The Morning Glory 2060.02: Derek Hopkins

[bcslouck]

With their first pick in the 2060 draft, Rocky Mountain selected IF Derek Hopkins. He signed for a bonus of $3,460,000.

The 6'-2" and 175 pound kid out of Chevron bats and throws righty. He profiles as a solid bat with a good glove. He should have a chance to be great at 2B while holding his own at SS and 3B. He can even play enough OF defense to fit in the corners. In college, he boasted a career 142 OPS+ and 146 +wRC along with his 1.016 OPS.

In the 2060 college playoffs, he was even better. He OPS'd 1.095 with 5 HR's in 17 games, winning a Round 2 MVP Award.

Pundits had him as one of the steals of the draft down at #21.

His biggest weakness? His ability to stay on the field. While Hopkins hasn't suffered major injuries, he's had a bunch of nagging ones. He's missed multiple weeks multiple times. His Freshman season was the only year he played a full season. After that, he's been played around half the games on their schedule.

The Oysters are hoping getting him into a BBA weight room with pro-level trainers can help get him on the field more. Picking at #21, you very rarely are going to get a player that doesn't have a weakness. He has the potential to be a home run pick if they can keep him on the field for 140+ games a year.

It's projected he could move quickly if healthy. They will let him get his feet wet a Short A Hermosillo this year with expectations that he'll start 2061 in Topeka (A ball).

[ae37jr]

Love this pick. He reminds me of Randall Grey on my team. Above average at everything and can play just about anywhere.