It has been quite a year for Sayville-native Logan O’Hoppe.
The 6’3″ backstop led the St. John the Baptist Cougars to the 2018 CHSAA championship for the first time since 2014. From an individual standpoint, he was named CHSAA Player of the Year, he won the offensive triple crown, he was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 23rd round of the MLB Draft and he took home a slew of other awards.
He can add another to the mantle after Rawlings/ABCA named him the 1st Team All-American Gold Glove Award winner. It is quite an achievement for a player who burst onto the scene only one year prior with an outstanding showing in the Dominican Republic.
His defensive prowess has been well-documented on here. He is considered the best defensive catcher coming out of the island since West Islip’s Patrick Cantwell in 2008. Now 10 years later, O’Hoppe has redefined what it means to curtail the running game. Only three base runners attempted to steal on him all season, and they were all in situations that dictated that the runner not be held on.
Since entering pro ball, O’Hoppe has continued to perform extremely well both behind the plate and offensively. He is currently batting .367 with an OPS of .943. What makes this more impressive is that teams had concerns whether his bat would translate to the next level. It’s early on, but the results speak for themselves to this point.
He has a real chance to progress through the system at an advanced rate due to his age, his defensive abilities, his leadership qualities and his work ethic. The only factor working against him may just be the success of the Phillies at the big league level. They are at the phase of their organization in which the results at the big league level are paramount, as opposed to player development which had been a priority for the previous 5 years.
We will continue to monitor the progress of O’Hoppe who has made Long Island proud with not just his success on the field but also his selfless nature and willingness to dedicate his time to younger athletes and those less fortunate in the community.
