Scouting Report

Video scouting report »

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 | Curveball: 55 | Cutter: 45 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 40 | Overall: 40

There were high hopes for Hackenberg, whose athletic brothers have been drafted in baseball, football and soccer, as he entered his Draft-eligible sophomore season at Virginia Tech. He had uneven results but the Braves liked him more than the industry did, taking him in the second round of the 2023 Draft. It looked like a smart decision after a first full season saw him top all Braves arms in ERA (3.07) and batting average against (.212) as he pitched his way to Triple-A. Year 2 was a disaster by comparison as Hackenberg missed time with an oblique issue that limited him to 74 total innings and he had trouble finding any consistency on the mound with Double-A Columbus.

Hackenberg’s stuff ticked down in 2025 and it’s hard to know how much the injury played a part. His fastballs -- he throws both a four- and two-seamer -- averaged just around 92 mph and topped out at 94. The sinker does help him get ground-ball outs at a steady clip, but his heater didn’t miss many bats last year. He can still miss some bats with his low-80s two-plane curve and his 90 mph cutter can be effective at times. He didn’t throw his mid-80s changeup much.

In addition to his strikeout rate diving compared to 2024, Hackenberg’s command and control suffered. His walk rate soared to 6.6 per nine as he struggled to land most of his repertoire consistently in the zone, and when he did, he got hit. He’s hitting the reset button in his age-24 season; it’s a big year that could result in a 40-man roster spot or exposure to the Rule 5 Draft in the offseason.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Curveball: 55 | Cutter: 45 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 45 | Overall: 45

Part of a very athletic family, with brothers taken previously in the MLB, NFL and MLS Drafts, Hackenberg was coming off of an uneven Draft-eligible sophomore season at Virginia Tech as the 2023 Draft approached. The industry had the big right-hander pegged for more like a 5th-7th round pick, but the Braves liked him more than that, taking him in the second round. So far, it’s looking like they were right as Hackenberg pitched his way from High-A to Triple-A in his first full season, leading qualified Braves arms in ERA and batting average against.

With as many as five pitches at his disposal, Hackenberg has provided an intriguing combination of missing bats and getting groundball outs in the Minors. He throws both a four- and two-seam fastball, with the former up to 97 and averaging 94.7 mph last year and the latter averaging over 93 mph and leading to high groundball rates. He was sinker heavy in college but started to feature the four-seamer up in the zone more in pro ball with solid results. His best secondary offering is his power two-plane curve that can miss bats, though his changeup also got some swing-and-miss along with weak groundball contact, and he mixes in a hard 90-mph cutter as well.

The most encouraging thing with Hackenberg was that his stuff got better and he threw harder as the year went on despite blowing by his season innings high from college. His strike-throwing hasn’t been as consistent as it was with the Hokies, but there’s confidence he’ll be in and around the zone enough to be an innings-eating workhorse in a big league rotation.

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
	03/05/2026	RHP Drue Hackenberg assigned to Atlanta Braves Prospects.
	09/10/2025	RHP Drue Hackenberg assigned to Glendale Desert Dogs.
	07/22/2025	Columbus Clingstones activated RHP Drue Hackenberg from the 7-day injured list.
	07/03/2025	Columbus Clingstones sent RHP Drue Hackenberg on a rehab assignment to FCL Braves.
	07/03/2025	sent RHP Drue Hackenberg on a rehab assignment to FCL Braves.
	05/15/2025	Columbus Clingstones placed RHP Drue Hackenberg on the 7-day injured list.
	05/15/2025	Columbus Clingstones placed RHP Drue Hackenberg on the 7-day injured list.
	04/01/2025	RHP Drue Hackenberg assigned to Columbus Clingstones.
	02/27/2025	RHP Drue Hackenberg assigned to Atlanta Braves.
	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.