Drue
Hackenberg

The draft-eligible sophomore worked an extremely quick and efficient first two innings against Georgia Tech. In the third and fourth innings he started to find bats when in the zone and had trouble locating his fastball, pulling it and missing gloveside. In the sixth he seemed to find his way again, sitting 92-93 mph and retiring three straight after a leadoff single. His fastball was 92-95 through the first three innings, mostly sitting on 94. It came out easy and seemed to have some life, but hitters did not react like it was low-mid 90’s velocity. There isn’t much deception and his fastball velocity plays down a grade. There were very few swings and misses on the fastball and it tended to find bats when in the zone. However, his slider was his go-to finisher. His first three strikeouts came on the 82-86 mph slider. Hackenberg also showed a third pitch, an 89 mph changeup that he used only against Georgia Tech’s big left handed hitter, Angelo Dispigna.

USA CNT TRIALS: Few athletes can match Hackenberg’s bloodlines, as he is the youngest of four brothers who were all standout athletes: Christian played in the NFL, Brandon played in MLS, and Adam is in the White Sox system. Drue wasted no time making a name for himself this spring, emerging as the staff ace for the best Virginia Tech team ever and earning Freshman All-America honors, finishing 10-2, 3.30 with 87 strikeouts and 19 walks in 92.2 innings. He faded late in the season, but he still showed plenty of arm strength in his lone appearance with Team USA, though it was a rocky outing, as he allowed two unearned runs and recorded just one out. Ultra-physical at 6-2, 220 pounds, Hackenberg generates 91-93 mph heat with minimal effort, and he has flashed a wipeout slider in the past, though he did not have great feel for it in his CNT appearance. A three-quarters power slurve at 80-81, the pitch features good spin in the 2600s. His 86-88 mph changeup was below-average in this viewing but has been better in the past. Look for Hackenberg to rest up in the offseason and return better than ever as a sophomore, when he could take the jump to legitimate college baseball superstar.

VA/DC Scout Blog

Durable frame with a strong lower half. The arm is fairly loose and clean with plenty of arm speed through release. In the first Hackenberg was 91-92 and touched 93 once. The fastball stayed up in the first and he had a hard time getting it down to the glovee side, drifting up and to the arm side. In the second the velocity was 89-91 and seemed to be able to get it down in the zone and to the glove side a little easier. It was not until later into the first inning that Hackenberg showed the slider. Once he showed it, it was evident that he possesses a legitimate out pitch in the slider. The slider has hard 11/5 break that is late. The slider stayed 78-80 mph with spin that ranged from 2525-2667 and did not find a barrel during his two innings of work. The changeup was 85-86 mph with some late fade.