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Arkansas baseball's Hunter Dietz was selected by the New York Yankees with the No. 35 overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft on Saturday, July 11. He was the third draft pick of the weekend for the Razorbacks and gives the program three consecutive seasons with a left-handed pitcher taken in the first round.
Dietz's projected slot value at No. 35 is $2.83 million.
The 6-foot-6 Florida native just wrapped up his redshirt sophomore season with Arkansas. He went 7-4 and posted a 3.57 ERA with 131 strikeouts in 85⅔ innings. He led the SEC in strikeouts during the regular season and only walked 31 batters.
Dietz assumed the Friday night role midway through the campaign, and it was a moment Arkansas fans had been waiting for. The lefty wowed coaches and teammates when he arrived on campus during the fall of 2023, but his first two seasons with the Hogs were plagued by injuries. He only recorded five outs before this spring.
Dietz was named First Team All-SEC and a Second Team All-American (D1Baseball) following the 2026 season.
Dietz is a flamethrower from the left side. He has a repeatable delivery with a fastball that lives in the upper 90s and has a rare amount of backspin and carry. His three-quarters arm slot combines with the electric velo to produce plenty of strikeouts.
Dietz has a five-pitch mix, featuring a curveball, cutter, slider and changeup. The three breaking pitches are all reliable. The slider rests in the mid 80s, while the cutter sits in the upper 80s and the curveball is in the high 70s. All three pitches play well off his fastball.
He still needs to get more comfortable with his changeup and must show sustained health after only playing one full season, but not many lefties in this draft class have a higher upside than Dietz.
Jackson Fuller covers Arkansas football, basketball and baseball for the Southwest Times Record, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at [email protected] or follow him @jacksonfuller16 on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: What Arkansas baseball’s Hunter Dietz brings to Yankees in MLB Draft
Continue reading...
Dietz's projected slot value at No. 35 is $2.83 million.
The 6-foot-6 Florida native just wrapped up his redshirt sophomore season with Arkansas. He went 7-4 and posted a 3.57 ERA with 131 strikeouts in 85⅔ innings. He led the SEC in strikeouts during the regular season and only walked 31 batters.
Dietz assumed the Friday night role midway through the campaign, and it was a moment Arkansas fans had been waiting for. The lefty wowed coaches and teammates when he arrived on campus during the fall of 2023, but his first two seasons with the Hogs were plagued by injuries. He only recorded five outs before this spring.
Dietz was named First Team All-SEC and a Second Team All-American (D1Baseball) following the 2026 season.
What Arkansas baseball's Hunter Dietz brings to New York Yankees
Dietz is a flamethrower from the left side. He has a repeatable delivery with a fastball that lives in the upper 90s and has a rare amount of backspin and carry. His three-quarters arm slot combines with the electric velo to produce plenty of strikeouts.
Dietz has a five-pitch mix, featuring a curveball, cutter, slider and changeup. The three breaking pitches are all reliable. The slider rests in the mid 80s, while the cutter sits in the upper 80s and the curveball is in the high 70s. All three pitches play well off his fastball.
He still needs to get more comfortable with his changeup and must show sustained health after only playing one full season, but not many lefties in this draft class have a higher upside than Dietz.
Jackson Fuller covers Arkansas football, basketball and baseball for the Southwest Times Record, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at [email protected] or follow him @jacksonfuller16 on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: What Arkansas baseball’s Hunter Dietz brings to Yankees in MLB Draft
Continue reading...
