$2.5 million, he was the 4th pick and just a wee bit over slot i think i saw. So this is just about slot.

It’s easy to see how Hobgood could jump above the will-they-or-won’t-they-sign crowd in some people’s eyes. Which is not to say that the Orioles were necessarily cheap in making this pick instead of one of the other high school players who were demanding more money, or college ones who were doing the same. Here’s a guy who wants to play some baseball. I hope that the pitching instructors in the minors for us can polish him into a real gem. He’s got the right attitude already.

They trotted Hobgood out for the fans during Saturday’s game. He received a very warm welcome, which was nice.

I’m not necessarily sold on him being the next great pitcher, but I certainly hope he is!

Still, because of his age, Hobgood’s contract had to also be signed by his mother before it became official.

Not sure why I find that so funny

Hobgood is a freakin big kid. He already has a Sidney Ponson body at 17.

off-topic: WTF, one of the ads on the front page is pulling my facebook profile pic and inserting it into the ad.

I know its common for talented high school players to be over confident and assume the next level will be just as easy for them, so it’s good to see Hobgood talk about the importance of the mental game. I think it’s impressive that he understands this part of the game so well at a young age and even more important that he understands he needs to work hard to develope his mental game as well as the physical aspect. Let’s hope Arrieta, Matsuz, Tillman, Patton, Erbe, etc… have this same approach!

due to the fact that he is slightly different than our other promising pitching prospects. He would be an excellent compliment to what we hope will be a dominant pitching staff in a few short years. Imagine this beast on the BACK-END of the rotation…say what!?

It keeps the pipeline rolling as well, showing that the organization is not at all content with what it has built thus far.