Austin Hedges debuted on May 4 at the age of 22 after tearing up AAA. He was touted as a fabulous defensive catcher but a question at the plate. That scouting report was accurate for his rookie year.
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The Padres’ backup catcher finished with a .168/.215/.248/.463 slashline. It was bad with no redeeming qualities. No power to offset a poor on-base percentage and vice versa. While Hedges improved in the second half, he still only hit for a .245 OBP. That won’t cut it in the big leagues regardless of how stellar he was defensively.