MLB Draft Rewind: 2008

Arkansas entered the 2008 season coming off a first-place finish in the SEC Western Division, but lost nine to the draft, including a front-line group of pitching.

The Razorbacks started strong, winning each of their first five games and 11 of their first 12, but had a tough start to conference play, waiting until April 11-13 to take their first SEC series. Arkansas won four weekend series in five tries to that point; however, it would not be enough to earn a trip to the conference tournament.

Luckily, the Hogs did enough during the season to earn a trip to Palo Alto, California, for the NCAA Stanford Regional, extending Arkansas’ postseason streak to seven seasons, including all six under head coach Dave Van Horn. The Razorback would lose a pair of close games to Pepperdine and Stanford to cap their season in regional action.

The 2008 draft featured four draft picks, a first rounder for the second consecutive season, the first time that had happened in program history. In fact, both picks came from the same team, as the San Diego Padres took Nick Schmidt in the first round in 2007 and Logan Forsythe in 2008.

2008 MLB DRAFT
Logan Forsythe (3B) – San Diego Padres – 1^st Round (46)
Cliff Springtson (LHP) – Texas Rangers – 11^th Round (333)
Jeff Nutt (C) – New York Yankees – 25^th Round (770)
Aaron Murphree (OF) – San Diego Padres – 27^th Round (825)

Forsythe, from Memphis, Tennessee, spent three years playing second base for the Razorbacks from 2006-08, totaling 140 games played. In 28 games as a freshman, Forsythe tallied 17 hits, nine RBIs and 14 runs in games for a measly .189 batting average. He flipped a switch as a sophomore, rattling off a team-high 78 hits, 27 for extra bases, with a team-best 16 doubles, two triples and nine homers, along with 55 RBIs and 55 runs, nearly doubling his clip at the plate from the year before for a mark of .347, the best on the team in 2007. Forsythe hit for a .351 average in 2008, totaling 65 knocks, eight doubles, two triples and seven homers, with 41 runs scored and 34 RBIs. He also led the team in stolen bases in both 2007 (18) and 2008 (11). It only took four years before making his Major League debut, joining the Padres in 2011 for 62 games. He tallied 32 hits in his first year, then rattled off 86 in 2012 for a .273 clip at the plate. In 2014, he was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays, playing in a career-high 110 games, producing 67 hits during the season. He enjoyed arguably his best year of pro ball in 2015, racking up 152 hits in 153 games, including 68 RBIs and 69 runs for an average of .281. Forsythe spent another year with the Rays in 2016, producing 135 hits in 127 games, with 52 RBIs and 76 runs to boot, before playing two years with the Dodgers, racking up 121 knocks in his time in LA. Forsythe played 50 games for the Twins in 2018 and 101 for the Rangers in 2019, laying down 72 hits, 39 RBIs and 38 runs in Arlington. He signed a minor league deal with the Phillies in Feb. 2020 at 33 years old. With 10 years MLB service time to his name, Forsythe has 758 hits, 305 RBIs and 387 runs scored.

Springston, a native of Bruceville, Texas, transferred to Arkansas in 2008 after two years at Baylor, primarily used as a relief pitcher. On the Hill, Springston started 12-of-16 games, putting together a 5-3 record with a 3.90 ERA over 87.2 innings of work, striking out a career-best 63 batters. He spent two years in the Rangers organization in Low-A and Single-A ball, winning four games over the two years and pitching 27 games, all seven in 2009 as a starter. Springston played in his final year of pro ball with the Amarillo Sox in Independent ball in 2012, pitching in nine games for a 2-3 record and a 5.93 ERA.

Nutt, from Wylie, Texas, was also a transfer, joining the Hogs in 2007 for two years after a two-year stint at Navarro College. Catching for Van Horn’s club, Nutt played in 54 games as a junior, tallying 51 hits, 16 doubles and three homers, with 41 RBIs and 21 runs for a .274 clip at the plate. As a senior, he caught 30 games, producing 27 hits, 20 RBIs and 18 runs scored before getting drafted by the Yankees. His only year of pro ball would come in his draft year, playing for Low-A Staten Island for two games and Single-A Charleston for eight, tallying four hits in 12 at-bats.

Murphree, also a Texan from Weatherford, played in 56 games over his junior and senior seasons, seeing 40 games in the outfield in 2008. He tallied 40 hits, six doubles, a triple and 14 homers, with 40 RBIs and 32 runs for a .305 batting average. Murphree went on to play in rookie ball for 42 games in 2008, hitting .250 with 35 knocks, six doubles, three triples and four homers to go with 38 RBIs and 20 runs in 42 games.

On May 26, we’ll take a look at the 2009 draft, which featured six Arkansas draft picks.