Grading the Dodgers' last 6 first-round draft picks

Dodgers 2019 First-Round Pick: Kody Hoese

Pick: 25th overall
School: Tulane University
Position: Third base

After the Ginn debacle, the Dodgers had two first-round picks in the 2019 draft, which was a rare opportunity for LA. With their first pick, they went with Tulane third baseman Kody Hoese. Tulane isn't exactly known as a factory of future MLB players, but Hoese put up video game numbers for them and got on teams' radar as a first-round talent with the chance to hit for average and power.

Sadly, Hoese hasn't hit for average or for power in the pros. The year he was drafted was his best showing as a pro, as he made it to full-season ball almost immediately. However, the next year he didn't play due to the pandemic and the next three seasons have not been kind. In 2021, he posted a paltry .497 OPS, and while the .626 OPS he put up the following year was an improvement, it was still pretty poor. He's currently at Double-A in the Dodgers' organization logging a .624 OPS and doesn't rank in among the team's top 30 prospects, according to MLB Pipeline.

Again, the Dodgers took a gamble at the bottom of the first round on a guy that put up some gaudy numbers and got burned for it. Unlike Kendall, Hoese didn't have the same level of physical tools, and playing at Tulane should have been more of a red flag than it was. This was just another first-round pick wasted, although he's still around, at the very least.

Grade: D