Hogs play waiting game with signees

FAYETTEVILLE -- The University of Arkansas signed several of the nation's top baseball players in the high school Class of 2020.

How many actually play for the Razorbacks likely will be determined over the next two days.

Six Arkansas signees are rated among Baseball America's 200 best prospects in the MLB Draft that begins tonight at 6 p.m. The first 37 players will be chosen tonight, and 123 more will be drafted Thursday.

Any player selected in this year's shortened five-round draft stands a good chance of signing professionally. All 167 players drafted in the first five rounds last season signed with the team that selected them. The suggested bonus value for the last pick in this year's draft is $324,100.

"There's probably a few guys who have a chance to go really high and get some pretty significant signing bonuses," said Nate Thompson, Arkansas' recruiting coordinator and hitting coach. "We hope to keep all of them, but each player and their family have to take a look at that and know they're in a great position either way."

The Arkansas signees who stand the best chance to be drafted this year include Houston-area right-handed pitcher/shortstop Masyn Winn; Canadian outfielder David Calabrese; Tulsa-area right-handed pitcher Nate Wohlgemuth; Watson Chapel right-handed pitcher Markevian "Tink" Hence; Greenbrier third baseman Cayden Wallace; and Monticello left-handed pitcher Nick Griffin.

"We have more commits in the top 200 ... than any other school in the country," Thompson said. "Then you add in [current players Heston Kjerstad, Casey Martin and Casey Opitz], and I think we're tied with Miami and Arizona State for the most overall players in the top 200 for the draft.

"We're obviously hoping to get as many to campus as possible. It's a real good class."

Winn is the Razorbacks' top-rated signee (44th by Baseball America) and fits into most second-round projections. Calabrese (67th) might also go in the second round.

Where the players are drafted -- or if they're drafted at all -- could depend greatly on how much of a bonus they request in their pre-draft conversations with MLB teams. The draft was gutted this year to cut costs for teams losing revenue amid the coronavirus shutdown, and some organizations might look for draft bargains below slot value.

"Even if I get to that number, Arkansas offers so much that it's going to be hard to say no to them," Winn told KRIV-TV in Houston. "I have great relationships with the coaches and the players. My mom is big on school.

"It's going to be pretty interesting to see how it plays out."

Baseball America ranks the Razorbacks' signing class as the sixth best in the country before the draft. The publication will re-rank the classes after the draft, based on which players attend college.

Thompson said in a normal year the Razorbacks might have double-digit signees drafted over the course of 1,200-plus picks.

"You don't feel like you're sweating for 40 rounds," Thompson said of this year's draft. "It's obviously going to be different."

While Thompson said the Arkansas coaches have a good feel for who they might lose, he said there still could be some second-day surprises from outside the top 200 prospects.

"This is such a random draft because it's all based on the strategy of each team," Thompson said. "How serious are they about signing every single one of their picks? How much money do they want to spend?

"The fourth or fifth rounds this year could be like those 11th and 12th rounds from past years where maybe there are quite a few surprises or guys you weren't necessarily counting on getting opportunities. The MLB Draft a lot of times isn't necessarily about the top 160 or 200 players, but about sign-ability, too."

Many of Arkansas' signees have expressed a desire to play college baseball, which should keep their asking prices high. Several signees also have known each other for years, having played together on various travel or all-star teams, and helped influence others to commit.

"They knew each other well, and they were friends already," Thompson said. "We felt like if we got one or two of them to come our way, they might influence some of the others to do the same. It pretty much went down like that."

Most of the players in Arkansas' signing class -- as well as Robert Moore, who reclassified and played this year as a freshman All-American second baseman for the Razorbacks -- committed in the months after Arkansas' national runner-up campaign in 2018.

"I just saw myself out there playing in those games," said Wohlgemuth, who committed in September 2018. "I almost felt like I was the biggest Hogs fan in the world when I was watching those games."

Because of his age, Wohlgemuth, 19, would be eligible again for the draft in 2022 if he plays at Arkansas. Most of this year's high school players would have to wait until after their third year of college to regain draft eligibility.

Wohlgemuth said it would take "life-changing money" to keep from playing for the Razorbacks.

"If it doesn't work out this year in the draft, I'll go to Arkansas and I'll have a blast there, and I'll get to be around the best coaches and the best players and the best fans," Wohlgemuth said. "I'm excited."