MLB Draft Rewind: 2017

A year after missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since becoming head coach at Arkansas, head coach Dave Van Horn was determined to not only right the ship in 2017, but return to the high level of success that the Razorbacks have enjoyed for decades.

A 19-game turnaround translated to a 45-win season for the Razorbacks, their seventh 40-win season in the last 10 years. Arkansas also hosted an NCAA Regional for the first time since 2010, reaching the final game against Missouri State in what was the sixth regional ever played at Baum Stadium.

A pivotal part of the season that led to that regional host came in the final month at the SEC Tournament. After multiple delays led to Arkansas not even playing its first game until two days after the scheduled date, the Hogs battled back from a first round loss to Mississippi State to run the table and reach the tournament final for the first time since 2007 and fourth time in school history.

The tournament turned out to be the Chad Spanberger show as he earned tournament MVP honors with two multi-home run games and tournament single-game records for home runs (3 vs. Auburn) and RBIs (7 vs. Auburn). In the five games of the tournament, Spanberger led all players with 10 RBIs, three doubles, five home runs, and 26 total bases.

Arkansas led all SEC teams during the season and finished tied for ninth in the nation with 83 home runs. Spanberger led the team with 20 home runs, good for second in the SEC and ninth in the nation. He was just the sixth player in program history to hit 20 or more home runs in a single season.

Across the board, Arkansas’ hitters were among the best in the country in 2017. Joining Spanberger, catcher Grant Koch (13), and outfielder Dominic Fletcher (12) also hit 10 or more home runs making Arkansas one of two teams in the SEC to have three players with 10 or more home runs. For Fletcher, his 12 home runs were just one less than the Arkansas freshman record for home runs in a season as he not only earned an SEC All-Freshman Team nod, but was also named a Freshman All-American by the National College Baseball Writer’s Association (NCBWA) and Baseball America.

The 2017 draft class featured six Razorbacks drafted for the third time in four years.

2017 MLB DRAFT
Trevor Stephan (RHP) – New York Yankees – 3^rd Round (92)
Chad Spanberger (INF) – Colorado Rockies – 6^th Round (176)
Cannon Chadwick (RHP) – New York Mets – 9^th Round (277)
Dominic Taccolini (RHP) – San Diego Padres – 10^th Round (288)
Blaine Knight (RHP) – Texas Rangers – 29^th Round (884)
Josh Alberius (RHP) – Miami Marlins – 36^th Round (1,079)

Stephan, from Magnolia, Texas, spent his first two years of college ball at Hill College before transferring to Arkansas for the 2017 season, turning down an 18^th-round selection to join the Hogs. He started all 16 games he pitched in during his year on the Hill, working a 6-3 record with a 2.87 ERA over 91 innings, striking out 120 batters, giving him the sixth-most K’s in a season by a Razorback. Stephan turned his 18^th-round selection into a third-round pick with the Yankees. He’s spent three years in the organization, spending time each of the last two years in Double-A Trenton, starting 29 games and winning five at the level, posting 148 strikeouts. He has 275 career K’s to his name in pro ball with 11 wins and a 3.70 ERA as he heads into his fourth year in the minors.

Spanberger, a native of Granite City, Illinois, spent three years with the Hogs. In his first two years of college, he totaled 50 hits, with nine doubles, two triples and six homers, as well as 38 RBIs and 19 runs scored in 75 games. He exploded as a junior, rattling off 73 hits, 34 for extra bases with 13 doubles, a triple and 20 homers, the fourth-most in school history, along with 67 RBIs and 54 runs scored for a .305 batting average. He also has played three years of pro ball, spending the 2019 season in Double-A New Hampshire under the Toronto system. He had 102 hits in 122 games last year, with 29 doubles and 13 home runs, as well as 59 RBIs and 46 runs scored.

Chadwick, from Paris, Texas, came to Arkansas after a year at Paris Junior College, playing three years for the Hogs from 2015-17, pitching in a total of 44 games, all but one as a reliever. He made 12 appearances in 2015, winning one game and striking out 10 in 15.1 innings. Chadwick pitched in the same amount of innings and struck out the same amount of batters in 2016 but had a 1.76 ERA, as opposed to a 7.04 mark the year before. He wrapped his collegiate career with a four-win, two-save season in 2017, pitching in 24 contests, striking out 38 in the process. He spent two years in the Mets organization, appearing in 22 games, winning one game and earning a save in another, striking out 47 for a 3.09 earned run average.

Taccolini returned to Arkansas and improved his draft stock by six rounds after a four-win, two-save season in 2017. He appeared in 20 games, starting five, posting a 4.24 ERA in 51 innings, striking out 49. He also played two seasons in rookie league for the Arizona Padres, playing in 16 games, starting one, racking up 28 strikeouts in 22 innings.

Knight, an Arkansan from Bryant, was a three-year guy for Van Horn’s Razorbacks and eligible for the draft as a 21-year-old sophomore. As a freshman, he pitched in 18 contests, starting seven, working a 2-1 record with one save, racking up 46 strikeouts in 48.1 innings for a 2.98 ERA. In 2017, he started all but one of his 17 outings, putting together an 8-4 record and a 3.28 earned run average over 90.2 innings, ringing up 96 batters. Knight turned down a 29^th-round selection in the 2017 draft, and what followed was one of the best seasons by a Razorback pitcher in 2018…

Alberius, another Arkansan from Little Rock, saw four years of playing time with the Razorbacks from 2014-17 after redshirting the 2013 campaign. He appeared in 12 games in 2014, starting out as a hitter before moving to the mound for his final three years as a Hog. He made 22 appearances in 2015, working a 1-2 record with one save and a 3.77 earned run average, striking out 20 during the season. He was one of the most effective bullpen guys for Arkansas in 2016, going 3-1 in 25 appearances for a 3.90 ERA, racking up 40 K’s in 32.1 innings. Alberius pitched in 23 games, starting nine, in 2017, working a 3-4 record with a career-best 48 strikeouts over 55.1 innings. He pitched in 13 games as a pro in 2017, winning three games while earning a save, striking out 13 in 19.2 frames.

On June 8, we’ll take a look at the 2018 draft, which matched a program record 11 Razorbacks selected.