Several signees on radar

FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas is expected to have only one player taken in the first two days of the Major League Baseball Draft, but Razorbacks coaches are keeping a close eye on many players in their signing class.

According to Baseball America, Arkansas has seven signees among the top 500 prospects in the draft, which begins tonight. The class, which is ranked by Perfect Game USA as the fourth-best nationally, is headlined by catcher Ben Rortvedt of Verona, Wis.

Rortvedt is rated the sixth-best available prospect at his position by Baseball America and could be drafted by the second round.

"I think everyone in the country knows he would be a first-round guy if he came to Arkansas, but that may mean turning down second-round money," said Tony Vitello, Arkansas' assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. "He'd really have to bet on himself if he did that.

"He would probably go off the board first if he does go. Sometimes those guys price themselves out [getting drafted high] kind of like Keaton McKinney did a couple of years ago."

Vitello did not say how much money Rortvedt or any other signee is requesting MLB teams pay as a signing bonus. High asking prices can cause teams to not draft players as high as they are projected, and in some cases, top high school prospects go undrafted or unsigned because their asking price is higher than their slot value.

The opposite also is true, with some prospects signing for significantly lower than they indicated they would during the scouting process. For instance, left-handed pitcher and UA signee Jacob Schlesener -- who was drafted in the 12th round in 2015 by the St. Louis Cardinals -- signed for $350,000 less than he told Arkansas coaches he would prior to the draft.

"The scouts are building relationships just like we are in recruiting," Vitello said. "A player's number may be $800,000, but a scout may think he can get it down to $600,000 because of the relationship.

"It all really boils down to how the kid handles that day."

Other Arkansas signees rated in Baseball America's top 500 include infielder Cole Stobbe of Omaha, Neb.; right-handed pitcher Tyler Benninghoff of Overland Park, Kan.; outfielder Dominic Fletcher of Cypress, Calif.; outfielder Jordan McFarland of Waterloo, Ill.; right-handed pitcher Brenden Heiss of Lake of the Hills, Ill.; and left-handed pitcher Lucas Krull of Shawnee, Kan.

Stobbe, who was named the Nebraska Gatorade player of the year, batted .437 with 14 home runs and 43 RBI as a senior.

"Stobbe is a once-in-a-lifetime kid you'd want to coach," said Pat Mooney, Stobbe's high school coach, to the Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star. "I think he's better in the field. He's so good, it's unbelievable.

"Alex Gordon was the last one I saw that I thought was there."

Baseball America ranks Stobbe as the No. 145 prospect in the draft. Vitello said he thinks he could be the highest-rated signee to make it to campus.

"I think if he sticks to his money, I think we'll get him," Vitello said. "He's a fringy second-round guy, but I truly believe he's a first-rounder if he comes to us, and I think he thinks that."

Vitello said he is optimistic most of Arkansas' class will make it to campus after the MLB signing deadline passes July 15. He indicated that several in the class drew interest from scouts during their senior seasons, but not many had the all-around consistency to be drafted high enough to consider skipping college.

"From what I know, I feel pretty good that we're not going to get hammered," Vitello said. "We're probably going to lose whoever the scouts feel are the best prospects, and there is always going to be that one guy that surprises us, but it's a really big class for that reason. We've kind of backed up those guys with other guys who may not profile yet, but we feel like in three years may be a name for those pro guys."

Sports on 06/09/2016