MATTHEW HAGUE
8/20/85; '08 9th; Oklahoma State Univ.
R/R; 6-3, 225
| Level |
BA |
OBP |
SA |
AB |
2B |
3B |
HR |
BB |
K |
SB |
CS |
| 2005 NCAA |
.419 |
.455 |
.710 |
124 |
12 |
0 |
8 |
7 |
14 |
2 |
2 |
| 2006
NCAA |
.381 |
.447 |
.544 |
226 |
17 |
1 |
6 |
30 |
38 |
8 |
0 |
| 2007 NCAA |
.353 |
.446 |
.606 |
221 |
15 |
1 |
13 |
34 |
28 |
3 |
5 |
| 2008
NCAA |
.360 |
.442 |
.592 |
250 |
18 |
2 |
12 |
35 |
27 |
1 |
1 |
| 2008 A
|
.321 |
.384 |
.470 |
215 |
14 |
0 |
6 |
20 |
28 |
1 |
0 |
| 2008
A- |
.333 |
.400 |
.444 |
27 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
| 2009 A+ |
.293 |
.356 |
.412 |
454 |
30 |
0 |
8 |
40 |
67 |
3 |
2 |
Hague spent his first three collegiate years at Washington, was drafted 11th by the Indians in 2007, then transferred to Oklahoma State. He's also played the outfield and Baseball America believed he'd fit better in RF; in other words, his bat needs to carry him. He's consistently shown good power and plate discipline and hit well in the wood bat Cape Cod League. As college seniors generally do, Hague signed quickly and went to State College, but didn't stay there long. The Pirates loaded up in the 2008 draft on thirdbasemen and shortstops, and one of the latter, Chase D'Arnaud, played more third than short in college. Once D'Arnaud and Jordy Mercer signed, State College was overloaded on the left side of the infield. The Pirates relieved the congestion by promoting Hague, who was off to a good start, and Mercer to Hickory. In a strange coincidence, Hickory's thirdbaseman, Bobby Spain—who was also off to a good start—went out for the season with a broken wrist at about the same time. Hague got off to a very fast start at Hickory. He didn't maintain it, but his hitting remained solid the rest of the year. It was mainly his power that dropped off, as he hit all but one of his HRs in the first couple weeks. His plate discipline was good, as it had been in college. Splits from half a season don't mean a great deal, but for what it's worth he posted an OPS that was 240 points higher against RHPs than LHPs. Like Spain, Hague struggled in the field, committing 14 errors and recording an unsightly .891 fielding percentage.
With Pedro Alvarez at Lynchburg in 2009, Hague opened the season playing first. Except for one game at third, he stayed there all year, even after Alvarez left. Hague seemed primed for a breakout season, but instead was a disappointment. He hit for average and showed good plate discipline, but the power never appeared. A firstbaseman with a .412 slugging percentage in class A won't go terribly far. He again hit RHPs better, including all of his HRs. The Pirates will probably move Hague up to Altoona in 2010, but he's going to need a power spike to be considered a prospect.
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