Diamond Hogs brace for some high school signees to be taken early in MLB Draft

BY DUDLEY E. DAWSON

FAYETTEVILLE – The only bad thing about signing one of the nation’s best college baseball recruiting classes every year is the top-end guys are going to have a lot of money thrown at them by Major League Baseball teams.

That is expected to be the same this summer when the three-day 2024 MLB Draft gets underway Sunday night at 6 p.m. at the Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas.

The most likely Arkansas high school signees to hear their names called first are shortstops Tyson Lewis of Millard (Neb.) West and Gabe Fraser of Westminster (Calif.) Orange Lutheran, right handed pitcher Carson Wiggins of Roland, Okla., and left handed pitcher/first baseman Cole Gibler of Blue Springs, Mo., and outfielder Eli Lovich of Blue Springs West.

All of those prospects except Lovich participated in the MLB Draft Combine in Phoenix on June 18-21.

“Yeah, obviously you start with the young guys,” Van Horn said. “The high school kids that we want to get in. A couple, three of the position players are going to have to make decisions. Two or three pitchers, for sure. I don’t want to mention too many names right now, kind of put that on them.

“But the draft this year is really strong in the first round, and then after that, if you talk to the scouts it’s not the same as it was last year. Could help some kids move up, get offered more money than maybe would have been a later pick.”

Arkansas had four signees taken early in the 2023 MLB Draft with shortstop Adrian Miller (Philadelphia, 27th, 2.98 million slot value), outfielder Kendall George (Los Angeles Dodgers, 36th, 2.36 million, Nazzan Zanetello (Boston, 50th, 1.7 million slot value) and shortstop Walker Martin (San Francisco, 52nd, 1.62 slot value).

“I don’t know how it’s (this year’s draft) going to affect us,” Van Horn said. “You just don’t know. We do the best that we can to talk to the young guys, and even their advisors, to try and get an idea of what they’re looking for. We know scouts.

“We can kind of find out what they’re thinking or what their organization is thinking. All it takes is one team.”

Lewis, who hit .496 his senior season with 8 home runs and 41 RBIs, with 31 stolen bases is projected as the No. 46 selection overall by MLB.com.

He was named a Baseball America first-team All-American and the Nebraska Gatorade Player of the Year.

Wiggins, the younger brother of former Arkansas pitcher and current Chicago Cubs minor leaguer Jaxon Wiggins, is seen as the 77th overall selection by MLB.com.

He went 3-2 this season with 93 strikeouts in part because of a fastball that has topped 100 miles per hour.

Gibler is MLB.com’s 130th-ranked prospect and went 6-1 with a 1.09 ERA while fanning 106 batters in 57 2/3 innings as a senior.

Already enrolled at Arkansas after arriving in Fayeteville last week, Gibler also hit .361 while helping lead his team to the Class 6A state title.

“Arkansas knows how much I want to pitch there, but I told them it all depends on the draft,” Gibler told the Examiner newspaper.

“It’s a win-win situation for me. I’ve dreamed about being a major league player since I started pitching when I was 9. And in a couple of weeks, I’ll find out if I sign with a team or attend the college of my dreams.”

Fraser is listed as a Top 150 draft prospect per Perfect Game and was named the Trinity League MVP.

Lovich, the younger brother of former Razorback outfielder Ross Lovich, is ranked 157th by ESPN.

He hit .414 with 4 homers, 29 RBIs and 14 stolen bases last season.

Photo courtesy of Tyson Lewis