Time for Van Horn to Set Heart Aside, Follow Numbers in Move for Hogs

As tough as it may be, Arkansas Razorbacks need to make adjustment before this goes too long

Razorbacks Kuhio Aloy stares down an impending pitch against UAPB. | Arkansas Communications

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Loyalty is admirable, but at some point it becomes detrimental to the overall mission.

Truth be told, the Arkansas program owes a tremendous debt to the Aloy family. Their sons have done so much to both shape the Hogs program and bring joy to the people of Arkansas.

Their infusion of Hawaiian culture has been what the Hogs' fan base needed to get an extra boost in energy and comradery from one end of Baum-Walker to the other as tokens from the islands have been worked into existing Razorback merchandise.

A lot of that excitement can be attributed to the eldest brother, Wehiwa, as he grew to dominate the SEC as a powerful, highly reliable shortstop. However, with his departure, Arkansas fans felt confident his brother, Kuhio, would step fully into the family legacy and shine as a reliable outfielder, power hitter and possible team leader.

It looked like he might be able to develop his way into exactly that early in the season. He was producing just well enough to be able to see the potential waiting to burst free into another magical year with the Aloy family.

Then March 6 rolled around. There's nothing special about this date.

It comes midway through the series with Stetson, perfectly aligned with the divide between the two wins and the two losses to the infamous Hats. That was also the final weekend before SEC play began, so perhaps that had something to do with it, but, once that date hit, the offensive production fell off dramatically.

Heading into that date, Kuhio had a respectable 19 hits over the course of roughly three weeks. In the nearly six weeks since, there have only been 14.

Now, if he were getting on base at a high rate or producing hits that result in multiple bases, it might make sense to continue to persist with him in the line-up as he works through his issues at the plate, but that's just not the case.

Kuhio only has 10 walks for the entire season, which currently consists of 125 at-bats. As for extra-base hits, he has one double and no triples since March 6, along with a pair of home runs.

Every metric Arkansas head coach Dave Van horn could latch onto to justify keeping a program favorite on the field simply isn't there to justify continuing to run him up to the plate. With 34 strikeouts to boot, there's not a lot of room to hope he's moving runners by putting the ball in play or driving up pitch counts.

Instead, he's swinging at just about anything and missing wildly in a lot of cases. It's possible there are metrics showing he is a defensive anchor.

Unfortunately, there's not much room for burning a designated hitter on an outfielder.

To put it simply, the discipline at the plate is no longer there, and there's been more than ample time to allow for a turnaround.

Kuhio has gone hitless in nine of his past 14 games. Across those 14 games, he has only produced seven hits and is 1-for-11 in the past three with his lone hit coming against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

The SEC is an uneven mess right now. There is zero certainty on a night to night basis.

One minute things are rolling for any given team, then, out of nowhere, a program that looks like it has bottomed out comes in and destroys what is supposed to be the more successful team to start its own run. Arkansas is a clear case in point with what the Razorbacks did against No. 8 Alabama last weekend as part of a 7-1 run.

One thing Van Horn doesn't have is the luxury of giving away at-bats. The Hogs are struggling at the plate against SEC pitching, especially among veterans.

Everyone keeps hoping a few of the older guys will break out, but at some point, when there are no signs of improvements, the risks are too high to keep trying to work things out in conference games. There has to be a younger player who can put up at least slightly better production than what Aloy is providing at the moment.

Because of that assumption, it has to be determined that keeping him in the line-up is fully out of loyalty to him and a family everyone in Arkansas loves. It's a strong example of why doing the right thing is often the hardest thing.

It's difficult to make the call to move Kuhio to the bench so he can figure out what's wrong with his swing under the much dimmer lights of practice and mid-week games. However, if he is going to contribute in the postseason, it looks like that might be the only option.

Not making the move probably costs this team a few games. The weekend battles in the SEC often come down to a single hit, and the Razorbacks definitely need that extra productive swing here and there.

The Hogs at least need the ball put into play on a more consistent basis and at-bats that are as patient as possible. So, as hard as it may be, it's probably time for Van Horn to set aside his immense loyalty and have a tough conversation.

It's what's best for the mission. Both the mission of getting the Hogs back into the College World Series, and helping Kuhio show he is someone worthy of being drafted after getting time to sort this out.