Seattle Mariners Draft Prospect Profile: Kody Hoese

The Major League Baseball Draft is just 2 days away and the Seattle Mariners will be on the clock soon. As late rumors continue to fly, the general consensus is that the GM Jerry Dipoto and scouting director Scott Hunter will take an infielder.

While a lot of the buzz surrounding the Mariners surrounds the prep shortstop Anthony Volpe, there are certainly other infielders worth considering. One such name could be Kody Hoese, a third baseman from Tulane University.

Hoese is a big guy, standing at 6’4″, 200 lbs and has been rocketing up draft boards since his standout summer in 2018 in the New England Collegiate League. In the wood bat league, Hoese slashed .283/.370/.493 with 7 home runs and 11 doubles in 150 PAs.

He returned to Tulane and the power stroke hasn’t missed a beat. In 2019, the junior third baseman has slashed .392/.487/.789 with 23 home runs. In addition, Hoese has refined his already solid approach and this season he has more walks (38) than strikeouts (30).

But the power may not have been too much of a surprise for those who watched Hoese throughout his career at Tulane. He’s always had a good swing for generating loft and backspin, but not has the added strength to do damage with the bat.

Defensively, Hoese isn’t a gold glove quality defender at third. He does have the above-average arm you like at the position and despite the below-average speed, has a quickness that allows him to handle third. His defensive profile has a lot of “gets the job done” qualities and overall, should grade out as average. A move to first could be possible as well.

Scouting Grades (20-80)- Hit: 50 Power: 60 Run: 40 Field: 50 Arm: 55 Overall: 50 ETA: 2022

Hoese is the type of player Dipoto and Hunter have traditionally targeted in round 1. It is unlikely Hoese will ask for more than the slot, which could allow Seattle to snag a high-upside prep player in round 2 and go over slot to sign him.

If he is selected by the Mariners on Monday, he likely slides into the 6-8 range of our prospect ranks and will give us a new hashtag to use for a long time: #KodyofTarth.