Don’t Hedge those bets: Catching up with the Padres backstop prospect
By jseiner24
Rare is the catcher that comes out of high school with defensive chops akin to those of Austin Hedges.
Ranked 59th on MLB.com’s Top 100 prospect list, the backstop was taken in the second round by the San Diego Padres in the 2011 Draft with a sterling defensive reputation at the time.
Leading up to the Draft, MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo touted the Serra High School (Calif.) senior as “an extremely polished defender,” and Hedges’ stock has risen steadily since. The glove hasn’t surprised many, but the catcher’s bat has.
The 20-year-old projects to be so good defensively, he won’t need to contribute much offensively to at least work his way into a Major League lineup. If he can contribute at all with the bat, Hedges could become one of the game’s most valuable commodities, and based on his Minor League track record so far, it looks like the bat isn’t nearly as far behind his glove as some worried leading up to the 2011 Draft.
Through 55 games this season with Class A Advanced Lake Elsinore, the catcher is hitting .270 with a .345 on-base percentage and a .412 slugging percentage. This after hitting .279 with a .334 OBP and .451 slugging percentage at Class A Fort Wayne last season.
Hedges’ focus offensively isn’t much different than that of most other Minor Leaguers at his age — fine-tuning his approach and improving his at-bat-to-at-bat adjustments. The 6-foot-1, 190-pounder thinks he’s made steady progress in that regard while also showing no ill-effects after missing nearly the entire month of May with a left-hand injury, suffered after being hit by a pitch.
“I had a pretty solid first half,” the catcher said before last week’s Futures Game. “I had a rough hand injury, missed about a month, but definitely bounced back strong, I thought. Just trying to get more consistent every single day. Trying to get better making my adjustments, but I’m pleased with the way I’ve been playing.”
He added that the hand injury has been a non-factor since he returned to game action.
“It was fine once I came back,” he said. “The doctor stressed it had to be 100 percent before I came back, otherwise it probably would’ve just gotten re-injured.”
While the offensive game is encouraging, Hedges will still force his way up to San Diego based primarily on his defensive contributions.
For one, Hedges boasts certain skills that can’t be taught — most notably, his arm. Mayo rated the arm a 7 on the 2-to-8 scouting scale prior to the season, and the backstop showed off the cannon by nailing Red Sox prospect Xander Bogaerts on a steal attempt of second in the Futures Game — ESPN’s Keith Law clocked the backstop with a stellar 1.84 pop time on the play.
The position requires more than mere catch-and-throw skills, though, and there has still been plenty for Hedges to work on defensively since becoming a Padre. Mayo praised Hedges as a high schooler for his arm, his receiving skills and an energetic personality the evaluator thought would serve him well in a leadership role.
The task for Hedges upon entering the Minor Leagues was to turn those tools into a polished package, and he’s had some good help in that regard. About seven months before drafting Hedges, the Padres hired Brad Ausmus as a special assistant, and the 18-year Major League catcher has played a vital role in Hedges’ development. Hedges projects to be a similar player as the former All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner, so who better to aid in the development process?
Hedges’ primary focus has been on the mental side of the game. He’s worked with Ausmus and Lake Elsinore manager Shawn Wooten — also a former Major Leaguer with Angels, Phillies and Red Sox — to improve his pitch-calling strategy. The San Juan Capistrano, Calif., native said the Padres’ coaching staff has proven invaluable in that regard, but also noted that most of what he needs to learn can only be picked up through experience.
“They can teach it along the way, but I think it comes with success and failures,” Hedges said. “I have to go out there every day and maybe I call a pitch wrong or I call a pitch well and then I can take that into account the next time that situation presents itself. I think it’s definitely about experience.”
He’s also continued to develop repertoires with pitchers and has prioritized taking on a leadership role. For Hedges, that prioritization requires focus that goes beyond the end of the work day.
“Just trying to create a good relationship on and off the field so guys can trust me behind the plate,” he said. “Whether it’s getting dinner after the game or talking before the game, just getting a good relationship even off the field so that chemistry can build for when the game happens.”
