By Otis Kirk

FAYETTEVILLE -- The Arkansas Razorbacks saw three former players come off the board in the first round of the 2026 Major League Baseball Draft.

Catcher Ryder Helfrick was the first Razorback selected as expected. He went to the Arizona Diamondbacks at No. 15 and is the highest Razorback catcher ever drafted. Right-handed pitcher Carson Wiggins was next going to the New York Mets at 27. The final Razorback to hear his name called in Round 1 was lefty Hunter Dietz to the New York Yankees.

This past season Helfrick hit 18 home runs, drove in 53 runs and hit .283. The slot value for the No. 15 pick is $5,241,000. ESPN's Dan Mullen explained why the Diamondbacks took Helfrick at 15.

"Helfrick has as much power as just about anyone in this draft and proved he can get to it in games in the best conference in college baseball this season," Mullen said. "There is no doubt about his ability to punish fastballs, but he does have a tendency to chase breaking stuff out of the zone -- and that issue could be heightened against better pitching in the pros. Behind the plate, he's already advanced and seems like a safe bet to stick at the position for Arizona."

Wiggins ends his career at Arkansas having pitched just 14 innings with a 3.21 ERA with 20 strikeouts before being sidelined by a UCL injury. He did avoid Tommy John surgery, but he still missed the entire 2026 season. The slot value for No. 27 is $3,466,500. Rumors had Wiggins also asking for a $2 million signing bonus. Apparently the Mets were unfazed as they get one of the hardest throwing pitchers in the draft. He was clocked at 102 mph at Arkansas.

ESPN's David Schoenfield didn't expect Wiggins to go this early.

"This is one of the bigger surprises of the draft, as Wiggins pitched just 14 innings in his career at Arkansas, missing all of the 2026 season after an internal brace procedure in 2025," Schoenfield said. "The younger brother of Cubs prospect Jaxon Wiggins, Carson hit 102 mph before the injury in 2025 and did throw at the MLB draft combine, impressing with his fastball/slider combo. There's a lot of unknown here and reliever risk, but the stuff makes him an intriguing selection."

Dietz went 7-4 in 2026. He appeared in 16 games, all as a starter, threw 85.2 innings including one complete game. He had an ERA of 3.57, struck out 131 and walked 31. The slot value at 35 is $2,826,700.

"Dietz pitched just 1⅔ innings his first two years at Arkansas, needing surgery following a stress fracture in his elbow in the fall of 2023," Schoenfield said. "He returned this year to strike out 131 batters in 85⅔ innings, working off a 95-mph fastball that touched 98. His slider/cutter generated high whiff rates against both sides of the plate and also has a curveball. He's 6-6 and 235, and despite the limited track record, some teams saw him as the top collegiate lefty in the class."

In the second round, the Athletics drafted right-handed pitcher Gabe Gaeckle at No. 73 and then in the third round Miami Marlins picked shortstop Camden Kozeal in Round 3 at No. 87.

Gaeckle pitched both as a starter and reliever in 2026. He appeared in 20 games this past season with 12 as a starter. He was 6-3 with an ERA of 4.14. He pitched 71.2 innings striking out 87 and walking 35. The slot value for his pick is $1,156,400.

Kozeal appeared in 62 games this season. He topped the Razorbacks in home runs with 20, 71 runs batted in and a .318 batting average. His slot value is $929,700.

It appears no Razorback recruits were drafted on Saturday. The draft will conclude on Sunday with rounds 5-20. Round 5 will begin at 10:30 am.