Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

SEATTLE – Carson Hobbs fulfilled every baseball player’s dream by getting drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 11th round of the 2023 MLB Draft in Seattle on Tuesday, July 11.

The former Thompson pitcher was drafted with the 340th pick in the draft after playing three seasons at Samford. Hobbs has yet to sign his minor league contract.

Hobbs was a standout for the Warriors during his time in Alabaster. He was a two-way threat both on the mound and at the plate for Thompson, going 3-1 with a 1.75 ERA and 32 strikeouts in a shortened senior season in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the batter’s box that season, he hit for a .375 average with 19 RBIs, 16 runs scored and seven stolen bases. He was named to the All-County Second Team as a pitcher following the season after being named an All-County Honorable Mention the year before as a junior.

Hobbs then moved on to nearby Samford, where he evolved into a talented relief pitcher. As a junior in 2023, he went 1-1 with two saves and posted a 1.59 ERA after allowing just two runs in 11.1 innings pitched.

He suffered a season-ending injury on March 11, but before that, he was named SoCon Pitcher of the Month for the month of February. That honor came after he earned two saves in a week, including one in four innings of relief against Southeastern Louisiana on February 26. He also struck out five batters in three scoreless innings against Memphis to give Samford the chance to win the game in extra innings, 9-8.

In his sophomore season the year before, he was Samford’s main closer and made a team-high 23 appearances. He earned 10 saves during the season while striking out 41 batters and holding them to a .266 average across 32.1 innings of work. This came after a promising freshman year where he struck out 11 batters in 10.2 innings during 11 appearances, including two relief innings against Florida without allowing a hit in his first season of college baseball.

Now, Hobbs will embark on the next step of his journey as he hopes to climb the minor league ranks of the Dodgers farm system and earn a call up to one of the most prestigious and historic teams in American sports.