Arkansas ace Hagen Smith gave his defenders a breather on Friday, and boosted his MLB Draft stock in the process.
The Razorbacks left-hander struck out 17 batters in six innings during a start against No. 7 Oregon State, tying a program record in only two thirds of a game. He allowed only three hits and a walk before exiting with 78 pitches thrown.
An Oregon State player didn't record an out on the ground until Micah McDowell grounded out to open the sixth inning. Before that, it was 15 strikeouts in five innings for Smith, who ended his night with a perfectly placed slider.
HAGEN SMITH HAS TIED THE ARKANSAS SINGLE-GAME STRIKEOUT RECORD WITH 17 pic.twitter.com/JKlpq7oHoz
— Arkansas Baseball (@RazorbackBSB) February 24, 2024
No. 2 Arkansas went on to win 5-4, with the winning run coming in a tie game in the bottom of the eighth.
Smith is ranked by MLB Pipeline as the No. 15 prospect for the 2024 MLB Draft, with praise for a fastball that usually operates at 92-95 mph and a sweeping slider described as his best pitch. There are some concerns about his consistency and health (he underwent Tommy John surgery after blowing out his elbow as a sophomore), but Friday's performance shows he can still dominate like few other college players.
Smith did this against an Oregon State team that entered Friday hitting .331/.452/.675 with 14 home runs through five games. One prospects writer had him touching 99 mph with his fastball.
What I just saw was the most dominant outing I have ever seen. Here's all 17 K's.
— Tyler Jennings (@TylerJennings24) February 24, 2024
Hagen Smith touched 99 early, sat 95-97 a lot, plus his mid-80s SL racked up 15 K's alone. Flashed an upper-80s CH. 8 FB whiffs, 17 SL whiffs.
Pure domination. @RazorbackBSB @PitchingNinja pic.twitter.com/5rNr376X9Q
If he couples any kind of consistency with that ceiling, Smith could hear his named called a lot earlier than 15th in the upcoming MLB Draft.