If not for his strong verbal commitment to play collegiate baseball at UCLA, Austin Hedges would have been a first-round draft pick in the 2011 MLB Draft. As such, he fell to the second round into the waiting arms of the San Diego Padres. He’s been widely regarded as one of the best defensive catchers in the game – recording 22 defensive runs saved and a pitch frame rating of 20.7 last year – but his bat has yet to join the party.
His highest average came in 2018, which was part of a .