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Nov

01

Is Hobgood too low at #10?

Originally Posted by hoosiers

It's a weaker top 10 than last year and Hobgood has too much talent to be ranked this low, IMO.
I understand that line of thinking, but you have to understand how his stuff didn't show up very often last year. I have many reports of scouts going to see him and see him sit in the 88-90 range with an inconsistent curve and limited changeup. He flashed his promise occasionally but that also seemed to correspond with a shorter outing.

He almost gets an incomplete because we really need to see if he can get himself into better shape this off season and how that plays next year. His inability to miss bats is a concern and if he didn't have such a lofty draft status he might not be in the top ten at all.

I know scouts who don't have him in the O's top 10 so if anything, I'm more bullish on him then some others. Basically I'm giving him a mulligan for last year and will wait to see how he does next year.

The stuff has to improve and hopefully it will with a new found commitment to his conditioning and weight control. I've heard he plans to spend all winter working at one of the top sports fitness facilities and if he comes back in great shape, we could see the guy Jordan saw late in his high school season.

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Tony Pente

Tony has owned and operated Orioles Hangout since 1996 and is well known for his knowledge of the Baltimore Orioles organization from top to bottom. He's a frequent guest on Baltimore-area sports radio stations and can be heard regularly on the 105.7 FM The Fan. His knowledge and contacts within the Orioles minor league system and the major league baseball scouting industry is unparalleled in the Baltimore media and is known as an expert on the Orioles prospects.

Is Hobgood too low at #10?

Tony Pente

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