Indians Top 50: #26 Wes Hodges

Wes Hodges - Third Baseman
Born: 09/14/1984 - Height: 6'2" - Weight: 205 - Bats: Right - Throws: Right

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	Avg	OBP	SLG	OPS
2007	22	Kinston	A+	104	393	60	113	22	3	15	71	44	90	0	.288	.367	.473	.840
2008	23	Akron	AA	133	504	70	146	29	3	18	97	52	105	3	.290	.354	.466	.820
2009	24	Lake County	A	5	10	1	4	2	0	0	2	2	1	0	.400	.538	.600	1.138
2009	24	Columbus	AAA	86	332	33	88	24	0	5	38	19	64	8	.265	.307	.383	.690
		Totals		328	1239	164	351	77	6	38	208	117	260	11	.283	.348	.447	.795

History:  Hodges was a 2nd round pick by the Indians in the 2006 Draft out of Georgia Tech.  He was considered a sure fire first round pick going into 2006, but his ranking took a hit when he came down with a stress fracture in his left leg and basically played on one leg for almost all of his final season at Georgia Tech and finished up hitting .329 with 11 HR and 68 RBI in 219 at bats.  The Indians gambled and selected him with their third of four second round picks, and signed him to a $1 million bonus and a 2007 contract to hold him out of action the rest of the season and give him more time to mend from the injury.  In 2008 he was named the Eastern League Rookie of the Year at Double-A Akron, and he also played for the U.S. team in the Futures Game at Yankee Stadium.  His 97 RBI at Akron in 2008 broke the single-season record formerly held by Chan Perry who had 96 RBI in 1997.

Strengths & Opportunities: Hodges is a very disciplined hitter with great bat-to-ball ability, and has a nice, short line drive stroke that allows him to cover the whole plate with good power to all fields.  He is selective at the plate and when he swings he makes good, hard contact and has no trouble catching up to good fastballs.  Since joining the Indians he has shortened his swing and simplified his approach at the plate which has helped him improve as a hitter.  His swing mechanics were also adjusted to get him to cock his hands back into a pre-loaded position by his right shoulder and use his legs as a timing mechanism to shift load in his bat.  He has become better at recognizing pitches, understanding how pitchers are attacking him, and making good adjustments at bat to at bat.  The Indians feel he is one of the most intelligent hardworking baseball players in the system and a true student of the game.  His aptitude is off the charts and he has an unbelievable ability to make adjustments.  He is very professional and is very committed.  He has no fear and is not intimidated by expectations.

As a defender, Hodges is still rough around the edges at third base and his future is questionable there.  His arm is good enough to handle the position, but it is his fielding and movement at the position which is most concerning.  He has good hands and a strong arm, but has displayed below average range and ability to come in on groundballs.  He has a hard time getting low on groundballs, and the Indians have worked with him on gaining more flexibility to help him in this area and also improve his lateral quickness.

When Hodges is healthy, he has proven that he can put up some big numbers as evidenced by his 2008 season.  The problem with him is he can't stay healthy as in addition to his pre-draft injury issues, he had a strained hamstring and broken toe which plagued him in 2007, and then last year hand and shoulder issues affected his season.  He came down with a shoulder injury in late April which affected his throwing and sat out a few games before returning, but a week later he dislocated a bone in his right wrist when sliding into second base. The injury forced him to miss almost two months of action, and even when he did come back he was relegated to designated hitting duty for about a month since he was still not completely recovered from his shoulder and wrist injuries.  He returned to regular duty at third base at the end of July and played there full time the final six weeks of the season, though his wrist was never really 100% the rest of the season and it showed with his performance at the plate.  With a lack of strength in his shoulder and not being completely healthy in his wrist, it prevented him from turning on anything and he was often late getting the bat head through the zone which led to a lot of weak pop outs the other way in right and right center.  This is a big reason he had the absence of any real power last year.

The shoulder and wrist injuries not only affected Hodge at the plate, but they had an even greater affect on his development as a defender at third base.  Going into last season the Indians were encouraged with the steps he took to improve defensively at third base in the offseason and had hoped he could carry that momentum into last season.  Things never materialized as they hoped as the injuries prevented him from playing regularly at third base where he only managed to play 50 games at the position all last year.  For a player needing to improve his defense, that short amount of time and inconsistent work at the position was not enough, so improving his play at the position will be a central focus this coming season.

A bad season after being promoted to the next level is certainly cause for concern, but sometimes players just have an off year or struggle with injuries.  The Indians do not put too much stock into one singular off year for a proven performer, especially a player like Hodges who has always been a successful hitter from college through the pros.  While the injuries he battled through last year should not be an excuse, they certainly did impact the way he performed last season.  The Indians feel he will be fine and will hit and play better in 2010, and that while valuable time was lost because of the injuries in 2010, that his defense will still be a work in progress to get the most out of his physical tools.

Hodges needs to use the upcoming season not only to improve defensively, but also prove he can be durable and shake the injury bug which has plagued him for the better part of three of the last four years.  His bat profiles well at third base, but the question is whether he fits there defensively.  Down the road he could be moved to first base if his defensive issues continue, but doing so would considerably hurt his value as his bat is above average at third base but barely average at first base.  He has worked on improving his agility and since last offseason has lost 15 pounds to help with his mobility.  He needs a lot of work with improving his footwork and timing, primarily his first step quickness at third base and coming in on balls.  If he is able to get in the lineup and work on his limitations the feeling is that he can become an average defender at third base.  Offensively, he needs to continue applying his relaxed, patient approach at the plate and get better at learning to recognize and hit changeups and breaking balls and lay off them early in the count.  He needs to continue thinking down and through the ball and use his legs more in his swing to help create more line drives.

Outlook:  In a lot of ways, Hodges' 2009 season at Triple-A is very much similar to the season first baseman/outfielder Jordan Brown went through at Triple-A in 2008.  Both were Top 10 prospects in the system who at the time struggled with their first exposure to Triple-A ball mostly because of several nagging injuries which affected their performance at the plate.  A lot of people mistakenly jumped ship on Brown after his unspectacular 2008 season, and the same may ring true with Hodges.  Even after a sub par season last year, the Indians rewarded him by putting him on the 40-man roster in the offseason.  By rostering him, it shows that not only do they value him as a potential big league contributor down the road, but that they had strong vibes other teams do too as had they not rostered him he likely would have been picked up in the Rule 5 Draft.  His bat is close to big league ready, it is just ironing out his defensive flaws.  Now that he is on the 40-man roster, it is very likely he will be in Cleveland at some point during the 2010 season, especially with incumbent third baseman Jhonny Peralta possibly being on the trading block all season.  He should open the 2010 season as the starting third baseman for Triple-A Columbus.

Photo courtesy of Tony Lastoria

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