69 replies to this topic

[Greg Pappas]

https://twitter.com/...239654389469184

 

 

  

Matt Hobgood‏@MattHobgood

Great win! Touched 97 in the 9th inning tonight! Hard work ALWAYS pays off sooner or later.. Felt so good to just let it flyyyy #TGBTG

[Pedro Cerrano]

 image.jpg   94.76K   33 downloads

[SportsGuy]

http://www.rotoworld...73/matt-hobgood

 

Frederick bound

[Mackus]

I'm super impressed by that 1.4+ WHIP at low-A ball...

 

He's got nearly no chance of reaching the majors with the Orioles, this or any season.  Maybe he'll get there quicker than Scott Rice did, but that's the career-path he's going to be following.

 

Jordan should've been fired on the spot for making such a terrible pick, even if he was under orders to draft a signability guy (which I don't think he was).  What a freaking waste.

[Tucker Blair]

I'm not quite sure what else you could have expected from him at this point. He needed to get on a mound and pitch while staying healthy. That was the most important thing at this point. He hasn't even been able to throw a pitch in the past few years.

 

He has a long road ahead of him, with many difficulties awaiting. But he has taken the first step in returning to his old self.

I think if you disregard that he was a first round pick (which is tough to do obviously) and look at how many trials Hobgood has gotten through, you can at least chalk this season up as a success.

 

I was told by a scout at the beginning of the year to look at what Hobgood does in June and July and see if he still is on the mound pitching. He has logged a lot of innings, stayed healthy, and has put up decent enough numbers (I could care less about numbers). Sure, he has that first round label on him, but he can't help where he was drafted.

 

I think Hobgood has an opportunity to move through the system and possibly be a MR option for a MLB team at some point. He DOES have some life on his FB in short spurts. There isn't any stamina built up right now because he just hasn't had the time or health to work on that.

 

It's easy to get angry about the overall selection of Hobgood. No doubt the O's could have done something different at that slot. But he's done exactly what he needed to do this year. I can't really be too disappointed with him considering the past 3-4 years.

[BSLChrisStoner]

I agree about this season being a success, in that he is still on a mound and pitching. 63 innings is a good thing. Hopefully he finishes strong, and has another productive off-season.

 

I like the idea of him staying in the bullpen. I'd be interested in seeing him moved to Closer at Frederick next Spring, and seeing how he looks an inning at a time.

[BaltBird 24]

I'm super impressed by that 1.4+ WHIP at low-A ball...

 

To be fair, he has cut that down from 2.4 the last time he pitched back in 2011, plus he's a level higher. Maybe he'll drop it another base runner an inning next year and be down to 0.4.

 

Also, he's raised his strikeout rate from 4.39 to 6.71, which is still pretty bad for a power arm reliever. And he's dropped his walk rate from 7.76 to 4.00, which is also still pretty bad.

 

On the bright side, he does induce a shit ton of ground balls at 3.27.

[Oriole85]

I'm not quite sure what else you could have expected from him at this point. He needed to get on a mound and pitch while staying healthy. That was the most important thing at this point. He hasn't even been able to throw a pitch in the past few years.

 

He has a long road ahead of him, with many difficulties awaiting. But he has taken the first step in returning to his old self.

I think if you disregard that he was a first round pick (which is tough to do obviously) and look at how many trials Hobgood has gotten through, you can at least chalk this season up as a success.

 

I was told by a scout at the beginning of the year to look at what Hobgood does in June and July and see if he still is on the mound pitching. He has logged a lot of innings, stayed healthy, and has put up decent enough numbers (I could care less about numbers). Sure, he has that first round label on him, but he can't help where he was drafted.

 

I think Hobgood has an opportunity to move through the system and possibly be a MR option for a MLB team at some point. He DOES have some life on his FB in short spurts. There isn't any stamina built up right now because he just hasn't had the time or health to work on that.

 

It's easy to get angry about the overall selection of Hobgood. No doubt the O's could have done something different at that slot. But he's done exactly what he needed to do this year. I can't really be too disappointed with him considering the past 3-4 years.

A few thoughts: this is why draft position is critical. As you said it's almost impossible to ignore him being selected at such a coveted spot. A 10th round pick probably would've been cut from the organization. Is that the fairest thing in the world, nope but so is life. It's just like the expensive product you buy and realize you don't like it. You'll still continue using to some extent because you don't want to look at as a wasted investment.

 

Fans have given Hobgood a really tough time, which does come with the territory but completely undeserved. O's picked him that high not the other way around.

[Oriole85]

Baltimore Sun: After long rehab, Matt Hobgood humbled and still hoping to contribute

 

http://www.baltimore...0438,full.story

[BSLChrisStoner]

Season Delmarva/Fred: 8-4, 4.19 era, 77.1 ip, 72 hits, 3 hr's, 34 bb's, 62 k's

[BSLChrisStoner]

MASN: Pen power: After solid 2013, Matt Hobgood to pitch out of bullpen again this season
http://www.masnsport...his-season.html

[Mackus]

What a joke.  Nothing about his year last year was solid.  I guess you could argue that he didn't give up many home runs, he did a nice job of that.  Everything else would be kind to call mediocre.

[NewMarketSean]

Yup. He'll be 23 and the highest he's pitched is at Frederick where he posted a 5.58 ERA last year. Even his 3.71 ERA at Delmarva is bad. I know he had injury and weight issues and all that, but he's a bust.

 

As a matter of fact I actually forgot he was still in the system until I saw this thread.

[BSLChrisStoner]

What a joke.  Nothing about his year last year was solid.  I guess you could argue that he didn't give up many home runs, he did a nice job of that.  Everything else would be kind to call mediocre.

 

Yeah, the only thing I take from his performance last year was that he got some innings in... and finished the year. I do like the idea of keeping him in the pen.

[Pedro Cerrano]

Gotta save those draft picks tho!!!!

[BaltBird 24]

The only good thing about the Hobgood draft was that it was the beginning of a string of Machado, Bundy, Gausman, and Harvey.

 

I know many people will say that Hobgood was a "safe" pick for money reasons, but how nice would we be sitting now with Zack Wheeler or Mike Minor?

[BaltBird 24]

Gotta save those draft picks tho!!!!

 

Well, to be fair, would you have signed Jimenez or Cruz knowing that you could possibly lose a Manny Machado, Dylan Bundy, or Kevin Gausman?

 

On the flip side, those guys typically aren't available when you're drafting in the 17-30 range, though it appears we might have gotten lucky with Hunter Harvey.

[Pedro Cerrano]

Yea until Harvey goes the way of Matusz, or Britton, or Hayden Penn, or Chris Smith, or.......

 

draftpickztho!!!!!

[Mackus]

Hobgood wasn't a bust.  A bust implies he should've been good and didn't ever develop or meet his potential.

 

Hobgood was a punt.  He was Chris Smith.  He was never good, had no business being a top-10 pick, and was a complete over-draft the minute he was taken.  Add to it that he was lazy and out of shape by the time he was signed, and then got hurt.

 

Joe Jordan should've been fired the as soon as they announced his name.  Or better yet, fired the minute he decided to take him, and replaced with someone competent who wouldn't have wasted the 5th pick on a fringe top-30 HS pitcher.

[Mackus]

Saying draft picks don't matter is ignorant.  But so is saying they should never be sacrificed.

 

They are more important now that the new draft and international FA spending limits are in place, but the guy you are signing improves your team in a way that other options who don't have compensation attached would (especially if you're a contender), it makes perfect sense to sacrifice the draft pick.

 

And once you've forfeited the first round pick, losing the 2nd and so on rounds is no big deal at all.  The 1st round, and perhaps the comp round, is like blackjack.  You know the odds when you go in, there is a little bit of skill involved, and can play accordingly and win big without it being completely crazy random luck.  But the later rounds is more like roulette.  Everyone makes a cheap bet, and one or two of them will pay off.