Big setbacks with the bat toss this solid thrower into limbo
Catcher
6´1´´
225 pounds
Age: 25
2022 SSS Top Prospect Ranking 66
2023 SSS Top Prospect Ranking 34
2024 SSS Top Prospect Ranking 29
2023 High Level Charlotte (AAA)
Age relative to high level -2.3 years
SSS rank among all catchers in the system 8
Overall 2024 stats 80 games ⚾️ 1 HR ⚾️ 14 RBI ⚾️ .210/.315/.253 ⚾️ 36 BB ⚾️ 111 K ⚾️ 27-of-109 (24.8%) CS
As you can see right above, until 2024 Adam Hackenberg was on a pretty direct road to a bench role in the majors, combining solid receiving/throwing skill with competent bat work. But last year, a reduced role with Edgar Quero (and to some degree, Korey Lee) joining the organization as Catchers of the Future torpedoed Hackenberg’s ascendance.
Given his competition — now including perhaps the best Catcher of the Future of the bunch, Ryan Teel — Hackenberg’s calling card as a solid receiver behind the plate simply won’t be enough to ensure a role in the organization in the future.
In 2024, Hackenberg’s woes were so pronounced that when Quero was out for around a month in Charlotte, the Knights brought Carlos Pérez’s catching glove out of mothballs rather than plug Hackenberg in regularly. Adam made it back to Charlotte by season’s end, but the depth chart slip was already done.
Perhaps Hackenberg had been battling and playing through injury in Charlotte, where he began the season. But for whatever grit he was showing, he sat only for a about a week of game play, demoted to the ACL White Sox for presumed rehab but sitting out for only two weeks (which included the brief All-Star break in July). So, not to pile on to Hackenberg’s awful 2024, but it doesn’t seem injury-driven.
Hackenberg’s Baseball Cube player ratings
Durability 61 (unchanged from last season)
Hitting 53 (-5)
Contact 48 (-7)
RBIs 46 (-7)
Power 43 (-5)
XBH 38 (-5)
Speed 28 (0)
Runs 23 (-1)
Average 42.50
Team Winning PCT .426
Hackenberg’s future is in real flux with the White Sox. Given the likelihood of Ryan Teel and Edgar Quero battling for playing time in Charlotte, there is no role for Adam at Triple-A in 2025. The best case for him is Chicago believing in his defensive ability enough to give him a backup role with the Knights once one of the blue-chip catchers ascend to the South Side. Still, not getting the call for playing time and laboring longer in Birmingham as Quero rehabbed his injury in 2024 is not a vote of confidence for Hackenberg’s future in the org.
100. Cole McConnell, CF
99. Drake Logan, LF
98. Marcelo Alcala, RF
97. Lyle Miller-Green, 1B
96. Jared Kelley, RHRP
95. Adrian Gil, 1B
94. Adam Hackenberg, C
