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BRAD HAWPE
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CORNER OUTFIELDER
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Born: June 22, 1979 Height: 6’3″ Weight: 210 Bats: Left Throws: Left Drafted: 11th Round, 317th Overall, 2000 (Rockies) How Acquired: Minor League FA College: Florida State University Agent: Dan Horwits |
WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES |
| Hawpe was a solid slugger with the Rockies, posting extremely similar numbers from 2006-09. He declined quickly, though, once he got past 30, and has also been handicapped by elbow problems. He was platooned early in his career and usually has been kept to a limited number of ABs against LHPs. He hasn’t always struggled against them; his career OPS is .493 against RHPs and .430 against LHPs. His good years mostly were not a result of Coors Field. He had an extreme platoon split in one of those four years, a large reverse platoon split in one, and very small platoon splits in the other two. Hawpe split his time between first and the outfield corners in the minors, but with Todd Helton entrenched at first in Colorado, he’s mostly played right field in the majors. He doesn’t run well and, at least according to most defensive metrics, is a terrible defensive outfielder, although not bad at first.
2000 Hawpe hit well in his short-season debut. He split his time between first and left. 2001 Hawpe continued to hit well, although with a high K rate, in low A. He split his time between first and right. 2002 The Rockies continued moving Hawpe one level per year. He spent the whole season in the Carolina League despite the fact that he had a breakout year, including much-improved walk and K rates. He played first exclusively. 2003 In AA, Hawpe’s hitting returned to more or less the levels at which it had been prior to 2003. 2004 Hawpe put up huge power numbers in the great hitting environment at Colorado Springs. With Todd Helton blocking his way at first, the Rockies played him exclusively in the outfield in AAA. They called him up in May and again in September, and he held his own in the majors, albeit with strikeouts in a third of his ABs. 2005 Hawpe opened the season with the Rockies, platooning in right with Dustan Mohr and seldom facing LHPs. He missed most of July and all of August with a strained hamstring. His hitting, including his walk and K rates, was solid but he didn’t show much power. 2006 Hawpe had his first big season with the Rockies, starting a string of four years in which he put up very similar numbers. Manager Clint Hurdle continued to limit Hawpe’s exposure to LHPs, as he got only 76 plate appearances against them. Oddly, he hit much better on the road, with a .966 OPS compared to .822 at Coors. 2007 Hawpe had his best season, including his only 100-RBI (116) season. This time he took full advantage of Coors, posting a 1.017 OPS at home and .831 on the road. 2008 Hawpe missed a little time with a hamstring sprain, but otherwise had a similar season to the two previous. He started playing more often against LHPs and posted an .826 OPS against them. His OPS was only 30 points higher at Coors than on the road. 2009 Hawpe had his last good year. He again didn’t have a large home/road split, with an OPS only 27 points higher at Coors. 2010 A+ (Colo): 250/250/250, 4 AB, 2 K Hawpe missed a little time in April, but still posted a 1.174 OPS in 15 games for the month. For the rest of the season, though, he hit just .227. Coors kept him afloat, as he posted a .931 OPS there, over 300 points higher than what he hit everywhere else. The Rockies released him in August. Tampa Bay picked him up a few days later. 2011 The Padres signed Hawpe as a free agent for 2011. He struggled both at Petco and on the road, then had Tommy John surgery in August. 2012 The Rangers signed Hawpe as a minor league free agent, released him at the end of spring training, then signed him again a few days later. Other than drawing walks, he struggled in AA. He also missed time with elbow stiffness in May. The Rangers released him in June at his own request, as he was unable to earn a promotion above AA, and he didn’t play the rest of the year. The Pirates signed Hawpe to a minor league deal for 2013, with an invitation to major league camp. He’ll have a very difficult time making the major league roster out of spring training and faces heavy competition for playing time even in AAA. Indianapolis likely will have Hawpe, Matt Hague, Jeff Larish and Matt Curry, and possibly Clint Robinson as well, all competing for more or less the same role. Hawpe can request his release if he’s not on the major league roster by March 26. |
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STATS
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| Baseball Reference–Majors Baseball Reference–Minors Fangraphs MLB.com MiLB.com |
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CONTRACT INFORMATION
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| 2005: $317,000 2007: $403,000 2008: $3,925,000 2009: $5,500,000 2010: $7,500,000 2011: $2,000,000 2013: Minor League Salary
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PLAYER INFORMATION
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| Signing Bonus: N/A MiLB Debut: 2000 MLB Debut: 5/1/2004 MLB FA Eligible: 2016 Added to 40-Man: 11/20/2002 Options Remaining: 0 MLB Service Time: 7.058 |
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TRANSACTIONS
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| June 3, 1997: Drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 46th round, 1344th overall pick. June 5, 2000: Drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 11th round, 317th overall pick; signed on June 21. November 20, 2002: Contract purchased by the Colorado Rockies. August 24, 2010: Released by the Colorado Rockies. August 27, 2010: Signed as a free agent by the Tampa Bay Rays. November 7, 2010: Became a free agent. January 3, 2011: Signed as a free agent by the San Diego Padres. October 30, 2011: Became a free agent. January 20, 2012: Signed as a minor league free agent by the Texas Rangers. March 30, 2012: Released by the Texas Rangers. April 6, 2012: Signed as a minor league free agent by the Texas Rangers. June 19, 2012: Released by the Texas Rangers. January 17, 2013: Signed as a minor league free agent by the Pittsburgh Pirates. |
