Reader Q & A: Matt Hobgood

Reader Q & A: Matt Hobgood

Greg Embert: Which of your pitches is your best pitch, and which one still needs some refinement?

MH: My best pitch is fastball, and the pitch that needs the most work is my change up.

April Whitzman: What has been your greatest obstacle into making it as far as you have?

MH: Staying healthy and doing my best to stick out from everyone else and showing everyone what I can do.

Will: Growing up, which pitchers did you look up to?

MH: I looked up to Roger Clemens style of pitching, not his off the field antics, and I really like Nolan Ryan and how hard he would work to be the best he could be.

NYOrioleFan: Are you and the Orioles staff attempting to increase your velocity, or are you working more on control issues this season?

MH: I am working on my command right now, the velocity will come back sooner than later.

Mike: When you chart a game, do you look for hitters tendencies and potential weaknesses?

MH: Yeah all the time, you watch the way they set up, how they deal will certain pitches and locations of pitches that they have a hard time with.

EMT_Corboy: When did you first realize you had a real shot at being a professional baseball player?

MH: My junior year when I hit 96 mph and beat out Gerrit Cole (Yankees 1st rd pick in ’08, currently plays for UCLA) in a 1-0 game.

Todd: What’s the biggest thing you think you need to work on to advance through the farm system?

MH: Just becoming a complete pitcher, commanding all my pitches and learning the mental side of it as well.

Doug in DE: What big leaguer, past or present, would you compare your style too?

MH: Roger Clemens, I like to go after people and make things happen.

Matt G: Do you feel like you’ve made solid progress since you’ve been drafted?

MH: I feel like I’ve made progress in a few aspects of pitching, such as developing my change up and working on locating my pitches to the best of my ability.

DoubleB: How big of a jump is it from high school competition to the Sally League?

MH: It’s a very big jump for any high school kid, I’m taking it in stride and doing the best I can to make things happen as soon as possible.