With the fifth pick in the 2024 MLB draft, the team selected left-handed starter Hagen Smith out of the University of Arkansas.
Ranked as the top pitching prospect in the draft by MLB (and the No. 5 prospect overall), Smith was the SEC Pitcher of the Year. Being the best arm in the best baseball conference in the sport is no small thing.
Smith, 20, is coming off of his first pure starting season, as a Razorbacks junior. He went 9-2 over 16 starts and 84 innings for Arkansas in 2024, with a 2.