Josh Hood

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Seattle Mariners #26 prospect in 2023
  BA Grade/Risk: 40/High
  
  Track Record: Hood led Pennsylvania in home runs as a freshman and won the Ivy League's rookie of the year award, but he played only eight games the next two seasons due to the coronavirus pandemic and transferred to North Carolina State for the 2022 season. He started every game for the Wolfpack and starred in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament in front of Mariners scouting director Scott Hunter, leading the team to draft him in the sixth round and sign him for $250,000.
  
  Scouting Report: Hood holds promise as a twitchy athlete who hits the ball hard, even if he has some rough edges to his game. He is a below-average hitter who swings and misses too much, but he impacts the baseball when he connects and posts loud exit velocities. He gets to his power in games and projects to hit double-digit homers. Hood's strengths lie in his secondary tools. He is a plus runner who has the athleticism to stick at shortstop or move all around the diamond. He has a plus arm and is an intelligent, instinctive player who projects to be an above-average defender at every position. He has mostly played shortstop and third base but has the tools to handle second base and all three outfield spots.
  
  The Future: Hood projects to be a utilityman who hits for power, similar to Chad Pinder. He'll head to the Class A levels in 2023.
  
  Scouting Grades: Hit: 30. Power: 45. Speed: 60. Fielding: 55. Arm: 60.

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #332 prospect in 2022 draft
  School: North Carolina State Committed/Drafted: Red Sox ’21 (20)
  Age At Draft: 22
  Hood began his collegiate career at Pennsylvania, where he was the team’s everyday shortstop and hit .332/.411/.580 with almost as many walks (20) as strikeouts (21). He transferred to North Carolina State for the 2022 season, where he split his time as a third baseman and shortstop and had a solid season where he slashed .268/.350/.498 with 13 home runs and 14 doubles. Hood can be an inconsistent hitter, but he has twitchy hands and bat speed, with athleticism and solid exit velocity data. He needs to do a better job identifying and making contact with breaking balls and offspeed offerings, but he hammered fastballs and more than handled 93-plus mph velocity this spring.
• Ranked #452 prospect in 2021 draft
  The Ivy League didn’t play this spring, making Hood an extremely challenging evaluation for scouts with little game action to go on the last two years. As a freshman in 2019, Hood made the All-Ivy first team and was the conference’s unanimous rookie of the year, hitting .331/.411/.580 with 20 walks and 21 strikeouts in 41 games. Some scouts liked what they saw from Hood then and in workouts since, but he’s in a difficult spot as the draft approaches. He's heading to North Carolina State next season, where he could take over for Jose Torres as the team's starting shortstop and raise his stock for the 2022 draft.

• February, 2023 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 40/High
  
  Track Record: Hood led Pennsylvania in home runs as a freshman and won the Ivy League's rookie of the year award, but he played only eight games the next two seasons due to the coronavirus pandemic and transferred to North Carolina State for the 2022 season. He started every game for the Wolfpack and starred in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament in front of Mariners scouting director Scott Hunter, leading the team to draft him in the sixth round and sign him for $250,000.
  
  Scouting Report: Hood holds promise as a twitchy athlete who hits the ball hard, even if he has some rough edges to his game. He is a below-average hitter who swings and misses too much, but he impacts the baseball when he connects and posts loud exit velocities. He gets to his power in games and projects to hit double-digit homers. Hood's strengths lie in his secondary tools. He is a plus runner who has the athleticism to stick at shortstop or move all around the diamond. He has a plus arm and is an intelligent, instinctive player who projects to be an above-average defender at every position. He has mostly played shortstop and third base but has the tools to handle second base and all three outfield spots.
  
  The Future: Hood projects to be a utilityman who hits for power, similar to Chad Pinder. He'll head to the Class A levels in 2023.
  
  Scouting Grades: Hit: 30. Power: 45. Speed: 60. Fielding: 55. Arm: 60.
• December, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 40/High
  
  Track Record: Hood led Pennsylvania in home runs as a freshman and won the Ivy League's rookie of the year award, but he played only eight games the next two seasons due to the coronavirus pandemic and transferred to North Carolina State for the 2022 season. He started every game for the Wolfpack and starred in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament in front of Mariners scouting director Scott Hunter, leading the team to draft him in the sixth round and sign him for $250,000.
  
  Scouting Report: Hood holds promise as a twitchy athlete who hits the ball hard, even if he has some rough edges to his game. He is a below-average hitter who swings and misses too much, but he impacts the baseball when he connects and posts loud exit velocities. He gets to his power in games and projects to hit double-digit homers. Hood's strengths lie in his secondary tools. He is a plus runner who has the athleticism to stick at shortstop or move all around the diamond. He has a plus arm and is an intelligent, instinctive player who projects to be an above-average defender at every position. He has mostly played shortstop and third base but has the tools to handle second base and all three outfield spots.
  
  The Future: Hood projects to be a utilityman who hits for power, similar to Chad Pinder. He'll head to the Class A levels in 2023.
  
  Scouting Grades: Hit: 30. Power: 45. Speed: 60. Fielding: 55. Arm: 60.