Grant Hockin Stats & Scouting Report

Full name Grant Mitchell Hockin
Born 03/05/1996 in Pomona, CA
Profile Ht.: 6'4" / Wt.: 200 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School Damien
Drafted in the 2nd round (61st overall) by the Cleveland Guardians in 2014 (signed for $1,100,000).

View Draft Report

A key piece of a strong UCLA recruiting class, Hockin stands out for his feel for pitching and command, evoking former Bruins ace Adam Plutko. Like Plutko, he has a physically mature frame that lacks projection, but he has run his fastball up to 94-95 mph at times this spring, pitching comfortably at 88-92 with heavy bore. His 6-foot-3, 195-pound frame is durable, and his delivery is clean and balanced. He has the makings of three solid offspeed pitches, with no wipeout offering. His best secondary pitch is a low-80s slider that flashes slightly above-average, and he also shows an average curveball and an average changeup. Hockin throws all of his pitches for strikes and has a chance to be a mid-rotation workhorse down the line.

Top Rankings

Hockin grew up learning about the game from his grandfather, the late Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew. His baseball bloodlines also extend to his uncle Cam Killebrew, who played three years in the minors, and older brother Chad Hockin, who pitches for Cal State Fullerton. Grant was set to go to UCLA before the Indians lured him away with a $1.1 million bonus as their 2014 second-round pick. The UCLA connection is fitting since Hockin is often compared with former Bruins ace Adam Plutko, whom he now joins in the Indians system, as a righthander who lacks a wipeout pitch but shows advanced command and feel for pitching. Hockin is a good athlete and has a clean delivery and three-quarters arm slot. He does a good job of leveraging his 89-91 mph fastball down in the zone, and he can touch 94 occasionally. His slider gets the highest marks from among his secondary pitches, showing sharp, twoplane break in the low 80s, but he can also spin a curveball and shows feel for a changeup, both of which can be average pitches. Hockin should get a shot to go to low Class A Lake County in 2015.

A key piece of a strong UCLA recruiting class, Hockin stands out for his feel for pitching and command, evoking former Bruins ace Adam Plutko. Like Plutko, he has a physically mature frame that lacks projection, but he has run his fastball up to 94-95 mph at times this spring, pitching comfortably at 88-92 with heavy bore. His 6-foot-3, 195-pound frame is durable, and his delivery is clean and balanced. He has the makings of three solid offspeed pitches, with no wipeout offering. His best secondary pitch is a low-80s slider that flashes slightly above-average, and he also shows an average curveball and an average changeup. Hockin throws all of his pitches for strikes and has a chance to be a mid-rotation workhorse down the line.