Another under the radar prospect, Adam Hackenberg has really really come into his own this season. This is not surprising, as he comes from an extremely gifted athletic family. His brother is former Penn State quarterback and 2nd round draft pick of the New York Jets, Christian Hackenberg. He also has a brother in the Braves system and one that plays major league soccer. Pretty insane to have a family that has four siblings who went professional in their respective sports.
Adam was an 18th rounder out of Clemson in the 2021 draft and was promoted to AAA earlier this year. The 24 year old is getting closer to getting called up to the pros. Considering the catching uncertainty at the major league level, Adam could see a real shot at significant playing time in Chicago next year. With Yasmani Grandal almost certainly off the team, that only leaves Korey Lee and Carlos Perez as catchers who have played in the MLB. If they don’t sign a catcher in the off season, Hackenberg will have a clear route to some playing time.
This past year between AA and AAA, Hackenberg hit .271 with eight home runs and 38 RBIs over 101 games. He also had a very nice .366 OBP, as he takes a good amount of walks. This was by far Hackenberg’s best offensive year, as last year, his first full season in the minors, he only hit .231.
Unfortunately, Hackenberg is not the most powerful hitter, as he has only hit 16 home runs over the last two years, hitting exactly 8 this and last season. MLB grades him with below average hit and power tools, as they feel that his strong suit lies within his defense.
MLB grades his arm as 60 out of 80, which is well above average, and his fielding as above average. For the White Sox, this is good news, as they have not had a catcher whose strong suit was defense in a long time. This is what will make Hackenberg so valuable. If he can prove to be a strong defensive catcher and call a good game in the pros, he could have a nice career as a backup catcher. His hitting at the major league level will determine how much impact he will have for the White Sox, or any team for that matter. He threw out 31% of base stealers in 2022, so his arm is definitely a big asset and could prove to be one of the main reasons he will succeed in the majors. If you can consistently throw runners out, you’ll find a spot on a roster.
Considering his improvement from last to this year, it is not out of the question that he can become a solid major league hitter if he continues to improve. He will have every chance to prove that in Spring Training, as he finished off the season strong at AAA for the Sox.
I would grade his season as a B+ as he improved with the bat and that was one of the keys to improvement. If he can break through and become an even bigger threat with the bat, he could easily see significant major league time next year.
