Orioles Surprise Pundits, Tab Matt Hobgood With Fifth Overall Pick

After all the speculation, after all the rumors about Grant Green, Dustin Ackley, Aaron Crow and last but not least, Zack Wheeler, the Baltimore Orioles did a complete 180 and went with Norco High School righthander Matt Hobgood.

Who?

If you don't know anything about Hobgood, don't feel too bad. Most people ticketed him as a second or third-round pick as recently as last month.

So what caused him to rocket up the draft boards? What made him so appealing to the O's that they passed on Alex White, Aaron Crow, Tanner Scheppers, and Grant Green?

Listen to Joe Jordan, Orioles scouting director, and he'll tell you it was part of the plan the entire time.

He admitted after Hobgood's name was announced that he had his eye on the big righty for quite awhile, and scouted him as early as February. He also mentioned that Wheeler was the other player the O's were targeting with the pick, but in the end it came down to Hobgood.

What makes him so appealing?

Well, for starters, the 18-year-old's game is all about power. At the plate he mashed 21 home runs and drove in 55 runs, while maintaining a .475 batting average in only 30 games.

On the mound, where the O's feel he will make the biggest impact, no pun intended, he was even more brilliant, finishing with an 11-1 record and a minuscule 0.92 ERA.

Not bad for a kid with supposed "control issues."

Hobgood features two impressive pitches.

First, his fastball, which touches 95-96 mph, but sits more comfortably in the 89-93 range. The pitch has hard, heavy life according to MLB.com's draft report on Hobgood.

His second pitch, and possibly his best, is his plus curveball, which many felt was the best of any high school pitcher in this draft.

Excellent secondary pitches have enticed the Orioles in the past few years, with pitchers like Brian Matusz, Jake Arrieta, and Tim Bascom all featuring above average breaking stuff.

Hobgood's third and fourth pitches are a slider, which is average at best, and a changeup, which will be the key to whether he can make it into the Baltimore rotation, or whether he'll end up as a bulldog out of the bullpen.

There are reasons that many have made a Goose Gossage comparison to this kid.

They say he has average high school command, so that will obviously be something he'll need to work on once he signs with the club. His poise on the mound is one of the biggest pros going for him as he's been compared to Josh Beckett, in terms of his attacking style of going after hitters and not being afraid to challenge them.

As if Hobgood's physical presence on both the mound and at the plate don't impress you, take into account his personal story. His father Rick, diagnosed with colon cancer when Matt was just six, died four years ago this past January.

The young pitcher credits his father with instilling in him a sense of maturity and right and wrong, both of which have served him well as Hobgood has been as squeaky clean off the field as his ERA has been on it.

Another plus regarding the hurler is that Jordan feels he may not only sign very quickly, but may start pro ball at a higher level than most prep star pitchers. Something similar to the way the Tigers were dealing with Rick Porcello comes to mind, before he was forced into the big league rotation.

And in terms of signing, Hobgood is very excited to get that process over with and play ball.

"I'd like to sign and get out there," he said, "And I'd say the sooner, the better. We'll have to see how the process goes. We haven't talked money or anything. I think the signing process will go smoothly."

Hopefully, his transition to the pro game goes just as smoothly.