Fayetteville — Arkansas’ baseball program was shocked on Friday and announced that slugger Brady Slavens will return to the Razorbucks 2023 season.
“I don’t have a place I want to be … meet everyone in Baum !!!” Slavens posted on his Twitter page with the hashtag #runitback.
A team spokesman confirmed Slavens’ intention to return to the team.
Slaves qualified for the remaining year were not selected in this week’s MLB draft. He chose to return to school when he believed he was able to sign a contract as an undrafted professional free agent.
Baseball America rated Slavens as the 216th outlook in this year’s draft, but noted the high strikeout rate and lack of a clear defensive position as an area of need for improvement in the game. Slavens played first baseman and right fielder in Arkansas and spent most of the 2022 season as a designated hitter.
Slaves have been Razorbucks’ best power hitters in the last two seasons, with a total of 30 home runs, including 16 this year, which tied most third baseman Cayden Wallace on the team. He has also hit 22 doubles and 6 triples since moving from Johnson County (Kang) Community College to Arkansas before the 2021 season.
The slaves played the freshman season in Wichita in 2019. He played during the covid-19 shortened 2020 season and is eligible for five seasons.
In 2022, Slavens overcame a prolonged slump in the middle of the season and beat .255 with an OPS of .855. His 58 RBIs were the second highest in the team after Wallace’s 60.
The slave had the biggest highlight of the team’s season when he drove in nine victories, winning 4-3 against North Carolina in the second game of the NCAA Chapel Hill Super Regional on June 12. Victory sent Razorbacks to the College World Series.
During a match against Olemis in the College World Series on June 22, Slavens made a 436-foot home run to a straight centerfield, a typical dead area for batters in the pitcher-friendly Schwabfield in Omaha, Nebraska. I hit it. A home run recorded in a College World Series match at the stadium.
Slavens recorded the team’s highest batting average for most of his first year in Arkansas, but fell into the postseason after suffering an ankle sprain in a SEC tournament and failing to play in several games. He finished the 2021 season with a batting average of .284, OPS of .907, 14 home runs and 63 RBIs, the team’s best.
Slaves have been striking out with 130 at bats out of 457 at bats for two years in Arkansas, but often do damage when touched. Of his 123 hits as a razorback, 58 are extra-base hits, while his slugging percentage is .540.
Slaves offer a welcome veteran bat to the lineup that needs to replace much of the aggressive production next season. Arkansas is expected to lose seven major starters due to drafts, qualifications or transfers from this year’s team.
