Hobgood says he'll sign in two weeks

[Stotle]

Awesome, now we won't have to do that middle of August 11th hour signing crap that takes place every summer.

ZZZZOMG!!! Maybe we should give him more than slot?!?!!??!!? All the cool teams are doing it!

My guess is you'll have enough BAL draftee signings to follow come August -- Berry and Harris included. I agree it will be nice to not have a top pick hanging out then.

[Duke2010]

I believe Loewen started at Aberdeen though it wasn't the same year he was drafted.

I don't know if it will make any difference but Hobgood is a year older than most HS seniors. I would love to see him assigned to Aberdeen so I can see him throw.

No, he's not. Hobgood was born 8/3/1990, so he'll be 19 in August. Nothing too unusual about that.

[Frobby]

I believe Loewen started at Aberdeen though it wasn't the same year he was drafted.

I don't know if it will make any difference but Hobgood is a year older than most HS seniors. I would love to see him assigned to Aberdeen so I can see him throw.

Loewen played a year of Juco ball before we signed him. And Hobgood is not really a year older than many baseball players who get drafted. He turns 19 in August. Snyder turned 19 in September of the year he was draftedm for example. A lot of athletes get held back a year somewhere along the way.

[Lucky Jim]

I believe Loewen started at Aberdeen though it wasn't the same year he was drafted.

I don't know if it will make any difference but Hobgood is a year older than most HS seniors. I would love to see him assigned to Aberdeen so I can see him throw.

And Loewen also pitched a year of junior college before.

I mentioned Beato because he was the only one who went straight from the draft to Aberdeen.

Though Hobgood is older than a lot of seniors, he will be only 18 this year.

[ccbird]

I forgot Loewen pitched a year of Juco and forgot the age thing could also be location related too. Im some places in the country you aren't allowed to start kindergarden if you born after a certain date the year you turn 5. Carry on guys. Still hoping Hobgood finds his way to Aberdeen at some point.

[Anonymous]

He must have one helluva special vacation planned if he can't take a day out on the front end to get this physical over and done with, considering the life-changing nature of the money involved and the risk (however slight, admittedly) that he gets injured during the two-week hiatus. It's hard for me to imagine that I'd back-burner or even mid-burner this thing if I was in his shoes, considering that he's clearly already agreed to financial terms with the club.

[WebLink21]

Awesome, now we won't have to do that middle of August 11th hour signing crap that takes place every summer.

ZZZZOMG!!! Maybe we should give him more than slot?!?!!??!!? All the cool teams are doing it!

You are one of my favorite posters. I love your humor.

[Frobby]

He must have one helluva special vacation planned if he can't take a day out on the front end to get this physical over and done with, considering the life-changing nature of the money involved and the risk (however slight, admittedly) that he gets injured during the two-week hiatus. It's hard for me to imagine that I'd back-burner or even mid-burner this thing if I was in his shoes, considering that he's clearly already agreed to financial terms with the club.

It's fairly typical. Remember, some guys don't get signed until the August deadline. And, remember this is a high school kid who is going 3,000 miles from his family and friends for several months.

[thundercleetz]

No, he's not. Hobgood was born 8/3/1990, so he'll be 19 in August. Nothing too unusual about that.

The birth year of the high school graduating of 2009 is 1991. Hoes and Avery were drafted last year and were born in 1990. August is kind of a late birthday, but the cutoff date for the next year in most states in not until October (mid-September in some states, I think). Mychal Givens is actually just about the same age as LJ Hoes (5/1990 compared to 3/1990). Not too big of a deal, but Hobgood and Givens are about a year older than many kids in their graduating class.

[olehippi]

Dunno about all these lofty expectations for a #5 pick who reportedly wasn't even considered a potential 1st round pick for some teams. Personally, I'm not that excited about Hobgood. In fact, I'm sure more than a few other people feel the same way since there were quite a few moans, groans and what-the-heck's right here on OH when he was selected.

That said, I really don't care where he starts his career.....just as long as he proves me, and others, wrong.

[QSII]

Canadian high school goes to 13th grade, so Loewen was practically eligible for his senior medical card, eh?

[Moose Milligan]

Dunno about all these lofty expectations for a #5 pick who reportedly wasn't even considered a potential 1st round pick for some teams. Personally, I'm not that excited about Hobgood. In fact, I'm sure more than a few other people feel the same way since there were quite a few moans, groans and what-the-heck's right here on OH when he was selected.

That said, I really don't care where he starts his career.....just as long as he proves me, and others, wrong.

After learning more about him, he seems like a good pick.

[olehippi]

After learning more about him, he seems like a good pick.

Yeah....I've been doing the reading....and Jordan was obviously very high on Hobgood. I guess it's a "in Joe we trust" situation, and I'm fine with that. Maybe I feel this way because Wheeler projected as the best player available at #5. As I said, I hope I'm wrong.....

[Frobby]

The birth year of the high school graduating of 2009 is 1991. Hoes and Avery were drafted last year and were born in 1990. August is kind of a late birthday, but the cutoff date for the next year in most states in not until October (mid-September in some states, I think). Mychal Givens is actually just about the same age as LJ Hoes (5/1990 compared to 3/1990). Not too big of a deal, but Hobgood and Givens are about a year older than many kids in their graduating class.

If you follow sports a lot, you know that an awful lot of high school athletes are slightly old for their graduating class. It's extremely common.

[Duke2010]

The birth year of the high school graduating of 2009 is 1991. Hoes and Avery were drafted last year and were born in 1990. August is kind of a late birthday, but the cutoff date for the next year in most states in not until October (mid-September in some states, I think). Mychal Givens is actually just about the same age as LJ Hoes (5/1990 compared to 3/1990). Not too big of a deal, but Hobgood and Givens are about a year older than many kids in their graduating class.

The birth year doesn't have to be 1991 for 2009 graduates. Just looking at the first round this year, Hobgood's age fits in fine with other high school draftees. He's roughly only 1-2 months older than Matzek, Tate, Heathcott, Mier, Miller, and Borchering. He's also younger than Wheeler and Purke, and the only 1991 HS guys in the first round are Franklin, Turner, Washington, Trout, Grichuk, Fuentes, and James. He may be slightly older than some of his classmates, but he still doesn't turn 19 for two months.

Givens is old for his class, and I'd say that its fairly important that he gets started as soon as he can, meaning that it'd be nice if he could make the jump to Delmarva next year.