A Spring Conversation with Dodgers' Prospect Kody Hoese
Continuing our minor league coverage as best as we can while baseball is in hiatus, this is number 13 in our interview series with reporter Steven Douglas. In this video, recorded in early March, Douglas visits with Dodgers' prospect, Kody Hoese.
He's a big right-hand hitting third baseman out of Andrew Friedman's alma mater, Tulane University. He hit .316/.401/.541, with 39 doubles, four triples, 28 home runs and 105 RBIs in 160 college games and he was the Dodgers' first-round pick in the 2019 MLB Amateur Draft. He's Kody Hoese.
The 6' 4", 200 pounder from Merriville, Indiana wasted no time following the draft and reporting to his first minor-league stop at rookie-level AZL Mota, where he recorded a .357/.456/.643 line, with three homers and 13 RBIs in his first 56 at bats. From there, Hoese was promoted to the Low-A Great Lakes Loons, settling in with a .260/.330/.335 mark, two homers and 16 ribs in 91 at bats.
Baseball America ranks Hoese eighth among Los Angeles prospects and expects him to begin the 2020 season at the High-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. Here are a few notes from BA's scouting report:
"[A] mature hitter ... excellent pitch recognition ... rarely chases. [Has a] leveraged swing to produce plus raw power... can turn on balls for long home runs to left or drive them with authority the other way ... reads balls off the bat well at third base ... plus hands and an above-average arm."
Here are the other 12 Dodgers in our interview series: Tony Gonsolin, Braydon Fisher, Steve Garvey, Josiah Gray, Rob Hill, Marshall Kasowski, Jeren Kendall, Gavin Lux, Connor McGuinnes, Ryan Pepiot, Jordan Sheffield and Zach Reks.
For more on what seems like L.A.'s endless stream of fine young players, please try our prospect watch series: Omar Estevez, Zach McKinstry, Cristian Santana and Miguel Vargas.
And remember, glove conquers all.
Howard Cole has been writing about baseball on the internet since Y2K. Follow him on Twitter.
