Interview Outtakes: Top Padres Prospect Austin Hedges Answers Eight Questions on Catching
(Fort Wayne TinCaps)
This morning, MiLB.com published the first of my nine-part series on top-ranked prospects who are also top-rated defenders. The piece (linked here) focuses on Austin Hedges, the fourth-ranked catching prospect in all of baseball, and his talent level as well as potential behind home plate. Below are seven quotes from Hedges that did not fit into said story. Enjoy.
- On why he played catcher growing up: “I’ve always been very competitive, so it was me wanting to be in on every single play. No matter what sport I played, I wanted to be the quarterback in football, the point guard in basketball and the catcher in baseball, where not every position gets action on every single play — but the catcher is. That’s something that really interested me, being involved in every second of the game.”
- On the source of his athleticism behind home plate: “My whole life I was pretty much a utility fielder, the catching position being my best position still, but playing all those other positions, I think, helped me to apply a certain level of athleticism to the catching position.”
(Paul R. Gierhart/MiLB.com)
- On his ability coming out of the 2011 Draft: “I think I was definitely more talented and skilled defensively than offensively, but I definitely thought I was a lot better hitter than a lot of people gave me credit for. Catching is my strong-suit. That’s my biggest tool. I take pride in every aspect of the game, catching, hitting or even base running There was a knock on my hitting, so I took that personally and tried to work as hard as I could to have a successful [2012] offensively.”
- On the biggest adjustment to catching in the pros: “Calling the game. I never really had to call pitches before. And learning how to work with the pitchers and make them feel comfortable with me behind the plate and the fingers I am putting down, whether they are comfortable throwing the ball in the dirt with a runner on third. Gaining that trust with the pitchers.”
- On what he wants to improve defensively: “Receiving is probably the most important thing for me. Making pitches that don’t look like strikes, strikes. That’s big for me. Being quiet behind home plate.”
- On what catchers he models himself after: “That’s a tough question because I model myself after a lot of catchers. I try to find the best attributes of all them. … Growing up, I loved Pudge Rodriguez. And right now, I love Yadier Molina, especially with the catch-and-throw part. In terms of blocking, Brad Ausmus and Mike Matheny were two of the best at it that I’ve ever seen.”
- On learning from player-turned-Pads exec Ausmus: “I watched Brad play for so many years, and I try to do things the way he did because, with all the Gold Glove [awards], he obviously did things the right way.”
- On how far along he is developmentally: “I think I’m scratching the surface. This past year was huge for me. I learned so much about what it’s going to take to be a successful big leaguer.”
