LJ Hoes back in the lineup today!

[Big Mac]

That is just flat out wrong. He projects very well offensively as an outfielder. The Orioles thought he was athletic enough to play 2B as well. As we all know, the organization has very little depth at the middle infield positions and thought Hoes could more than handle 2B defensively.

I wouldn't say it's flat out wrong. Most scouts think Hoes will hit single digit HR in the big leagues. Most good OF have more power than that.

If Hoes could steal 50 bases, than that's a different story. Now, on the other hand if he keeps up his ridiculuosly high OBP as he moves up the system, then his bat will play anywhere.

[sector7g]

Hoes hit his first professional home run today in the GCL. He's now sporting a healthy .897 OPS to go with his BB/SO ratio of 21/13.

Also, Avery is hitting .405 in his last 10 games as both guys become accustomed to this level and Garabez Rosa hit his 3rd HR of the year. He's now slugging .473 as an 18yr old SS. Amazingly he's taken just one walk in 110 AB's though. How is that even possible?!

[Flosman]

Hoes hit his first professional home run today in the GCL. He's now sporting a healthy .897 OPS to go with his BB/SO ratio of 21/13.

Also, Avery is hitting .405 in his last 10 games as both guys become accustomed to this level and Garabez Rosa hit his 3rd HR of the year. He's now slugging .473 as an 18yr old SS. Amazingly he's taken just one walk in 110 AB's though. How is that even possible?!

Old guy should love him.

[Peace21]

Hoes hit his first professional home run today in the GCL. He's now sporting a healthy .897 OPS to go with his BB/SO ratio of 21/13.

Also, Avery is hitting .405 in his last 10 games as both guys become accustomed to this level and Garabez Rosa hit his 3rd HR of the year. He's now slugging .473 as an 18yr old SS. Amazingly he's taken just one walk in 110 AB's though. How is that even possible?!

Both Hoes and Avery are both running the base paths well too.

[cixelsyD]

7/27

In a doubleheader today, Hoes went 3-6 with a BB, 2B, 3B and 2 RBI.

Hoes is hitting .529 in his last 10 games with 2 doubles and 3 triples.

His season line is now .333/.449/.444 (.893 OPS).

He walked 17 times this season and struckout only 9. I think it would be very beneficial for his development if he spent the last month in Bluefield.

It would be great if he could start off at Delmarva next season.

What would be the chance of him starting next year at Delmarva? I really like this kid, and it would drive me crazy waiting until June for the short-season leagues start up, to follow his progress. I think with his great plate discipline he should be able to reasonably handle low-A.

[rooter]

What would be the chance of him starting next year at Delmarva? I really like this kid, and it would drive me crazy waiting until June for the short-season leagues start up, to follow his progress. I think with his great plate discipline he should be able to reasonably handle low-A.

That seems like a big jump considering his age. I'd say Aberdeen is more likely.

[Big Mac]

What would be the chance of him starting next year at Delmarva? I really like this kid, and it would drive me crazy waiting until June for the short-season leagues start up, to follow his progress. I think with his great plate discipline he should be able to reasonably handle low-A.

I think they should move him up to Bluefield or Aberdeen for the last month and see how he handles it. Given his very good K:BB ratio, I think he would be able to hold his own at either level. Hypothetically, if he performs well there, I think he would be able to handle Delmarva next season.

[Jenius]

Hoes' OPS is now over .900. He currently ranks 2nd in the GCL in OBA and 7th in OPS.

One thing that concerns me just slightly, though I'm not putting too much stock in it yet: according to minorleaguesplits.com, (stats are a bit dated, maybe ~ a week old) Hoes possesses a miniscule 8.8% Line Drive rate. More than half of his hits are on ground balls, and his BABIP on non-line drives is .320, which strikes me as inordinately high. Just as a point of reference, fellow 2B prospect Ryan Adams has a .265 non-LD BABIP and a 17.9% LD rate at Delmarva. If we normalized Hoes' non-LD BABIP by Adams', and factored in a few extra hits to account for Hoes' speed, his BA would be a more pedestrian mark in the .280-.290 range. But that's just something to keep an eye on...even if he has experienced some luck and/or benefited from inferior fielding at the GCL level, the BB/K ratio is extremely impressive. And he's learning a new position to boot.

[Fairfax Bird]

I wouldn't say it's flat out wrong. Most scouts think Hoes will hit single digit HR in the big leagues. Most good OF have more power than that.

If Hoes could steal 50 bases, than that's a different story. Now, on the other hand if he keeps up his ridiculuosly high OBP as he moves up the system, then his bat will play anywhere.

Curious, how many scouts did you poll? I think that is an odd type of thing for scouts to say,:scratchchinhmm:

[furryburres]

Curious, how many scouts did you poll? I think that is an odd type of thing for scouts to say,:scratchchinhmm:

Especially when a player still offers tons of projection and needs time to mature...

[Big Mac]

Curious, how many scouts did you poll? I think that is an odd type of thing for scouts to say,:scratchchinhmm:

I'm pretty sure that was the consensus opinion when he was drafted.

[Fairfax Bird]

I'm pretty sure that was the consensus opinion when he was drafted.

I am not trying to bust balls here, but the consensus opinion of who? Basbeall America, Greg, Stotle, ML scouts? Just curious where the info was coming from. Either way, with the eye he has and the production so far he could play OF. Think Tony Gwynn.:clap3:

[Big Mac]

I am not trying to bust balls here, but the consensus opinion of who? Basbeall America, Greg, Stotle, ML scouts? Just curious where the info was coming from. Either way, with the eye he has and the production so far he could play OF. Think Tony Gwynn.:clap3:

I stand corrected.

I just looked over the detailed bios of our top 5 picks. Jordan said that he thinks Hoes has a chance to be a .300 hitter in the big leagues. He then says it is a possibility for him to put 15 HR on top of that.

But I also found the answer for his position switch, in baseball america's take on him:

Scouts know Hoes fits somewhere on the diamond, but they aren't sure where. He has good speed but not quite enough to profile as a center fielder. He's a better than average hitter with power, but doesn't show the pop necessary to play a corner outfield position.

[PapaRick]

And per Stotle on Camden Depot (www.camdendepot.com),

Hoes is described as having "... some semblance of raw power..." whose "power could grade as high as a 60 on the 80 point scale ..."

[Jenius]

I am not trying to bust balls here, but the consensus opinion of who? Basbeall America, Greg, Stotle, ML scouts? Just curious where the info was coming from. Either way, with the eye he has and the production so far he could play OF. Think Tony Gwynn.:clap3:

I know you were half-joking about Gwynn, but that is an unfair comparison at this point. Besides the fact that Gwynn was the best pure hitter to play in the last 25 years, he also had an incredible Line Drive rate (over 28% in his last full season, 1999, when he was 39 years old). Hoes' current LD rate is under 10%. But I gather your point was that good hitters with marginal power can play the OF. In any case, I still see Hoes with an Orlando Hudson-like ceiling offensively. How and where he ends up defensively is hard to say.