Baseball Beginnings

By John Klima
May 29, 2009

(photo: Baseball Beginnings)

Right-hander Matt Hobgood’s final high school start before the 2009 MLB draft wasn’t the conclusion that the Norco (Calif.) pitcher and probable first-round pick envisioned. On the other hand, when a bad day constitutes reaching 95 mph and throwing the occasional hard 12-6 curveball at 75 for strikes, the game may be lost but the prospect status is not.

Hobgood was the most hittable he has been in a high school season in which he finished 11-1 and hit 21 home runs. The Gatorade California State Player of the Year, who is a strong candidate for the National Player of the Year Award, had his typical power but not his typical command. He allowed nine hits in six innings of a 7-4 loss at Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.)

Hobgood said after the game that he felt like it wasn’t a matter of command, but stuff.

“I didn’t think I had my best stuff, not to take anything way from Mater Dei,” he said. “I would have liked to have been better. My stuff just was just going across the plate.”

In terms of pure power, Hobgood still gave the radar guns a workout. He hit 94 in the first inning and later pitched at 94, mixing in a few change-ups at 77 mph. His best inning was the second, when he threw 11 pitches. All seven fastballs were 91 or better. He threw a number of hard 93 mph fastballs with downhill life, but Hobgood spent more time out of a comfortable flow than he spent in it for the duration of the game.

“I was trying to keep good tempo but I was in and out of rhythm all day,” he said. “I was trying to go too fast and ended up not extending out. I wasn’t getting on top of the ball like I can.”

That was most evident as Hobgood struggled to find his curveball. In an outing where he wasn’t consistently locating his fastball, the lack of a consistent second pitch for strikes was glaring. He didn’t help himself with a throwing error, his infield didn’t help him early in the game with an error, and Hobgood bounced pitches in the dirt in the third inning.

Hobgood didn’t pitch himself out of the first round, but for fair weather teams going purely on results, he could have slipped a pick or two. Physically, Hobgood still showed all the reasons he’s wanted: pure power, a workhorse body, room to improve.

The best starts Baseball Beginnings saw Hobgood pitch were against Riverside Poly and Jake Marisnick. Most notably in the start at Riverside Poly, Hobgood commanded both pitches with above-average frequency, showed his split-fingered change-up hybrid, and threw harder in the seventh inning than he did in the first. Historically a better pitcher as the game progresses, Hobgood didn’t get deep enough into this game to settle down.

Mater Dei junior outfielder Cory Hahn helped himself in front of scouts, hitting a grand slam and a solo home run off Hobgood. Both times, Hobgood fell behind in the count and had to come in with fastballs. The left-handed hitting Hahn, a slightly-built center fielder who stands about 5-10, hit both balls out to right field.

“I was uncomfortable and he was working quick,” Hahn said. “I faced him two years ago when he was nowhere near the prospect he is now. He was throwing 88 then, he hits 95 now. I haven’t faced him since then. He came a long way in a few years. When he was a sophomore, he was the same size but he had a little bit of baby fat. He’s slimmed up now and he’s turned that baby fat into solid muscle. You can see in his legs and his arms and the velocity he has. He’s progressed so much. You can’t help but respect the guy.”

The best look scouts got at Hobgood’s pure physicality came immediately after Hahn’s grand slam.  He came back with three fastballs for strikes at 96, 94 and 93. Later, he threw what were probably his best two curveballs of the game, a pair of 75-mph power drivers at the knees. At that point, the game was lost, but scouting-wise, he still showed way above-average raw physical tools.

“I felt breaking balls were alright,” Hobgood said. “I felt like I was getting good bite. I left pitches I normally leave down up. I was out of my game.”

Hahn said Mater Dei hitters knew Hobgood was struggling to locate from his encounter with the leadoff batter in the first inning.

“(Shortstop Derek) Campbell was 0-2 and worked a walk out of it,” Hahn said. “We knew that he likes to throw the high fastball and can be a wild kid. Once we realized he was wild today we wanted to be selective. We knew he would groove a fastball. That’s what I went up to do. Every time I went up, he was behind in the count. It made him have to groove.”

Hahn may have helped perceptions of his own upside.  

“I think it helped me tremendously,” he said. “I can be quick enough with my hands to get inside a pro fastball. My size is a factor for some people, I know that. If I have to go to college, I have absolutely no problem with that. But I think I helped myself in front of scouts.”

Mater Dei right-hander Aaron Northcraft (10-2) topped at 91 mph in the first inning and pitched the first few innings at 89-90. A big-bodied right-hander who throws from a ¾ arm slot, he showed a slider and a change-up both at 79 and looks like he should be a solid Division I college starter.

Campbell, a junior shortstop, shares some physical characteristics with Bonita HS shortstop Jiovanni Mier, a probable 2009 first-rounder whose team was also eliminated Friday. Campbell’s wiry body has much maturity ahead. He is a rangy defender with a fast release and average arm. Athletic, he runs with long, graceful strides and with above-average speed. Offensively, he’s shown metal-bat power this spring and has played his way onto several scouting follow lists.

Read Matt Hobgood Q&A
Watch Matt Hobgood Scouting video
Read Matt Hobgood Scouting report
Watch Matt Hobgood vs. Jake Marisnick Video
Watch Matt Hobgood’s Camden Yards bullpen session
Catching up with Matt Hobgood

Categories: 2009 Draft, 2010 Draft
Tags: Aaron Northcraft, Cory Hahn, Jake Marisnick, Jiovanni Mier, Matt Hobgood