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Atlanta Braves 2019 Draft Preview: the year of the position player?

By Clint Manry

The Atlanta Braves failed to sign their first round pick but signed nearly everyone else selected in 2018 MLB Amateur Draft. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
The Atlanta Braves failed to sign their first round pick but signed nearly everyone else selected in 2018 MLB Amateur Draft. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

(3B) Kody Hoese

  • JUNIOR
  • 6’4″, 200 lbs. — RHB – TULANE
  • #109 prospect – 40 FV
  • PLAYER PAGE

Depending on how much you follow college baseball, you may or may have not heard of Kody Hoese of Tulane. At the moment (Saturday, April 13), Hoese leads all of Division 1 Baseball in home runs, with 18 long balls.

As a sophomore in 2018, Hoese was drafted in the 35th-round, but went back to school to try and improve his stock; which seems to be working pretty well as he’s now on the cusp of being a top-100 prospect — #109 on THE BOARD at Fangraphs.

I included Hoese because, why not? Solid power of course plays great in the big leagues, and this guy isn’t just some tweener hitting dingers in college. With his height, he will most likely fill out more and could potentially become a successful power corner-infielder in the Majors one day.

Here’s his stats from the past 2 seasons:

2018 Season (Soph.)

  • 58 games
  • .291 batting-average
  • . 803 OPS
  • 5 home runs
  • 13 doubles
  • 34 RBI
  • 9.4 BB%
  • 14.7 K%

Current Season

  • 34 games
  • .413 batting-average
  • .874 SLG%
  • 1.371 OPS
  • 18 home runs
  • 12 doubles
  • 44 RBI
  • 16.0 BB% –10.4 K%

Here’s a guy that can not only maintain a solid batting-average, but can also hit for power. It’s really the best of both worlds. Heck, he’s even stolen 4 bases this season so far.

Obviously, big stats in college doesn’t mean that he’ll put big numbers up in professional baseball. Also, Fangraphs reports that Hoese sometimes gets lucky from slower pitching in his conference, as his bat speed is currently below-average.

But as a dark horse in the Draft, he could be a lottery pick for the Braves; a cheap pick that could provide future value at a discount price.

You never know with these types. He could be someone worth paying attention to.

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