PGCROSSCHECKER COLLEGE TEAM SCOUTING REPORT

8. ARKANSAS (39-21, lost in NCAA regionals).

Conference/Projected Finish: Southeastern/2^nd (18-12, T-3^rd in 2006).

Coach: Dave Van Horn (158-89, 4 years).

First Game: Feb. 2 at Louisiana Tech.

OVERVIEW: Few teams can match the Razorbacks array of frontline arms. Junior LHP Nick Schmidt (9-3, 3.01) is a possible first-rounder, while junior RHPs Shawn Seibert (4-0, 2.79), Jess Todd and Duke Welker are all potential early-round selections. Seibert led the Cape Cod League in ERA last summer, while Todd (Navarro, Texas ) and Welker (Seminole State, Okla. ), both junior college transfers, have been clocked upwards of 92 mph. Few teams will benefit from junior college transfers this year more than Arkansas .

X-Factor: The Razorbacks may struggle at the plate as they return only one .300 hitter, senior OF Jake Dugger (.317-12-44), but senior 1B Danny Hamblin (.289-17-68), the team’s leading home run and RBI man, also returns. The team’s biggest offensive threat may well be junior C-DH Jeff Nutt, another junior college transfer. Another transfer, junior OF Jacob Julius, who hit .374 with 11 homers and 23 stolen bases at Spalding (Ky. ) College before that school downgraded from NAIA to Division III, is also expected to make a key contribution.

TOP FRESHMAN: Dylan Duren, 1b. Neither Duren nor LHP Dallas Keuckel, both Tulsa high school products, will see much action on a veteran Arkansas team, but Dillon’s bat and Keuckel’s arm have drawn the intrigue of scouts. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Duren has a chance to be an outstanding hitter, but finding a defensive home may be an issue. Keuckel, most effective when he pitches in the 84-88 mph range, projects as a midweek starter and weekend set-up man.

TOP SOPHOMORE: Logan Forsythe, 3b. Forsythe hit only .189-3-9 in a part-time role as a freshman, but he is an outstanding defender who is expected to make big strides with the bat.

TOP JUNIOR: Nick Schmidt, lhp. Schmidt heads up a talented junior crop. But there’s concern whether he’ll be the same dominant pitcher he was over the first half of last year, when his fastball hit a steady 89-93 mph, or the pitcher who struggled over the latter half of the college season and through much of the summer with Team USA , when his velocity slipped to the high 80s. His velocity returned to its previous level in the fall.

TOP SENIOR: Danny Hamblin, 1b. Hamblin was drafted in the ninth round by Oakland last June, but elected to return for his senior year. Power is his best tool, but he is fast enough and versatile enough in the field that he may see time at second base.