Scouting Report

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Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 55 | Overall: 40

In 2022, Virginia Tech rode a juggernaut lineup to a Super Regional appearance and had four hitters taken in the top five rounds of the Draft. At the same time, Hackenberg established himself as one of the more effective freshman starters in the country, earning an invite to USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team Training Camp. Hackenberg's brother, Adam, is a White Sox prospect, brother Christian was a quarterback and a Jets second-round pick in 2016, and brother Brandon was a first-round pick in the 2021 MLS Draft. The right-hander struggled out of the gate in his sophomore-eligible season but might have figured some things out as the calendar flipped to April to help him start creeping up Draft boards.

At his best, Hackenberg is a sinker-slider guy with the chance to be a durable workhorse-type of starting pitcher. His fastball touches 95 mph and usually sits around 93, featuring good sink to get ground-ball outs. His 83-85 mph slider flashes above average and can miss bats, especially getting chases out of the zone, but it isn’t a true out pitch. He doesn’t throw his changeup often, but it does have the chance to be average with some sink to also get contact on the ground.

In his two years with the Hokies, Hackenberg has done a very good job of throwing strikes and limiting walks, and that was especially true after he righted the ship from his early struggles this spring. His strength is control over command, and he did get hit without a true weapon to close out an at-bat. A strong finish to the season will help remind teams he could be a solid back-end starter who eats up a lot of innings.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Slider: 50 | Cutter: 45 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 50 | Overall: 45

The Hackenberg family does pro sports. Adam is a catcher in the White Sox organization, Christian was a quarterback taken by the Jets in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft and Brandon was a first-round pick in the MLS Draft. It became Drue’s turn in 2023, though he wasn’t as solid in his Draft-eligible sophomore season as he was as a freshman at Virginia Tech in 2022. The Braves thought there was enough to work with to take him in the second round of the 2023 Draft and sign him for an over-slot bonus of $2 million. He made two good, but short, appearances with Single-A Augusta, then lost the zone in a one-start showing in Double-A.

 A 6-foot-2 right-hander, Hackenberg looks like he could be an innings-eating kind of starting pitcher. He leans mostly on his fastball-breaking ball combination. The heater is a heavy sinker that sat around 93 mph in 2023 and tipped out at 95-96 and it has excellent sink that led to a 55.6 percent groundball rate in his two years with the Hokies. He couples it with a low-80s slider that can miss bats and get chases, though it’s an average pitch. He utilizes a little cutter and a changeup that also has some sink to it as well.

His Double-A debut aside, Hackenberg has a track record as a strike-thrower. The Braves like his athleticism and think he’ll be able to refine his overall command within the zone, something that caused him to get hit too much in his sophomore season. The ceiling is a little limited without a plus pitch, but he could move quickly thanks to his pitchability and settle in to the back end of a big league rotation.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 55 | Overall: 45

In 2022, Virginia Tech rode a juggernaut lineup to a Super Regional appearance and had four hitters taken in the top five rounds of the Draft. At the same time, Hackenberg established himself as one of the more effective freshman starters in the country, earning an invite to USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team Training Camp. Hackenberg's brother, Adam, is a White Sox prospect, brother Christian was a quarterback and a Jets second-round pick in 2016, and brother Brandon was a first-round pick in the 2021 MLS Draft. The right-hander struggled for much of his sophomore-eligible season, but the Braves liked what they saw enough to take him in the second round of the most recent Draft and go over slot with a $2 million bonus to sign him away from returning to Virginia Tech for his junior year.

At his best, Hackenberg is a sinker-slider guy with the chance to be a durable work-horse starter. His fastball touches 95 mph and usually sits around 93, featuring good sink to get ground-ball outs. His 83-85 mph slider flashes above-average and can miss bats, especially getting chases out of the zone, but it isn’t a true out pitch. He doesn’t throw his changeup often, but it does have the chance to be average with some sink to also get contact on the ground.

In his two years with the Hokies, Hackenberg did a very good job of throwing strikes and limiting walks. His strength is control over command, and he did get hit without a true weapon to close out an at-bat. He has a ceiling of a solid back-end starter who eats up a lot of innings.

Transactions

Team	Date	Transaction
	08/27/2024	RHP Drue Hackenberg assigned to Gwinnett Stripers from Mississippi Braves.
	06/25/2024	RHP Drue Hackenberg assigned to Mississippi Braves from Rome Emperors.
	04/05/2024	RHP Drue Hackenberg assigned to Rome Emperors.
	09/14/2023	RHP Drue Hackenberg assigned to FCL Braves from Mississippi Braves.
	09/07/2023	RHP Drue Hackenberg assigned to Mississippi Braves from Augusta GreenJackets.
	08/29/2023	RHP Drue Hackenberg assigned to Augusta GreenJackets from Braves Organization.
	08/10/2023	RHP Drue Hackenberg assigned to Braves Organization.
	07/13/2023	Atlanta Braves signed RHP Drue Hackenberg.
	06/15/2023	RHP Drue Hackenberg assigned to College Workout.
	05/24/2023	College Workout activated RHP Drue Hackenberg.
	04/05/2023	RHP Drue Hackenberg assigned to Virginia Tech Hokies.
	07/02/2022	USAB Stripes Team activated RHP Drue Hackenberg.
	07/01/2022	RHP Drue Hackenberg and assigned to College Workout.
	04/15/2022	RHP Drue Hackenberg, , and assigned to Virginia Tech Hokies.