Tag Archives: Austin Hedges

June 23, 2023

To Catch or Not to Catch

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The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette gets Dan Szymborski of FanGraphs to weigh in on the catching situation in Pittsburgh, where incumbent Austin Hedges became a horrible hitter, and rookie Henry Davis is being used as a DH:

Szymborski feels it’s a much more dubious claim that Davis is not yet good enough defensively to be better than Hedges overall on the strength of his superior bat.

ZiPs pegged Davis for a wRC+ of 104 for the rest of the season entering Friday, making his projections a little more than twice as good as Hedges’ the rest of the way and five times better than Hedges’ production to this point. That is a lot of offensive production for the Pirates to leave on the table at the position.

For that edge to be wiped away in the aggregate, Szymborski estimated Davis would have to be 10-15 runs below average defensively. That’s a range he feels would be difficult for Davis to sink to given his age (23) and pedigree not as your average prospect, but the former top pick in his draft class.

Post-Gazette.com

With the Pirates having lost ten games in a row, it’s tough to believe that Hedges is helping them win. They are batting .177/.255/.303 during the streak, so anything they can do to swap a good hitter into an important defensive position should help the offense.

May 19, 2020 March 3, 2019

Out of the Paddack

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Kevin Acee reviews the start Chris Paddack made for the Padres on Sunday. Acee was impressed that Paddack experimented with a curveball:


Paddack threw a curveball for a first-pitch strike to two hitters in the second inning, including Shin-Soo Choo. He mixed it in a couple times in peculiar counts as well, including for a ball on a 2-2 pitch essentially just to see what would happen.


The curve is the pitch Paddack studied on YouTube this offseason and is still developing.

SanDiegoUnionTribune.com

Catcher Austin Hedges was also impressed with the start:


“He really understands when he needs to throw a pitch for a strike and when he needs to put a guy away,” Hedges said. “I tried to really challenge him with the curveball today – not having it be just a get-me-over 0-0 pitch and actually use it throughout, so in the middle of the count he doesn’t end up being a two-pitch guy. But he could very easily end up being (an effective) two-pitch guy.”


What Hedges envisions, though, is going behind the plate every game with the possibility he and Paddack can paint a masterpiece.

The Padres are going to need more than just Manny Machado to win the west, and a good, young pitcher will bring them one step closer.

March 3, 2018

The Mind of Hedges

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There are plenty of spring training stories about players being the best physical shape of their lives, but here is one about Austin Hedges getting his mind and personality in the best shape of his life:

This offseason, as part of his quest to be the total player, Hedges read “Primal Leadership,” a book that explains the emotions that go into leadership.

“It really hit me hard,” he said. “Sometimes people are like, ‘I’m not going to make anybody’s day and I’m not going to ruin anybody’s day.’ This book was saying you’re doing one or the other.”

Basically, Hedges came to believe that every interaction, no matter how small, contributes to the ebb and flow of everyone’s day.

His desire to be influential seems boundless, and it requires he continues emerging from a comfort zone.

“I’m super introverted,” Hedges said. “I’m an only child. I’m naturally very introverted. It takes a lot to bring me out of my shell. It helps with a special group of guys to open up a little bit. But I feel like I have to take a lot of pride in going, ‘OK, get out of your shell.’

“If I’m not influencing someone in a positive way, I’m influencing them in a negative way. And that’s the last thing this clubhouse needs.”

Changing one’s personality if very difficult. It’s good to see Hedges trying.

June 20, 2017

Rizzo Cuts the Hedges

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Anthony Rizzo generated some controversy with his takeout slide into Austin Hedges in the Padres-Cubs game Monday night.

Here is the view from the Padres:

“It’s a fairly egregious violation of the rule,” Padres manager Andy Green told Padres.com. “The rule exists to protect that catcher …. I think it’s a cheap shot. I’m not saying [Rizzo] is a dirty player at all. No one is saying that. But he clearly deviated from his path to hit our catcher and took our catcher out. The rule exists to protect him.”

And Rizzo on the slide:

“I went pretty much straight in,” Rizzo said. “He caught the ball and went toward the plate. It was a hard slide. I play this game hard for 162 games-plus, every day. I pride myself on it, running the bases hard, doing everything hard. I can’t see that being dirty …. I’ve talked to a lot of umpires about this rule. My understanding is if [the catcher has] the ball, it’s game on.”

I thought it was a late slide, but Rizzo didn’t seem to alter his path much. I’m sure Joe Torre will weigh in on this.

The Cubs won 3-2.

Update: MLB decided it was a rule violation. Since Rizzo was out, it didn’t matter for the play. We’ll see if there is any discipline. Craig Edwards has a very nice analysis of the play at FanGraphs.

April 13, 2017

Trimming the Hedges

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Austin Hedges is currently the worst hitter in the majors leagues with 30 plate appearances. The Padres catcher collected his first hit of the season on Thursday against the Rockies, and it was a single. He walked twice and was hit by a pitch, but struck out nine times in his 31 PA. For his major league career, consisting of 209 PA, his slash line stands at .144/.195/.207. If a manager could, he would use Madison Bumgarner as a designated hitter for Hedges.

Those numbers are not surprising based on his AA record. He posted a .225/.272/.314 slash line in two seasons at San Antonio. His AAA numbers are terrific, however, with a .326/.363/.583 slash line at El Paso. My first thought is that both of those minor league parks must have been extremes, but that would still put Hedges somewhere in the middle of those two lines, say .275/.314/.440. That would probably not make him a great major league player, but not horrible for a very good catcher.

It would appear the Padres are going to give him a chance to hit at the MLB level:

“I’d put him in the 120-to-135 range (for starts),” manager Andy Green said. “That’s the sweet spot that’d be nice to hit. But we’ll leave some wiggle room as the season unfolds.”

Much as a youth-dominated roster is relying on the instruction of Green and his coaches, there is no confusion about the Padres’ on-field anchor. Hedges has long been groomed for this role, 2015 the only season of his career in which he did not play nearly every game; with their catching depth insufficient, the Padres had prematurely promoted the then-prospect to the majors.

When he came up in 2015, his seasonal age was 22. There are plenty of players ready for the majors at that age. What is good is that the Padres are going to be patient with him. The Red Sox did this with Dustin Pedrioa. They allowed him to struggle for a month, and the rest of the season was great. The Padres have to hope the same thing happens here.