Three Razorbacks make Law's Top 50 MLB Draft Prospects

Hogs roster filled with potential MLB talent as back-half of SEC play gets underway

Lefty Zach Root throws a pitch against South Carolina during the SEC home opener | Nilsen Roman - Hogs on SI Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — No. 2 Arkansas is in the middle of a tight SEC race in which the Razorbacks are just one game behind No.1 Texas. There are four teams within three games of the lead (Tennessee, Georgia and LSU).

The MLB Draft is also quickly approaching, now less than four months away. Every move of draft-eligible prospects will be watched by scouts and evaluators alike. Three Razorbacks will are ranked in the Top 50 MLB Draft Prospects.

Lefty starter Zach Root checks in at No. 17. Shortstop Wehiwa Aloy at No. 19 and outfielder Charles Davalan at No. 28. Former Razorback Mason Neville, now at Oregon, is also on the list at No. 30.

The Hogs are just one of three schools to have more than one player on the list (Florida State and Tennessee),

The Volunteers also have a trio of players on the list, including the top spot for a college player (No. 2 overall), left-handed starter Liam Doyle.

Root and Doyle are likely to face off on May 15 in Fayetteville in a classic Friday night ace matchup in Fayetteville.

You can view the full list here.

No. 17 Zach Root

What Law says: "Root throws five pitches for strikes and the worst one might be his fastball, which doesn’t miss many bats, with a whiff rate of just 9 percent — so he doesn’t throw it very much, only about a third of the time, keeping hitters off-balance by changing speeds and locations, throwing any pitch in any count"

Even if his whiff rate isn't particularly high on the fastball, his overall strikeout numbers have taken a massive leap since arriving at Arkansas.

In 68 1/3 innings last year at East Carolina, he struck out 76 hitters for a K/9 of 10.1. Since arriving in Fayetteville, he's stuck out 67 hitters in 49 2/3 innings (12.3 K/9).

No. 19 Wehiwa Aloy

Wehiwa Aloy at the plate against Missouri as part of a sweep of the Tigers in which Arkansas scored 51 runs. | Nilsen Roman-Hogs on SI Images

What Law says: "He looks like he'll be an above-average shortstop down the line, with the quick reactions and athleticism to stay at the position.

"His swing is great for hitting for power, but he has a hard time with fastballs up in the zone, and he's struggled generally against pitchers with better stuff in the SEC so far this spring."

The stats generally back up Law's assessment. Through 15 SEC games this year, the batting average and the slugging percentage have improved drastically compared to his sophomore season, but his walk rate is down considerably and his strikeout rate is slightly up.

2024: .283/.429/.566, 19.4% walk rate, 20.6% strikeout rate

2025:. 324/.410/.647, 11.5% walk rate, 24.4% strikeout rate

No. 28 Charles Davalan

Outfielder Charles Davalan takes a swing at the plate against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The Razorbacks won 13-3. | Nilsen Roman-Hogs on SI Images

What Law says: "He has shown an elite approach while hitting atop the Hogs’ lineup, with 11 strikeouts in his first 170 PA (6.5 percent) and an overall whiff rate of just 9 percent.

"He’s also got some sock, with 12 homers already and a .396/.485/.688 line, although I’d expect him to be more of a doubles-power guy with a wood bat and maybe hit 10-12 homers a year.

"He’s played more left than center, and scouts are mixed on the latter; if he could play center he’d be a top-10 pick, and as is he’s probably a first-rounder."

Davalan currently ranks third-toughest to strike out behind Alabama's Kade Snell and LSU's Stephen Milam.

Although Davalan started all four games of the opening series against Washington State in center, he has only made nine starts there in the 34 games since as Justin Thomas and him have switched spots and Davalan's made 23 starts in left.

12 of the 15 SEC games had Thomas as the starting center fielder, with most of Davalan's starts in center coming in midweek games.

Arkansas continues SEC play against Texas A&M 7 p.m. Thursday on SEC Network.