June 4th, 2019 at 8:00 am 
by 0799291000348 In what some considered a down year for draft-eligible college and high school pitchers, the Dodgers selected college hitters with their first two picks in the 2019 MLB First-Year Player Draft on Monday evening.
With the 25th pick in round one, the Dodgers selected Tulane University third baseman Kody Hoese, and with the 31st compensatory pick (for failing to sign last years first-rounder J.T. Ginn) selected University of North Carolina first baseman Michael Busch.
After hitting a combined five home runs over his freshman and sophomore seasons, the 21-year-old Hoese had a monster 2019 junior season for the Green Wave, slashing .391 / .486 / .779 / 1.265, with 23 home runs, 20 doubles, 61 RBI, 72 runs scored, and more walks (39) than strikeouts (34). The 6′-4″ / 200-pound third baseman was considered by Baseball America as one of the best college power bats available in this draft. The right-hand thrower and hitter increased his strength after his sophomore season, and the results were impressive.
(Photo courtesy of Tulane Athletics)
UNC Tarheel Michael Busch? Bottom line – he flat out hits. To date (Heels are still playing in the NCAA playoffs), he is slashing .290 / .441 / .567 / 1.008, with 16 home runs, 57 RBI, 75 runs scored, and walked 58 times compared to 37 strikeouts. Although he is only 6′-0″ tall, Busch is considered a plus-defender at first-base, but played mostly in left field this season to make room for another player at first. A star shortstop in high school, Busch may be moved to second base as a professional.
(Photo credit – William Howard)
More details on Hoese and Busch coming soon.
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Interestingly enough, those two weren’t even on my short list. Two players that were, however, DID get taken ahead of the Dodgers’ first two picks (toolsy HS 3B Keoni Cavaco-15th overall to the Twins and fireballing HS RHP Daniel Espino-24th overall to the Indians). The front office focusing on advanced college players like Hoese and especially Busch tells me that they really wanted to keep the farm system from getting too depleted at the upper levels due to so many of their top prospects graduating to the bigs recently (with more still on the way this year and the next).
Hoese’s college background almost parallels Gavin Lux’s in terms of the latter entering pro-ball and struggling right out of the gate before finally figuring out he needed to get his body in actual game shape in order to make good on his considerable upside. The fact that Hoese’s breakthrough junior season for Tulane was preceded by him tearing up the wood bat Cape Cod League last year was what probably tipped the Dodger scouting department off right away regarding his development at the time. And Busch looks like one of those “safe bet” picks. You know he’s gonna hit for average, power, and consistently post a high OBP at the next level. Only real question is what exactly will be his primary position moving forward? At least with Hoese you can easily see him manning either corner infield spot long-term, but with Busch it’s more wait-and-see by comparison. Either way, kudos to the Dodger brass for drafting wisely this time around. I also liked that Jimmy Lewis kid they took with their 2nd-round pick. Another extremely projectable Texas HS arm (sound familiar, Jesse???) that went a bit later than expected. Can’t wait for your write-up on him to see what his story’s all about.
On a sidenote, there’s still at least two more players on my short list that have yet to be taken off the draft board (HS LHP Hunter Barco and my personal favorite, LEGIT 5-tool HS OF Maurice Hampton). Unless they’re considered too much of a risk to sign due to their strong college commitments, especially Hampton who’s also looking at a bonafide football scholarship from LSU, I don’t see any reason why the Dodgers should not continue to pursue either one in the meantime…
I am not concerned about Busch finding a defensive position (my profile will post tomorrow), he was a three year letterman in high school football, hockey, and baseball (one of the top shortstops in the country). He is a very good athlete, so I think he will fit in at 2b. I am more excited about Busch than Hoese, there is no doubt that Busch will hit. By the way, a nit — Hoese actually struggled in the Cape Cod League (Busch excelled), he did well the following summer playing in the New England Collegiate League which is a step down from the Cape Cod League, but Hoese hit seven home runs and managed an .863 OPS in 38 games in New England..
Thanks for correcting me regarding the actual wood bat league Hoese played in last year that finally saw his offensive numbers beginning to trend upward, HRs especially. Must’ve gotten both leagues mixed up with Busch’s draft profile on MLB’s Top 200 list since both players are ranked No. 25 and 26 overall, lol. Main thing is, this Hoese kid appears to have figured himself out as a hitter in addition to putting on the required muscle (with even more room to fill out considering how lean his current frame still is) for him to realize his true potential in that area much like Lux did last season when he broke out for High-A Rancho. It’s no wonder scouting reports keep fluctuating regarding Hoese in particular: some were basing him on those first two years at Tulane (before he began shedding his high school physique and studying himself thoroughly as a hitter), while others were based on what he’s done from last year in the New England Collegiate League up to now. Almost reminds me of how someone as insanely talented as Mike Trout lasted all the way to No. 25 back in the 2009 Draft, ironically enough…