FAYETTEVILLE — The youngest Razorback, who could still be a senior in high school, might be a starter when Arkansas opens the season Feb. 14 against Eastern Illinois.
He clearly has the respect of his teammates.
Robert Moore (5-9, 165 pounds), the son of Kansas City Royals general manager Dayton Moore, graduated from Shawnee (Kan.) Mission East High School in December and became an early enrollee in January.
Ranked as the 41st-best prospect nationally by Baseball America, Moore is in the mix to start at second base for Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn, but doesn’t think he is doing something too hard when put in proper context.
“The first week there was a little culture shock to be honest with you,” Moore said. “Just took some time to get used to things. But I am used to it now. I have always been able to adjust quickly. Change is something you go through in life and this is one of those.
“I was thinking about it the other day. My dad’s dad, when he graduated, he went to Vietnam. My mom’s dad, when he graduated, went to Korea. This really isn’t that bad. I get to go play a sport that I love and I have got no fear in what I do.
“(2 Timothy 1:7) says, ‘For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.’”
Enrolling early was not something that Moore, who hit .316 as a junior, said he gave too much thought to before making his decision.
“To be honest with you, I always planned on graduating early or at least taking courses, but I never really expected it would lead me to here,” Moore said. “I don’t know why I really started it, maybe to get ahead of some courses in school. Honestly, I just prayed about it and I think God wanted me to here. I can’t really explain it and I don’t know why yet, just that I am here.”
His teammates, fresh off back-to-back trips to the College World Series, have welcomed him with open arms. That includes preseason All-America shortstop Casey Martin.
“He basically has jumped right into the season,” Martin said. “Robert has been good. He is still young, obviously he is 17 and playing with 20, 21, 22 and even almost a 23-year-old in (transfer) Cole Austin. I think he is starting to see how mature these guys are and that he can’t act like he is 17 if he wants to be in the lineup.
“He’s good and he is going to be really good and he is going to do nothing but get better while he is here. Just his level of a maturity from what should be a high school senior is impressive. That is hard to teach. You don’t really teach that, you work on it yourself. Kudos to him.”
Moore is a big fan of Martin.
“It’s been fun the last couple of weeks working with Casey,” Moore said. “I mean he might be the most toolsy player that I have been on a team with or played against. It has been great experience.”
Preseason All-America outfielder Heston Kjerstad likes what he sees from the youngster, both in the field and at the plate.
“He is going to be great for us defensively and he has been swinging the bat pretty well so his bat is probably going to be there, too,” Kjerstad said. “I think all around for his age, he is just a really good and I am glad he is on our team to help us. He sacrificed a lot to to come here early and I think it just shows his commitment to want to play baseball for us."
Arkansas sophomore Christian Franklin, who is taking over in center field this season after moving from left, is a familiar face to Moore. Both are from the Kansas City area.
“We are kind of from the same area and I have known him since we were little, honestly like middle school,” Franklin said. “I knew his family and knew he was a really good ballplayer.
“Getting him up here was definitely big.”
Franklin said Van Horn asked him to take Moore under his wing.
“So I have been doing that, helping him kind of like find the ropes and learn his way around,” Franklin said. “He is doing a good job so far adjusting.”
Moore’s make-up has impressed Arkansas junior designated hitter Matt Goodheart.
“Coach mentioned that with him coming in so young that he might be a little timid at first, but he hasn’t show any fear,” Goodheart said. “He doesn’t look scared at all. That speaks volumes about him as a competitor.”
Moore is also looked upon as a gamer by sophomore pitchers Connor Noland and Patrick Wicklander.
“Honestly, the most impressive thing for me is he is here working all the time, be it hitting or working out, doing all kinds of stuff around here,” Noland said.
Wicklander thinks the decision for Moore to end his high school career early, get on to college and turn down what would likely have been a big-money contract from Major League Baseball was a courageous one.
“It is a big step for him and not a lot of guys could really do that,” Wicklander said. “I know he was a like a big prospect coming out of high school and taking that chance to come here, kudos to him. That’s a tough decision.”
Moore joins several other Kansas City-area prospects who are already Razorbacks.
“A lot of the better kids from Kansas City commit here,” Moore said. “It’s also important to me for my parents to see me play and it is only three-and-a-half hours from home and it is great program. Coach Van Horn and (Arkansas assistant Nate) Thompson have always been great.”’