Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

It's not enough that Arkansas' Dave Van Horn has to worry about finding a way to win a regional in Houston (Texas) this weekend, but he also has the Rule 4 Draft coming in June.

It's common for baseball coaches to work hard each year and then watch many of their top recruits sign with a major league baseball team. Van Horn and Arkansas have put a nice class together, but the professional teams have also taken notice.

Jacksonville outfielder D'Vone McClure, 6-foot-3, 190 pounds, is rated the No. 94 prospect in the draft. That includes current college players eligible for the draft as well. The only Razorback rated ahead of McClure is sophomore pitcher Nolan Sanburn who is rated No. 56.

McClure, who was also a top wide receiver in football, signed with Arkansas in November and immediately drew praise from Van Horn.

“D'Vone is a very athletic outfielder,” Van Horn said. “He's drawn a lot of attention the past couple of summers with his play. There's a lot of pro interest in D'Vone, but we hope we can get him to campus.”

An ESPN scout agrees with Van Horn that McClure is very athletic.

“McClure is an excellent athlete with one of the best bodies in the draft, but he's extremely raw across the board and is likely a long-term player development project for a team willing to wait five years to see a real return on its investment,” the scout said. “McClure looks good in the uniform with a trim waist, wide shoulders and good flexibility; he's an above-average runner and has arm strength but doesn't always get his front foot down in time to throw accurately.

“At the plate, he has bat speed and pretty good hand-eye coordination, but his recognition is poor and he swings and misses too often at the high school level. He lands with his front foot turned out and doesn't have great loft in his swing. He's in center now but likely ends up in a corner in pro ball. He's a great upside player in the third-round range, but very high-risk as well.”

McClure is also rated No. 111 by Perfect Game and No. 56 for high school players only by Baseball America. McClure attended the FCA Combine in North Little Rock just before his junior season and was one of the top wide receivers at the event despite the fact he had played a doubleheader the night before.

Another interesting tidbit concerning the baseball draft is that some services have Rogers Heritage catcher Blake Baxendale, 6-3, 220, rated ahead of his older brother, Arkansas right-handed pitcher D.J. Baxendale. The younger Baxendale signed with the Razorbacks in November and can also play the corner infield spots as well as designated hitter.

Baxendale (7-4, 3.02 ERA) will start Friday's game for Arkansas against Sam Houston State. Blake is rated No. 176 by Perfect Game for the upcoming draft. Heritage made it to the Class 7A state championship game this year where it lost to Bryant.

Trey's Day