Key Hogs, signees go undrafted

While most of the attention the past three days has been on players selected in the MLB Draft, a few key Arkansas players and signees did not hear their name called.

The Razorbacks' top two hitters in 2016, Luke Bonfield and Carson Shaddy, were not among the 1,216 players drafted during the 40-round event that spanned from Thursday to Saturday.

Big-league clubs likely shied away from them because of their leverage to negotiate as players with two years of college eligibility remaining, as well as their shaky defense.

Shaddy, a redshirt sophomore from Fayetteville, led the Razorbacks with a .332 batting average this season to go along with eight home runs (which was tied for the most on the team) and 35 RBIs.

However, he struggled to find a place in the field. Shaddy committed a team-high 14 errors while splitting time between third base and centerfield. That can partly be blamed on the Tommy John surgery he had during the offseason.

"His arm is still bothering him," Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said during his postseason press conference last month. "It's never had a chance to heal properly. His plan is to stay here all summer and get on a throwing program."

Bonfield, a draft-eligible sophomore because he turns 21 in July, was the only other Arkansas player to hit over .300, finishing with a .304 average. He also hit eight home runs and had a team-high 39 RBIs.

That was a vast improvement over his freshman year, when he hit .177 with only one extra-base hit (a double).

While he committed only one error as the Razorbacks' starting left fielder, Van Horn said he still has room for improvement defensively.

"He's an average outfielder that has gotten better," Van Horn said. "Corner outfielders are a dime a dozen, so it's hard to get money. If he can prove it one more year - they want to see a track record."

The Razorbacks had two signees ranked in Baseball America's top 500 draft prospects list go undrafted, as well.

Dominic Fletcher, an outfielder from Cypress, Calif., was rated as the 209th-best player in the country, which would have put him in the middle of the seventh round.

Instead, he is the 10th-best prospect to go undrafted.

As a senior, Fletcher hit .365 with 27 RBIs and was named the Orange County Register Player of the Year.

Lucas Krull, a left-handed pitcher from Shawnee, Kan., did not get selected despite being the 453rd-best prospect, according to Baseball America.

A few other Arkansas signees - left-handed pitcher Matt Cronin (Navarre, Fla.), left-handed pitcher Evan Lee (Bryant, Ark.) and infielder Jaxon Williams (Rosenburg, Texas) - were thought to be possible draft picks, but did not hear their name called.

These seven players will almost assuredly end up on campus, while the 10 current players and signees who were drafted - not including Zach Jackson, who has announced his intention to sign, and seniors Michael Bernal and Doug Willey - have until July 15 to sign or turn down a professional contract.