FAYETTEVILLE — Chances seem favorable that Arkansas will return pitcher Isaiah Campbell in 2019 after Campbell was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels in the 24th round of the MLB Draft on Wednesday.
Campbell, a redshirt sophomore right-hander, was ranked by Baseball America as the 73rd-best prospect in the draft, but fell to the draft’s final day because of a presumed high asking price for a signing bonus. Campbell has an extra year of negotiating leverage with MLB teams because he redshirted last season after undergoing surgery to remove bone spurs in his elbow.
“We’re hoping he comes back,” Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said shortly after Campbell was drafted. “We feel like he’s going to come back unless there’s just something really financial that he can’t pass up, but as of right now every indication is that he’s coming back.”
Campbell was projected to be one of Arkansas’ best pitchers this season, but has struggled in several starts, including Sunday in the NCAA Fayetteville Regional championship against Dallas Baptist when he threw only 13 pitches and allowed all three batters he faced to reach base. It was the fourth time in 14 starts that he failed to throw more than two innings.
But at other times Campbell has looked brilliant. He allowed one run in eight innings against Kentucky on March 17 and threw five scoreless innings during a seven-inning game against South Carolina on April 14.
He had also looked sharp in the two most recent outings before struggling against Dallas Baptist. He threw three scoreless innings of relief during a game at Georgia on May 19 and did not allow a run until the sixth inning of a 2-1 loss to LSU in the SEC Tournament a week later.
“If he comes back and has a really good fall he could be our No. 1 guy, a guy that we can build our rotation around,” Van Horn said. “He’s seen what is going on with other guys who passed up signing when they have another year of bargaining power yet. I’d say for nine out of 10 of them it’s a really good thing.”
Campbell could be the most experienced pitcher on the Arkansas roster if he returns next season. The Razorbacks are expected to lose junior starters Blaine Knight and Kacey Murphy, and sophomore reliever Evan Lee to professional contracts this off-season.
It is unclear whether the Razorbacks will return their best long relievers, Jake Reindl and Barrett Loseke, who were drafted back-to-back Wednesday in the 17th round.
Van Horn called the situations for Loseke and Reindl “tough.” Major League Baseball does not assign slot values to picks below the first 10 rounds, but signing bonuses in the teen rounds typically are less than $100,000 before taxes.
“We’re going to try to keep them and do everything we can,” Van Horn said.
When asked how a college team can combat the thousands of dollars promised by professional teams, Van Horn gave his sales pitch.
“You only get to go to college one time and you’re that close to graduating, it really just depends,” Van Horn said. “We just have to hope they want to play college baseball another year.”
Arkansas had two signees drafted. Catcher Josh Breaux is not expected to play for the Razorbacks after being drafted by the New York Yankees in the second round, but the only other Arkansas signee who was drafted was right-handed pitcher Wade Beasley by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 24th round.
Van Horn said he feels good about how the Razorbacks came through the draft from a signees standpoint.