even, as well.

Kjerstad joins Dominic Fletcher and Andrew Benintendi as former Arkansas outfielders now in the Major Leagues.

Former Diamond Hogs ace Isaiah Campbell makes first MLB Opening-Day roster

Campbell was a stud out of the bullpen for the Mariners last year, but this is his first season to begin the year in the Bigs.

Isaiah Campbell is an Opening-Day Major Leaguer.

The former Arkansas right-hander was named to the Boston Red Sox opening day roster Thursday as teams across the league prepared for the first games of the season.

Campbell will be pitching in his second season in the Big Leagues after cracking the Seattle Mariners’ club last year. He had a 2.83 earned-run average in 28 games for the Ms out of the bullpen. Campbell was trided to Boston in November for infielder Luis Urias.

A second-round pick of the Mariners in 2019, Campbell didn’t get to pitch professionally until 2021 at age 23. He quickly shot through Seattle’s system and jumped from Double-A Arkansas in the middle of last year to the big club, where he stuck for the season.

Campbell pitched for the Diamond Hogs for four seasons, although his second season with the Razorbacks was limited to just one game because of injury. He came into his own his final season in Fayetteville in 2019, striking out 122 batters and walking just 22 in 118 1/3 innings.

Boston opens its 2024 season Thursday night incidentally against those same Mariners.

Report: Dominic Fletcher has “leg up” on starting in right field for White Sox

White Sox GM Chris Getz said Fletcher is the ChiSox most likely starter in right this year.

Dominic Fletcher, heading into his fifth professional season, is finally looking into a year of regularlity at the Major League level.

The former Diamondbacks outfielder, who played three years for Arkansas in college, was traded to the White Sox over the winter. As spring training starts in earnest this week, Fletcher appears to be the odds-on favorite to take over starting duties in right field for Chicago.

According to White Sox general manger Chris Getz, who once roamed second base for the Southsiders, Fletcher has “a leg up” in the competition for the gig. Oscar Colas and Gavin Sheets are also in the running.

Fletcher slashed .301/.350/.441 in 102 at-bats for the National League champs last year, but was blocked from regular playing time. Getz and the Sox acquired him in January for pitching prospect Cristian Mena. At the Triple-A level with Reno, Fletcher was even better with an on-base percentage at .400 and slugging .500.

If he were to win the job, Chicago would have two former Arkansas outfielders in the starting lineup. Andrew Benintendi, arguably the best player in Diamond Hogs history, is the team’s starting leftfielder.

These five Hogs are headed to the NFL combine

The last time Arkansas did not have a player taken in the NFL Draft? It was 1995.

The last time an Arkansas football player was not taken in the NFL Draft, the Tennessee Titans were still the Houston Oilers in 1995.

The streak should continue in 2024, especially as five (former?) Arkansas players were invited to the 2024 NFL Draft combine this week. Offensive linemen Beaux Limmer and Brady Latham, kicker Cam Little, defensive end Trajan Jeffcoat and cornerback Dwight McGlothern will all take part in front of dozens of pro teams ahead of the April draft.

Little is the highest rated of the bunch, though that doesn’t mean he stands the best chance at being drafted. Kickers are not in high demand in the draft typically. Little, however, should be taken as he is rated the top kicker in the whole draft, per ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr.

Limmer, who can play center and guard, is also rated in the top 10 at his position (in this case, center). Latham, who can also play both positions, may very well be taken nearby.

McGlothern and Jeffcoat were both transfers from elsewhere in the SEC. Jeffcoat played one season with Arkansas after arriving from Missouri, while McGlothern played two seasons in Fayetteville upon leaving LSU.

The combine will be held from Feb. 26 to March 4 and the draft itself is April 25-27.

Hogs in the Super Bowl: Every former Arkansas football player to ever make it

A lot of America is tuning in to see if Taylor Swift makes the Super Bowl. Arkansas fans are watching Dre Greenlaw.

Everyone who isn’t a Niners or Chiefs fan may be focused on Taylor Swift at the Super Bowl in Las Vegas on Sunday.

Unless you’re from Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Dre Greenlaw and Brandon Allen were All-SEC type of players during their time playing for the Arkansas football team in the late 2010s. Before that, they were all-class type of players during their playing time for the Fayetteville High School football team in the early 2010s.

If one believes that success breeds success, it’s fits for Greenlaw and Allen, both of whom will participate in Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday when their team, the San Francisco 49ers, play the Kansas City Chiefs in Las Vegas.

That phrase, “success breeds success,” isn’t just about Greenlaw’s and Allen’s coincidental together-ness on the football field. It’s also about how Allen is now tied for the Super Bowl appearances for a former Arkansas player in history. And Greenlaw is one behind him, with Sunday’s game marking his second such.

For Allen, the third-string quarterback for the Niners, the game will be his third, but for three different teams. Both of Greenlaw’s trips to the Super Bowl have come with San Francisco. But besides them, who was the last former Razorbacks football player to play in the most famous individual game in the world?

Well, here is the complete list of former Arkansas players who have made it to the Super Bowl.

Report: Former Hogs star Daniel Gafford traded to Dallas Mavericks

El Dorado High grad and former Hogs center Daniel Gafford will finally get to play for a contender, it appears.

Daniel Gafford has played on bad basketball teams for just about the entireity of his NBA career.

Reports, however, state the former Arkansas Razorbacks center and Natural State native will finally get a shot to make the NBA postseason and play with two of the best players in the world in doing so.

Gafford was, per reports, traded from the Washington Wizards to the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday for Richaun Holmes and a first-round pick. The 6-foot-10 center is expected to help Dallas defensively most, where the Mavericks rank in the bottom 10 in the NBA when it comes points-in-the-paint allowed.

Gafford can add a bit on the offensive end, as well. His 10.9 points per game are a personal best now in his sixth season. He’s shooting 69% from the floor and playing a career-high 26.5 minutes per game. The numbers all suggest the 2023-24 season is the best the El Dorado High product has put together as a pro.

Gafford was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the No. 39 pick overall, in the second round, of the 2019 NBA Draft. He was traded to the Wizards in 2021. Before turning pro, Gafford played two seasons in Fayetteville where he averaged 17 points and almost nine rebounds a game his sophomore year.

Former Hogs outfield Dominic Fletcher traded to White Sox

After raking for Arizona last year in the majors and minors, Fletcher will get an opportunity for an everyday gig with the White Sox.

Dominic Fletcher should have every opportunity to become an MLB regular in 2024.

After playing in 28 games last year and making Major League debut with the eventual National League champion Arizona Diamondbacks, Fletcher was traded over the weekend to the Chicago White Sox for pitcher Christian Mena.

Fletcher impressed in his time in The Show, slashing .301/.350/.440 in 102 plate appearances. But with Arizona’s outfield solidified by Lourdes Gurriel, Alek Thomas and Corbin Carroll, playing time was hard to come by in the desert without injuries.

Fletcher, 26, will get a chance to start for Chicago this spring. He is joining an outfield in which only Luis Robert and former Diamond Hogs star Andrew Benintendi have spots locked in. Fletcher will compete with Jake DeLoach, Oscar Colas and, to a lesser extent, Gavin Sheets, who also plays first base.

With Arkansas from 2017-19, Fletcher slashed .298/.360/.497 with 42 home runs and 201 RBI while patrolling centerfield. At just 5-foot-6, his home run totals in the pros haven’t matched his collegiate statistics, but Fletcher has continued to show an ability to rack up extra-base hits throughout his four years in the Diamondbacks system.

Pitchers and catchers report for the White Sox on Valentine’s Day and the rest of the players will show up five days later. Chicago opens spring training February 23 against normal cross-town rivals the Cubs.