Hogs Baseball
Athletics take Razorback pitcher Gabe Gaeckle in second round
Arkansas righty Gabe Gaeckle heads to the pros after the Athletics grabbed him with pick No. 73.
The Oakland Athletics picked Arkansas right-hander Gabe Gaeckle with the 73rd overall selection in Saturday’s MLB Draft.
The pick lands at the tail end of the second round and carries a slot value of $1,156,400 according to 247Sports.
Gaeckle wraps up a junior season that showed real growth on the mound for the Razorbacks. He went 6-3 with a 4.14 ERA across 20 appearances, including 12 starts.
He struck out 87 batters in 71.2 innings and held opposing hitters to a .278 average.
The Aptos, Calif., native also earned SEC All-Tournament honors and made the Spring SEC Academic Honor Roll this spring.
His best individual outing came right out of the gate.
Gaeckle made his season debut against Oklahoma State in the Shriners Children’s College Showdown at Globe Life Field and struck out nine hitters over 4.1 innings while giving up just one earned run.
That kind of swing-and-miss stuff followed him through conference play too.
A big moment in the SEC Tournament
When the Hogs needed length out of the bullpen against Texas in the SEC Tournament, Gaeckle answered the call.
He entered in relief after Hunter Dietz, who the Yankees drafted earlier Saturday, exited in the first inning.
Gaeckle threw six shutout innings and struck out nine batters to help Arkansas escape with a win.
Gaeckle’s path to Fayetteville started back in 2023 when he was drafted in the 20th round out of high school.
He chose college instead and turned into one of the steadier arms in the Razorbacks’ rotation over three seasons.
As a freshman he picked up Baseball America All-Freshman First Team recognition along with a spot on the Freshman All-SEC team.
Saturday’s selection makes Gaeckle the fourth Arkansas player drafted this year.
The Razorbacks have leaned heavily on pitching development under coach Matt Hobbs, and Gaeckle now becomes the 10th arm under his watch to get picked in the draft’s top three rounds since 2021.
The draft continues Sunday, with rounds five through 20 set to begin at 10:30 a.m. Arkansas fans will get more chances to see where the rest of this year’s group lands as the weekend wraps up.
Key takeaways
- Gaeckle went 73rd overall to the Athletics with a slot value of $1,156,400
- His junior season included a 6-3 record, 4.14 ERA and 87 strikeouts in 71.2 innings
- He’s the fourth Razorback picked this year and the 10th Matt Hobbs pitcher taken in the top three rounds since 2021
| Sat, Sep 5 |  | vs North Alabama | 3:15 PM SECN |
| Sat, Sep 12 |  | @ Utah | 9:15 PM ESPN |
| Sat, Sep 19 |  | Georgia | 11:00 AM ABC |
| Sat, Sep 26 |  | Tulsa | TBA |
| Sat, Oct 3 |  | @ Texas A&M | TBA |
| Sat, Oct 10 |  | Tennessee | TBA |
| Sat, Oct 17 |  | @ Vanderbilt | TBA |
| Sat, Oct 31 |  | vs Missouri | TBA |
| Sat, Nov 7 |  | @ Auburn | TBA |
| Sat, Nov 14 |  | South Carolina | TBA |
| Sat, Nov 21 |  | @ Texas | TBA |
| Sat, Nov 28 |  | vs LSU | TBA |
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