July 18, 2022 at 3:27 PM
Red Sox select Alex Hoppe with sixth-round pick
With the 189th overall pick in the 2022 MLB First-Year Player Draft, the Red Sox have selected Alex Hoppe, a right-handed pitcher out of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Hoppe is not regarded by Baseball America or MLB Pipeline as one of the top prospects in this year's draft class.
Standing at 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, Hoppe spent five seasons on campus at UNC Greensboro, so he is older for his class at the age of 23. This past spring with the Spartans, the native Iowan posted a 3.65 ERA and 1.19 WHIP to go along with 84 strikeouts to 30 walks over 26 relief appearances spanning 66 2/3 innings of work en route to being named the Southern Conference's Pitcher of the Year.
Baseball America ranked Hoppe as its No. 363 draft-eligible prospect in 2020, noting that the righty has drawn interest from scouts thanks to a 92-94 mph fastball and plus breaking ball. There are also some concerns about his control, as he averaged 4.1 walks per nine innings at UNC Greensboro this season.
Hoppe, who turns 24 in December, becomes the third college pitcher the Red Sox have taken in this year's draft, joining the likes of left-handers Dalton Rogers and Noah Dean. The slot value for pick No. 189 is $266,200.
Photo Credit: Alex Hoppe by the University of North Carolina at Greensboro