For Arkansas fans, this October has a distinctly Fayetteville flavor in Chicago. Two Razorbacks — outfielder Andrew Benintendi and lefty reliever Hagen Smith — are both on the White Sox roster as Chicago battles the Cleveland Guardians in the American League Division Series. The White Sox opened the series with a 3-0 win on Saturday and hold a 1-0 series lead, and Razorback alumni have been part of the story at every turn.
Benintendi on the Move
Benintendi's playoff role took a notable turn during the Guardians series. The White Sox made a sudden roster move involving their veteran DH, per Heavy Sports, though Chicago's need for his bat hasn't diminished. He posted a .200 average in Chicago's 4-3 Game 2 win over Cleveland on Monday, October 5, contributing to a lineup that has now won four straight playoff games dating back to a Wild Card sweep of the Houston Astros. His average dipped to .167 in Game 4 on Friday as Cleveland posted a 5-9 win, a rough night for the offense as a whole with Cleveland evening up the series.
It's worth remembering the arc here: Benintendi is a former AL All-Star and Gold Glove winner who built much of his reputation in Boston before a journey through Kansas City, New York, and now Chicago. Getting to the ALDS with the White Sox is the kind of late-career October the northwest Arkansas faithful have been rooting for since he left Baum Stadium.
Hagen Smith Carving Out a Bullpen Role
The other Razorback in the mix is a far more recent product of the Hill. Smith, a first-round pick out of Arkansas in 2023, has worked his way into a genuine postseason bullpen role for Chicago — no small thing for a pitcher still in his early professional years.
He logged 0.2 innings in Game 3 on Wednesday, striking out one but allowing an earned run in a 3-9 loss that let Cleveland back into the series. He returned again in Game 4 on Friday for another 0.2 innings of work, this time keeping the Guardians off the board. His postseason ERA sits at 1.29 through the ALDS — a number that, innings caveat aside, reflects a young arm holding up under genuine October pressure.
Smith's trajectory has been fast. Getting meaningful high-leverage innings in an ALDS is not something most pitchers his age can claim, and for a Razorbacks program that has become one of college baseball's premier pipelines, watching him work in this context is a legitimate point of pride.
The Bigger Picture
Notably, the Guardians roster also features two Arkansas alumni — starter Peyton Pallette and reliever Trevor Stephan — meaning this ALDS has a quietly heavy Razorback presence on both sides of the diamond. For Arkansas fans, whoever advances, a Hog is going with them.
The White Sox and Guardians are tied 2-2 in the series as of Friday's action, with Games 5 through 7 still to come. Benintendi and Smith will both be expected to contribute down the stretch — one swinging the bat, the other working out of the 'pen — in what has become the most Razorback-saturated playoff series in recent memory.
Call the Hogs.
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