1st Round Pick - Matt Hobgood - RHP - HS

[bej6789]

I can't wait until he makes it to the bigs.... in 2015

[jerios55]

I don't know much about him, but he had some crazy movement in the video they showed on TV. They had some good things to say as well.

[Terps23]

Hey, most everyone was disappointed with the Matusz pick when it happened and look at how good he is now. I 'll hold judgement until he starts pitching in the minors. From the short clips they showed his curved looked good.

People were mostly disappointed about Matusz because there was such an outstanding college hitter available (Smoak) that many people wanted more and thought would be the better pick, for numerous reasons. At least then it was a debate. Matusz at least had some defenders.

Noone really disputed Matusz was the best available pitcher in the draft, and while many people wanted offense, there was little questioning whether or not the Orioles got the best pitcher available.

Ask most people on the board, experts, scouts, whoever- I doubt anyone would say that Hobgood was truly the best available pitcher. I hope this guy turns into Roger Clemens without the assholeness that he had, but I doubt it. At least, I'd rather take my chances on about 10-12 other players I've read up on than this guy.

[TheOtherRipken]

Hard to project high school talent. It's not like anyone know what Strasburg would be at that point, but I am disappointed with this pick, and wasn't disappointed at all with Matusz.

[McLovin]

Matusz was arguably the best pitcher available. Hobgood, not so much.

[Hank Scorpio]

Cincinnati and Atlanta took Minor & Leake ahead of the HS golden boys... and the Nats took a relief pitcher.

They're all idiots, apparently.

[Sports Guy]

Terrible pick...Way too many more talented players available to go with this pick..Definitely a reach IMO.

Doesn't even throw that hard, especially for his size.

[paulcoates]

Season is all good for Norco's Hobgood

The Norco junior right-hander, The Times' player of the year, was clocked at 96 mph on the radar gun while also putting it all together with major-league pitching and power hitting.

By Dan Arritt, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

June 11, 2008

Three years after his fresh start, Matt Hobgood of Norco chalked up his best start.

That was May 23, the day the junior right-hander outdueled one of the nation's top high school pitchers in a Southern Section-Toyota Division I quarterfinal. Hobgood lost on the radar gun but won on the scoreboard, throwing a five-hitter to defeat Orange Lutheran and Gerrit Cole, 1-0, at Hart Park in Orange.

Among the dramatic steps in his high school career, this was by far the biggest. Cole, selected in the first round of the Major League Baseball amateur draft last week by the New York Yankees, touched 101 mph on the radar gun that day; Hobgood was tagged at 96.

"Three miles faster than I've ever been clocked," said Hobgood, a 6-foot-4, 240-pounder.

The effort pushed his record to 10-0 and lowered his earned-run average to 1.34. Those numbers are just part of his storybook year. He also hit 15 home runs, which tied for third in the state, according to MaxPreps.com, and hit .489 with 45 runs batted in.

Hobgood said he never expected to achieve this much success this soon.

"The hitting definitely surprised me," said Hobgood, selected The Times' baseball player of the year. "I was coming into the year just hoping to dominate in pitching."

In more ways than one, Hobgood has come a long way during the last three years.

In January 2005, his father, Rick, died of colon cancer at 48, leaving his wife, Becky, four daughters and Matt. The family lived in Arizona at the time.

Rick was first diagnosed when Matt was 6, often leaving him too weak to practice with his son, Matt said. He managed to attend most games, but what Matt remembers most is his father's advice on peer pressure and staying clear of trouble -- something he still adheres to today "just to honor him a little bit and how he talked to me," he said.

Six months after her husband's death, Becky moved her family back to her hometown of Norco, where relatives still lived. "Just to get some support," she said. "I was running on adrenaline."

Matt enrolled at Norco High, where Becky had graduated. He immediately impressed coaches in a summer baseball league. That fall, he played tackle football for the first time, joining the Cougars' freshman team.

Already tall for his age, Hobgood decided to play basketball to help with his baseball conditioning. The experience went well until Hobgood broke his ankle with two weeks remaining in the season, causing him to miss most of his freshman baseball season.

Hobgood tried football again during his sophomore year. Norco is known for producing college-level offensive linemen, and Hobgood was on his way to joining that elite group.

However, throwing a block didn't bring the same satisfaction as firing a two-seam fastball. He also believed the hours spent in the weight room during the summer and fall would hurt his flexibility as a pitcher.

He decided to stick with baseball, and hasn't looked back. He has accepted a scholarship to Cal State Fullerton.

Hobgood's name is likely in the files of most Southland-based professional scouts, and come next year's draft, he could be faced with another tough choice.

[adamwolff11]

Unfortunately you're going to need a 3rd party source to get any decent information on him. MASN is obviously going to promote him like he's as big of a prospect as Wieters, so I don't really look to gain anything from what they show us tonight.

[Can_of_corn]

Was watching it with my father who is a casual fan, he saw the kid and said this "The kid looks big enough to pitch and play first at the same time, just a couple steps to his left and he's covering first."

I do not think he was the BPA, I think the O's went cheap which IMHO is not something you do with that high a pick.

[paulcoates]

Apparently the kid throws 98 and I saw somewhere that said he is comparable to Beckett.

[wayne25]

Don't know what to believe at this point. Some say hes 90-95 and on the front of the hangout they say he tops out at 92. Big difference there. Matzek and Wheeler looked good to me so waiting to see what Jordan will say about this. Signability ???

[Frobby]

The posters on MLBTradeRumors seem to think so. They voted overwhelmingly that this was a bad pick for the O's.

Gee, that concerns me.

They are now at no. 11 and Matzek is still on the board even though every pick between 5 and 10 was a pitcher. Obviously the O's weren't the only team with concerns about him.

Jordan's out on a limb with this pick, but he's paid to make his own judgment, not to pick whoever the voters on MLBTradeRumors might like. Looking at the video shown on MLB.com after the pick, that's a wicked curve he throws.

[Hank Scorpio]

Doesn't even throw that hard, especially for his size.

The Norco junior right-hander, The Times' player of the year, was clocked at 96 mph on the radar gun while also putting it all together with major-league pitching and power hitting.

Uh... I have to giggle at this post sequence.

[paulcoates]

The kid was the national Gatorade player of the year

http://newsblaze.com/story/2009060813010300004.pnw/topstory.html