Fayetteville — A transfer committed to five Arkansas baseball players and Razorbacks was drafted on Monday, the second day of the MLB draft.
Shortstop Jalen Battles was the first player in Arkansas to be selected on the second day by the Tampa Bay Rays in the fifth round. Razor Bucks had three players drafted in Round 9-left-handed pitcher Evan Taylor (Miami Marlins), right-handed pitcher Connor Norland (Chicago Cubs) and catcher Michael Turner (Chicago White Sox)-and The right-handed pitcher Zebron Vermilion was drafted by the New York Mets in the 10th round.
Arkansas also saw shortstop Joe Dance Princel, one of its valuable recruits, drafted by the White Sox in the fourth round. Sprinkles spent the last three seasons at the University of California, Santa Barbara, committing to Razorbacks on July 8. He was considered the leading candidate to replace Battles as a team shortstop in 2023.
Players drafted on Sunday and Monday may sign professionally due in part to the MLB rules that impose financial penalties on the team if they cannot agree with the players drafted in the first 10 rounds. In 2021, the MLB club signed 309 of the 312 players drafted in the first 10 rounds.
Sprinkles is worth $ 452,700 in his slots as the 131st overall selection in this year’s draft. The slot value assigned by MLB is the recommended contract for each pick in the draft, but it is flexible.
Overall, the 164th drafted battle has a slot value of $ 328,200, while the other four razorbacks drafted on Monday range from Vermilion’s $ 152,400 to Taylor’s $ 165,200.
Norland and Taylor may order a contract that is somewhat consistent with the slot value, as they still have college qualifications. Turner and Vermilion have run out of qualifications and may be contracted for slot values. This allows the organization to spend excess slot money on other picks in the first 10 rounds.
Jonathan Mayo, a draft analyst at MLB.com, mentioned Sprinkles and Battles as a strong advocate in a comment in the draft report on Monday.
“I wrestled with (sprinkling) bats,” Mayo said. “He really jumped on the radar because he made some changes to his swing last year. He didn’t hit much this year, but he can flatten his play with shortstop. This is arguably long-term. A shortstop, with more arms and a wider range. If he can refine his approach a bit on the plate, he has some offensive skills.
“Jalen Battles is one of the best defensive shortstops in the college ranks. He has a solid range and very strong arms. He can definitely play short. He is Robert Moore. That’s why he was on second base. He has some power … it’s not a lot of power. Bats determine if he’s a daily player or a utility guy. “
Norland was the number one starter in Arkansas this year, and Taylor was arguably the team’s best relief pitcher. Both had an ERA of 3.65.
Taylor was often the first rescuer from the Razorbucks bullpen. He had the team’s highest batting average of .179, with 54 batting averages in 441/3 innings. His WHIP was 0.99.
Jim Callis, a senior writer at MLB.com, added, “He had a really great season in Arkansas. He goes out. He’s especially tough on left-handed players.”
Norland made 8-6 with 19 starts and threw the team’s best 116 innings. Greenwood’s fourth grade had 113 strikeouts and walked 34.
When he allowed 5 runs in 29 1/3 innings at ERA 1.53 and 25 hits and 5 walks at WHIP 1.02 at the start against the Grand Canyon, North Carolina, Stanford and Olemis during the NCAA postseason. Was particularly good at. ..
In a previous comment from the draft, Norland left the door open to return to Razorbucks for another season.
Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said on July 7 about Norland, “I think he loves to wear this uniform.” Obviously, he could come back. I met him about it.
“I don’t think Connor is just going to go because someone says,’Hey, we’re going to give you a little money to go play.’ It must be in a situation where he feels really good about it. You will have to. “
Turner, who transferred from Kent State University before the season, was one of the top Razorbacks hitters this year with a batting average of .323, OPS of .890, home runs of 9, doubles of 17, and RBI of 53. He was the NCAA Stillwater Regional’s best player and catcher for the All-NCAA tournament team.
Vermilion spent six seasons in Arkansas. He pitched primarily as a relief, but got off to a good start at the beginning of the 2021 season. He had 2.39 ERA in 26 1/3 innings this year.
Razorbacks drafted eight players in two days. This is the highest number of students in Tennessee in a university program. Third baseman Cayden Wallace (Kansas City Royals), right pitcher Peyton Palette (White Sox) and second baseman Robert Moore (Milwaukee Brewers) were drafted in the second round on Sunday. Moore was drafted as a shortstop.
Former Arkansas pitcher Caleb Bolden was also drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the seventh round. Bolden, who spent the 2018-21 season with Razorbacks, pitched at TCU this year.
Perhaps as remarkable as which razorback was drafted is which player associated with the program was not selected for two days. There is one high school signer in Arkansas. Right-handed pitcher Cole Phillips (57th overall in the Atlanta Braves) was drafted in Boerne, Texas. This increases the likelihood that Razorbucks will retain most of the 17 high school signature classes.
Arkansas also promised at least 16 transfers. 6 times from Division I and 10 times from junior college.
After Phillips, the signers of the Razorbacks high school, rated the best in this year’s draft, are left-handed outfielder Mason Neville of Las Vegas Basic High School, infielder Jason Jones of Brasswell (Texas) High School, and Edmond (Oklahoma). It was a pitcher parker coil. .. ) Memorial high school. Baseball America ranked Neville 184th, Jones 185th, and Coil 244th among the draft players.
Baseball America also rated Arkansas left-handed pitcher Zack Morris in 425th place in the draft outlook. Originally from Cabot, Morris is one of Razorbacks’ top relief pitchers this year and remains qualified for two seasons.
Earlier this month, Van Horn said players are often drafted based on their signature ability.
“If they say they want a million dollars and we can’t give you more than ($ 500,000), they should come to school and triple it. That’s what Van Horn said.
The 11th round of the draft will start at 1:00 pm on Tuesday.
