MLB Draft Rewind: 2005
May 20, 2020
On the heels of a stellar 2004 season, the 2005 edition of Arkansas Baseball received well-deserved hype, and backed it through the first half of the season.
The Hogs became ranked as high as No. 5 nationally, opening the year with one of the best starts in program history at 20-2. However, a rash of bad luck hit the Razorbacks, sandwiching a nine-game win streak during April to stabilize things, sending Arkansas to Austin for postseason action.
Despite entering regional play on a five-game losing swing, the Razorbacks popped off a pair of nine-run games on the first two days, beating Miami (Ohio), 9-5, followed by host Texas, 9-2, to take the coveted catbird seat. However, the Hogs would fall in their next two games to the Longhorns to end their season at 39-22.
2005 MLB DRAFT
Scott Bridges (INF) – San Francisco Giants – 8th Round (278)
Scott Hode (SS) – Chicago Cubs – 24th Round (730)
Casey Rowlett (OF/INF) – St. Louis Cardinals – 32nd (980)
Bridges, an Arkansan from White Hall, was a four-year letterwinner for the Razorbacks from 2002-05 at second base. He totaled 182 games during his time with the Hogs, racking up 161 hits, 25 doubles, seven triples and nine home runs for a career batting average of .301. As a freshman in 2002, he led the team at the plate with a .316 clip and proved throughout his career he was effective on the base paths, leading Arkansas in stolen bases all four years of his collegiate campaign. His 72 stolen bases ranks second all-time at Arkansas, while his 18 career sacrifice hits is fifth and his 29 times getting hit-by-a-pitch stands at 10th among all Razorbacks.
Hode, from Crystal Lake, Illinois, also lettered all four years of his collegiate career at Arkansas from 2002-05. He won All-SEC Second Team honors at shortstop in 2004, recording 68 hits, 14 doubles, three triples and seven homers, with 53 RBIs and 30 runs scored for a .293 average at the plate. He finished his collegiate career with a .282 line at the plate in 210 games played, ranking fifth in the school record books in career at-bats with 776. Hode also posted 22 sacrifice hits (fourth) and 12 sacrifice flies (eighth), to land in the top 10 in the Arkansas career record books. He played one season with the Boise Hawks in Low-A ball in 2005, tallying 23 hits in 22 games.
Rowlett, a native of Jones, Oklahoma, spent two years in a Hog uniform from 2004-05 as an outfielder. In 2004, Rowlett played in 68 games, a feat that stood as a school record until the 2018 season, racking up 74 hits, 14 for extra bases, with 22 RBIs, 47 runs scored and 22 stolen bases. His 60 singles sit at ninth in a single season by a Razorback. Rowlett was taken by the Cardinals in the 2005 draft and worked his way through the organization up to Triple-A Memphis by his fourth season, wrapping his pro career after five years in the minors. Rowlett finished with 342 pro hits, with 69 doubles, 10 triples and 15 homers, as well as 148 RBIs and 202 runs scored.
On May 21, we’ll take a look at the 2006 draft, which featured five Hog selections to big league clubs, the most since 1999.
