Looking at Arkansas Baseball's Lineup Turnover for 2023 Season
Taking a look at the Diamond Hogs' lineup turnover for the 2023 season.
arkansas.rivals.com
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Diamond Hogs’ lineup is being gutted this offseason, and the rebuild has begun.
Currently, the Hogs will only return one starter from last season’s starting lineup — Peyton Stovall. That means there is a lot of production to replace.
Third baseman Cayden Wallace will likely be a top-50 pick in this year’s MLB Draft. Outfielder Zack Gregory hit the transfer portal on June 29. The remainder of the players have exhausted eligibility — Chris Lanzilli, Michael Turner and Braydon Webb.
There is an extremely slim chance that Brady Slavens and Jalen Battles use their extra Covid year to return to the Hogs. Second baseman Robert Moore could decide to spend another year in Fayetteville and build himself back into a first round prospect.
Those outcomes are all very unrealistic, so for the sake of this story, the assumption will be that Stovall is the only returning starter.
Here are the exact numbers that head coach Dave Van Horn and his staff will be looking to replace/build on in the starting lineup next season:
377 runs, 517 hits, 105 doubles, 9 triples, 90 home runs, 360 RBIs, 270 walks, 42 stolen bases
(Total 2022 stats for Chris Lanzlli, Michael Turner, Cayden Wallace, Jalen Battles, Braydon Webb, Robert Moore, Brady Slavens and Zack Gregory.)
Whether or not he was the only returning player, Stovall was going to be a key player for the Hogs next season. He has MLB first round draft pick potential, and that showed when he hit .451 with 21 hits, 13 RBIs and two homers during the postseason.
Jace Bohrofen and Kendall Diggs are two returning Hogs who should be starters next year. Bohrofen started 24 games last season and Diggs started 15.
Bohrofen lost play time as a result of an early-season shoulder injury, and by the time he was healthy, at bats were hard to find. The former Oklahoma Sooner has plenty of pop in the bat, and he is a solid candidate to start in centerfield.
Diggs shined at times last season, most notably when he hit a walk-off homer in a 6-3 win over Ole Miss on April 30. Van Horn said after that game that he felt bad for not playing Diggs as much.
“Maybe I felt guilty a little bit that I haven’t played him a little more, honestly,” Van Horn said. “Because he’s got a really good swing. He’s had some illness and he’s had a couple injuries. When he’s healthy, if he swings the bat like he did today, he’s not coming out of the lineup — whether he’s playing in the field or DHing.”
The remainder of the 2023 lineup is up in the air. Arkansas currently has 10 position player transfers coming in via the transfer portal, eight of which come from the junior college ranks. There are also five position players committed in the 2022 recruiting class.
Two of the transfers come from Division 1 programs — Jared Wegner from Creighton and Tavian Josenberger from Kansas.
Wegner can likely be penciled in the starting lineup either in the outfield or as a designated hitter. He was a first team All-Big East player last season when he hit .343 with 11 homers and 53 RBIs.
Josenberger will have a tougher time finding a spot, but two years of experience in the Big 12 and being able to hit from both sides of the plate helps. He earned All-Big 12 honors as a freshman and he was an honorable mention as a sophomore.
The ability to put the ball in play is Josenberger’s best attribute. He tied a Jayhawk program record with a 24-game hitting streak as a freshman, and he extended it to a 29-game on-base streak.
As a sophomore, Josenberger also posted a 12-game hitting streak, 15 multi-hit games and a 23-game on-base streak.
As a freshman, Josenberger played 51 games in center field for Kansas, but he spent the majority of his sophomore season as a second baseman. If he wants to start for the Hogs next year, he will probably need to move back to the outfield, where the Hogs don’t return a single starter from last season.
Most of the junior college transfers bring loaded stat lines that will be hard to replicate in SEC play. All but one come in as primarily infielders, so competition will be fierce.
The lone non-infielder is Parker Rowland, who is a switch-hitting catcher out of Eastern Oklahoma State. Rowland spent his first two seasons of college ball at Arkansas State, so he has experience in the state. He also has the advantage of being the only catcher on the roster right now.
He hit with a .408 average, had 12 homers and drove in 78 runs at Eastern Oklahoma State last year, so the talent at the plate is there.
Here is what each JUCO guy brings to the table (2022 stats):
Peyton Holt - Covid Sophomore IF, Crowder
226 AB, 96 H, 70 R, 21 2B, 2 3B, 10 HR, 77 RBIs, 31 BB, 41 K, 22 SB, .425 AVG, .500 OBP, .668 SLGHarold Coll - Freshman IF, San Jacinto
235 AB, 84 H, 64 R, 16 2B, 6 3B, 10 HR, 65 RBIs, 32 BB, 53 K, 15 SB, .357 AVG, .433 OBP, .604 SLGTyson Fourkiller - Sophomore IF, Connors State
172 AB, 77 H, 47 R, 22 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR, 60 RBIs, 24 BB, 7 K, 1 SB, .448 AVG, .551 OBP, .686 SLGIsaac Webb - Sophomore IF, Eastern Oklahoma State
215 AB, 89 H, 73 R, 14 2B, 2 3B, 6 HR, 45 RBIs, 30 BB, 18 K, 33 SB, .414 AVG, .496 OBP, .581 SLGHunter Grimes - Sophomore IF, McLennan
191 AB, 70 H, 62 R, 8 2B, 7 3B, 17 HR, 66 RBIs, 21 BB, 24 K, 5 SB, .366 AVG, .427 OBP, .749 SLGBen McLaughlin - Sophomore IF, Hutchinson
214 AB, 88 H, 69 R, 23 2B, 2 3B, 19 HR, 83 RBIs, 33 BB, 19 K, 7 SB, .411 AVG, .511 OBP, .804 SLGCaleb Cali - Freshman (3) IF, College of Central Florida
219 AB, 96 H, 74 R, 22 2B, 6 3B, 17 HR, 77 RBIs, 43 BB, 23 K, 3 SB, .438 AVG, .533 OBP, .826 SLGThe incoming freshman include two MLB Draft prospects — Mason Neville (No. 102) and Jayson Jones (No. 152). The other three all have a Perfect Game rating of at least nine — Easton Swofford (9.5), Ryan Ward (9.5) and Reese Robinett (9).
Per Jones' mother on Twitter, he arrived on campus for new student orientation, which is a good sign that he will play for the Hogs. All signs point to Neville staying in the draft, but the rest of the guys should be on campus for at least fall ball.
Here is more on each of the incoming freshmen:
Mason Neville - OF, Basic High School (Las Vegas, NV)
Bats - LThrows - L
Height - 6'3
Weight - 194
MLB scouting grades - Hit: 45 | Power: 55 | Run: 60 | Arm: 60 | Field: 55 | Overall: 45
MLB video scouting report
Jayson Jones - IF, Braswell High School (Savannah, TX)
Bats - RThrows - R
Height - 6'2
Weight - 195
MLB scouting grades - Hit: 45 | Power: 55 | Run: 45 | Arm: 60 | Field: 50 | Overall: 45
MLB video scouting report
Easton Swofford - IF, South Side High School (Bee Branch, AR)
Bats - LThrows - R
Height - 5'10
Weight - 170
Watch
Ryan Ward - IF, Coronado High School (Coronado, CO)
Bats - L
Throws - R
Height - 6'2
Weight - 180
Watch
Reese Robinett - IF, Kennett High School (Kennett, MO)
Bats - LThrows - R
Height - 6'3
Weight - 210
Watch
