JONESBORO, Ark. – Valley View High alumnus Slade Caldwell acknowledged his St. Louis Cardinals fandom, but gave the most appropriate answer when asked which organization he preferred to draft him.
“Any,” he said without skipping a beat during an interview with ‘The Baseball Guru’ Kevin Bohannon on the Arkansas Preps Weekly podcast.
You can watch the full episode with Caldwell below.
The 2024 MLB Draft begins Sunday at 6 p.m. CT beginning with the first two rounds, followed by rounds 3-10 Monday before concluding Tuesday with rounds 11-20. Coverage begins at 1 p.m. CT for the final two days. Day 1 will be on both ESPN and the MLB Network, while the final two days will be streaming on MLB.com.
Per multiple reputable mock drafts, Caldwell expects to hear his name called in the first round as he is projected as high as No. 19 to the New York Mets per MLB.com. If that comes to fruition, Caldwell would be the first Arkansas prep baseball player to be selected in first round since Texarkana’s Dustin Moseley in 2000.
Caldwell attended June’s MLB Draft Combine held at Chase Field in Phoenix (Ariz.) where he focused primarily on meeting with clubs.
“On my side I did not do any of the running, hitting or anything like that,” Caldwell said. “The meetings were 30 minutes each and I had 16 meetings in all within five days. I had five one day and four the next, then three one day.
“It is pretty much just like speed dating. You sit outside of a room like an interview and wait for your name to be called.”
Caldwell discussed the draft process thus far from his dorm room at the University of Mississippi in Oxford – the program he signed with to play his college ball – where he is taking summer classes.
Mike Bianco and the Rebels were actually one of the later teams to offer Caldwell – while the home state Razorbacks were one of the first – but growing up just two hours away from Ole Miss played a key role.
“I have always been around Mississippi playing in Oxford, Jackson and Southaven, so I can say I have been more of an Oxford kid than an Arkansas kid being in the Northeast area,” Caldwell said. “Oxford is a relatively small college town and it kind of feels like home being in Jonesboro and Arkansas State being there. Being able to be over there and know everybody to build those connections was really important to me.”
A back-to-back Arkansas Gatorade Player of the Year selection, Caldwell helped the Blazers earn national attention while leading the star-studded squad to a 31-2 overall record and the 5A state championship. He batted .485, had a stellar .708 on-base percentage, scored 58 runs, smacked 3 home runs, batted in 18 runs and stole 51 bases while striking out only 10 times. He also saw some time on the mound, going a perfect 5-0 while punching out 53 batters and compiling a 1.63 ERA in 34.1 innings. Caldwell played in the state final each of his four varsity seasons, winning two, and stole a state record 171 bases in his illustrious career.
Along with watching Caldwell’s full interview on The Natural State Sports Network YouTube Channel it is also available on any platform you listen to podcasts, including Apple and Spotify.
(Cover photo by Jhude Dizon/Arkansas PBS)
Kyle Sutherland is a journalist and podcast host (Arkansas Preps Weekly) for The Natural State Sports Network. His written work has been featured in outlets including the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Best of Arkansas Sports and Hooten’s Arkansas Football. He is also the color commentator for 103.7 The Buzz’s high school football Game of the Week. Email Kyle at kyle@naturalstatesports.com.