By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports
Peyton Stovall wore red as a Haughton Buc two-sport star, red as he became who coach Dave Van Horn called one of the great players in Arkansas Razorbacks history, and now he’s joining the Cincinnati Reds.
Stovall was the 117th player chosen in the Major League Baseball Draft, selected Monday in the fourth round by the oldest pro team in the game. A second baseman, Stovall overcame injuries in two seasons at Arkansas to fashion a career that Van Horn said takes a back seat to no other.
The 5-11, 200-pounder, who hits left-handed but throws right-handed, recovered from a broken foot early this season to bat .340 in 48 games, clubbing nine home runs and driving in 38 RBI while posting a .944 OPS and fielding .988 with only two errors. Stovall was a third-team American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings All-America selection while earning All-SEC honors for a second time.
He is considered an MLB-caliber hitter right away, said draft analyst Jim Callis of MLB.com.
Stovall spurned possible first-round MLB Draft opportunities to play for Van Horn in 2021. After two years starting for Jason Brotherton’s HHS football team at quarterback, he stepped away from the gridiron for his senior season to focus on the diamond. That elevated his status with the pros.
“He could have had first-round money in 2021 if he was willing to sign out of high school,” said Callis. “He had a shoulder injury that kind of wrecked his sophomore year. He broke his foot shortly before the season this year.
“But you’re getting a guy who’s a pure hitter. The rest of the tools are kind of fringy average,” said Callis, “but you’re betting on a pure hitter here who might be a .275 guy with 15 homers (for the Reds). He did improve defensively at second, so you feel better about him staying there.”
Stovall was the Razorbacks’ starting first baseman on a College World Series team as a freshman, when he got on an offensive tear in midseason and never relented, much as he did this spring.
His high school coach at Haughton, Glenn Maynor, compares Stovall to LSU great and Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame infielder and 13-year MLB veteran Todd Walker of Bossier City-Airline.
“I played with Todd, and there are a lot of comparisons there. Todd was by feel, a real handsy hitter, real natural, and that’s how Peyton was,” said Maynor, who coached Stovall’s father Matt as a rookie prep coach at Haughton in 1994, and coached his mother Leslie in girls basketball.
“I knew he’d be a good ballplayer, and that was correct. Peyton is the best I’ve ever coached,” said Maynor. “He’s the best pure hitter, for sure.
“It’s hard for a freshman to start in (Class) 5A baseball,” said Maynor, “but five minutes into the first practice, you could see he was a starter right away. I didn’t know he was going to be a draft guy, an All-SEC guy, but I knew he’d be a special player, a four-year starter.
“When the scouts and cross checkers were coming around in his senior year, they asked, ‘how did you help his swing?’ The answer was we didn’t do anything with his swing. One of my best coaching jobs, just leaving him alone,” said Maynor.
“It’s what he’s always wanted. He’s gotten to play at the highest level of college baseball, and now he has an opportunity to play at the very highest level,” said his high school coach. ‘He’s ready for the challenge. He’s performed pretty darned good in the SEC and nobody will outwork him.”
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