Austin HedgesCLE · C

2026 review

Austin Hedges was a defense-first catcher who got on base a bit more than his contact quality suggested, hitting .247/.325/.377 with 6 HR, an 18.2 K% and a 10.1 BB% over 247 PA across 78 games for CLE. Drafted at NFBC ADP rank 686 in just 4 of 674 drafts, he finished 940th of 1472 in the TDK LABS 5x5 value rank and 40th of 103 catchers. His .313 wOBA ran 33 points above his .280 xwOBA over 247 PA. The TDK LABS card tracked him closely: in early May it read him as a defensive-first bat performing above his contact quality during a fresh stretch of starts, by mid May it had him catching regularly in a personal-catcher role with a platoon side against lefties, by mid Sep it had him back to part-time backup work, and by late Sep it noted his recent power production outpacing his expected metrics.

NFBC position eligibility · 2026: C · 2027: C