MLB Draft Rewind: 2010
May 27, 2020
Head coach Dave Van Horn led Arkansas to the NCAA Tournament for the ninth consecutive year in 2010. The Razorbacks also reached the Super Regional round in back-to-back years for the first time in program history. On the strength of a 40-18 record after the SEC Tournament, the Razorbacks were selected to host an NCAA Regional for the fifth time in school history.
Arkansas advanced to the Super Regionals with a 7-2 victory over Washington State in a winner-take-all regional championship game. In the Super Regionals, the Razorbacks went toe-to-toe with the tournament’s top seed, Arizona State, on its home field. Arkansas lost a pair of 12-inning heartbreakers to finish the season with a 43-21 record.
Van Horn achieved three coaching milestones during the 2010 regular season. The Razorback skipper picked up his 300th win at Arkansas on April 9 in an 8-3 win over Mississippi State. On February 27 in a 10-8 win over Troy, Van Horn earned his 600th win as a Division I head coach. He recorded career win No. 900 on May 21 in a 4-3 victory at Vanderbilt.
The 2010 draft featured eight draft picks, a first-round pick, four future big leaguers and five players who had improved their draft stock from the first time they were drafted.
2010 MLB DRAFT
Zack Cox (3B) – St. Louis Cardinals – 1st Round (25)
Brett Eibner (CF) – Kansas City Royals – 2nd Round (54)
Drew Smyly (LHP) – Detroit Tigers – 2nd Round (68)
Andy Wilkins (1B) – Chicago White Sox – 5th Round (158)
Mike Bolsinger (RHP) – Arizona Diamondbacks – 15th Round (451)
Collin Kuhn (LF) – Detroit Tigers – 15th Round (463)
Jordan Pratt (RHP) – Detroit Tigers – 16th Round (493)
Jeremy Heatley (RHP) – Florida Marlins – 22nd Round (677)
Cox, from Louisville, Kentucky, played two years for Van Horn’s club, entering the 2010 draft as a 21-year-old sophomore, initially coming to school after getting taken in the 25th round of the 2008 draft. He hit .266 with 53 hits, 30 for extra bases, including 15 doubles, two triples and 13 homers, the most in school history by a freshman that stood until Heston Kjerstad came along in 2018. He earned Freshman All-America honors in 2009, as well as SEC All-Tournament accolades for his performance in his first year of collegiate baseball, following it up with First Team All-SEC accolades and All-America honors in 2010. Cox had one of the best seasons in Arkansas history in his second year, racking up 102 hits in 59 games, 24 for extra bases, with 48 RBIs and 67 runs for a batting average of .429. His 2010 hits, batting average and singles (78) totals still sit as school records a decade later. Improving his stock to a first round pick, Cox spent two-and-a-half years in the Cardinals organization, reaching Triple-A Memphis. He was traded to Miami in 2012, spending time in both Double-A Jacksonville and Triple-A New Orleans, hitting in the high .200’s, including a 2015 season that featured 105 hits, 19 doubles for a .321 clip at the plate in the Jacksonville Suns. After spending a year in Independent ball posting 122 hits in 96 games, he returned to the Detroit system and played 85 games with the Double-A Erie SeaWolves in 2017, racking up 77 hits. He finished his pro career with 621 minor league hits and a career .285 batting average.
Eibner, a Houston, Texas, native, spent three years with the Hogs from 2008-10, patrolling the outfield. He hit .298 as a freshman with 57 knocks, 10 doubles, two triples and eight homers, to go with 48 RBIs and 36 runs in 53 games played to earn Freshman All-America honors. After a bit of a sophomore slump, Eibner put together another All-American season thanks to a 72-hit, 71-RBI, 66-run showing in 2010, producing 39 extra-base hits, with 17 doubles and 22 home runs, for a clip of .333 at the plate. One of Eibner’s biggest claims to fame in a Hog uniform was a three-homer game against Grambling State in the 2010 Fayetteville Regional, making him one of nine Hogs at the time to accomplish the feat, with four total extra-base hits, one of eight to do so at Arkansas. He finished his collegiate career with 42 homers, the third-most in school history, as his 22 dingers ranks second for a single-season. Coming to Arkansas as a fourth-round pick, he improved his stock by two rounds to become a second-round pick. Eibner spent his first six years of professional ball in the Royals system, working his way to a big-league debut in 2016, playing in 26 games while recording 18 hits. He was sent to the Oakland A’s in a trade in 2016, spending 44 games with the club, also playing with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2017. He totaled 42 MLB hits, 10 doubles, a triple and eight home runs in 87 games. He wrapped his pro career with a season in Independent ball in 2019.
Smyly, an Arkansan from Little Rock, was another two-year guy for the Hogs from 2009-10, pitching a total of 34 games, with 28 starts during his collegiate career. As a freshman, he put together a 3-1 record with a 4.66 ERA, starting all but two games, striking out 60 over 58.0 innings. He earned Second Team All-SEC honors in 2010 after going 9-1 with a 2.80 earned run average, pitching two complete games, punching out 114 in 103.0 innings, leading the team in starter ERA, strikeouts, wins and innings pitched. His 114 K’s rank seventh in school history. Smyly was a fast riser through the minor league system, earning Detriot’s Minor League Player of the Year in 2011 after a 1.18 ERA and 53 K’s in eight games & seven starts, making his Major League debut two years after getting drafted. He pitched in 23 games, starting 18, for the Tigers in 2012, posting a 4-3 record and a 3.99 ERA with 94 strikeouts in 99.1 innings of work. In 2013, Smyly went 6-0 and posted two saves with a 2.37 ERA, making all 63 appearances out of the bullpen, ringing up 81 batters in 76.0 innings. A shortened 2014 campaign after getting traded to the Tampa Bay Rays saw seven appearances, all starts, with a complete game shutout, a 3-1 record and a 1.70 ERA. In 2015, he made 12 starts, putting together a 5-2 mark and a 3.10 ERA with 77 strikeouts, while winning seven games after starting 30 games in 2016, tallying a career-high 167 K’s. He pitched for both Texas and Philadelphia in 2019, and signed on with the San Francisco Giants for the 2020 campaign.
Wilkins, from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, came to Arkansas as a 25th-round pick, improving his draft status by 20 rounds to become a fifth-round guy by the time he left the Hogs. He spent three years lining up primarily at first base, playing in 163 collegiate games. He hit .331 as a freshman in 35 games, recording 45 hits, 11 doubles and eight homers, with 38 RBIs and 29 runs scored. In 2009, Wilkins racked up 75 hits, 37 for extra bases with 18 doubles and 19 homers, along with 58 RBIs and 53 runs scored for a .319 clip at the plate. Before Eibner’s four extra-base hit performance in 2010, Wilkins accomplished the feat in regional action against Oklahoma on May 30. His 19 dingers rank seventh in school history, helping the Hogs to a then-school record 92 home runs as a unit in 2009. He launched 15 home homers as a junior in 2010, as part of a 66-hit season, driving in 69 RBIs in 63 games, helping him leaving Arkansas ranked in the top 10 in career offensive categories for homers (third), slugging percentage (seventh), RBIs (eighth) and walks (eighth). After five years of moving up through the White Sox organization, producing 100+ hits in three of those five seasons, Wilkins made his MLB Debut in 2014, playing in 17 games. He would play for four different teams in the minors before returning to the Bigs in 2016 with the Milwaukee Brewers, playing 26 more games at the MLB level. Wilkins has spent the last three years in various levels of the minor leagues with the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Bolsinger returned to the Razorbacks in 2010 and pithed in 23 games, starting 13, after only starting two games each of the previous two seasons combined. He put together a 6-5 mark with a 4.81 ERA with 79 strikeouts over 86.0 innings. By coming back, he moved up from a 33rd round pick to a 14th rounder, heading to Arizona, where he’d spent five years working his way up to a big league debut in 2014. Bolsinger pitched in 10 games for the Diamondbacks in 2014, starting nine, winning one game with a 5.50 ERA. In 2015, he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he would pitch two seasons, going 6-6 in 2015 with a 3.62 earned run average in 21 starts. The 2017 season would be spent with the Toronto Blue Jays before playing 2018-19 in International ball with the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan. Bolsinger won eight games in the Major Leagues and struck out 210 in 230.7 innings of work.
Kuhn, a native of Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, played three years for the Hogs from 2009-11, getting drafted as a 21-year-old sophomore in 2010. He posted 44 hits in 59 games as a freshman in 2009, with seven doubles, two triples and three homers, as well as 19 RBIs and 39 runs scored. The power came along as a sophomore, pounding out 87 knocks, 38 for extra bases including 18 doubles, four triples and 16 home runs, while driving in 52 runs and scoring 66, finishing with a .336 clip at the plate. The outfielder went in the 15th round of the 2010 draft to the Detroit Tigers and elected to return to school for his junior year…
Pratt, another Arkansan from Harrison, played his 2010 season for the Hogs after starting his career at Arkansas-Fort Smith. He pitched in 24 games, all in relief, putting together a 3-1 record with a 3.76 ERA, striking out 50. He would spend two years in the Detroit system, playing in Single-A and High-A, totaling 32 relief outings, finishing with a 3-2 record and a 3.29 pro ERA and four saves.
Heatley, from Breckenridge, Texas, joined the Hogs after stints at North Lake College and Texas A&M, playing his final two years of college baseball in Arkansas. He made seven appearances in 2009, all in relief, while seeing increased playing time in 2010 with 23 outings on the mound and one start. He put together a 5-0 record with two saves as a senior, punching out 47 for a 4.01 ERA. Heatley pitched one season in Florida’s organization, making 17 appearances with a 3-2 mark and a 3.07 earned run average in pro ball.
On May 28, we’ll take a look at the 2011 draft, which featured six Arkansas draft picks and another big leaguer player.
