Catch me if you can: Padres top catching prospect Austin Hedges

Scouts and coaches are the best judges for evaluating baseball talent and prospects. It wouldn't take someone with a lot of baseball experience to notice and appreciate the bright future of Lake Elsinore Storm catcher, Austin Hedges.

Growing up in Tustin, California, Hedges was a top prospect coming out of JSerra High School. Hedges was faced with one of the biggest decisions of his life, turn pro or attend college?

After weighing his options, it was the professional level that Hedges would ultimately select, passing up the opportunity to play for his childhood school, the University of California, Los Angeles.

"My dad went to UCLA; I grew up a fan my whole life," said Hedges. "I wanted to enjoy all the sports and get the whole college experience. "It's one nice big package, everything about it felt right. Their baseball team is outstanding and the coaching is excellent as well. Westwood is a beautiful area. It's an amazing school and that's where I wanted to go from the get go."

The 20-year old is now only three levels away from the Major Leagues, making his childhood dream a true possibility.

"Not until the end of my senior year did I think about the opportunity at hand. I had a shot to get drafted and it was a dream come true," said Hedges.

Last season at Fort Wayne, Hedges put up impressive numbers while being honored as a Midwest League mid-season and post-season All-Star. In 96 games, he collected 94 hits while posting a .279 batting average to go along with 28 doubles, 10 homeruns and 56 RBIs for the Tin Caps. Hedges was also dominant defensively, committing only 12 errors in 863 total chances, earning the title of best defensive catcher in the Padres' organization by Baseball America.

Coming into this year, Hedges was invited to his first Major League camp with the Padres where he was able to get valuable tips and experience on and off the field.

"This was my first big league camp during spring training," said Hedges. "Being around Bud Black was awesome. Brad Ausmus has worked with me the last couple years and we did a lot of work together. Phil Plantier helped me with some hitting aspects. The entire coaching staff taught me how to go about myself, prepare for games and how to take care of myself after games. Just learning how to be a professional, it was a great experience."

Hedges has been able to develop a special bond with Ausmus, the former backstop for the Houston Astros.

"Since the Padres drafted me, I have been doing a lot of work with (Brad) Ausmus," said Hedges. "The last two offseasons I have gone down to Petco Park to do some workouts with him. We have worked on a bunch of mechanical things as well as the mental side of the game like calling pitches and working the relationships with the pitching staff."

Despite a slow start to the season, Hedges is very optimistic about the Storm's chances this season and the potential that the players posses.

"I think we have a great group of guys," said Hedges. We have a ton of talent. Our lineup 1-through-9 can hit the ball; the entire pitching staff is extremely talented. The majority of this group has played together already the last couple seasons. We have some good chemistry, obviously we are off to a slow start, but we are in every ball game and we battle back well. I think the sky is the limit for this team."

As a child, Hedges favorite player was Texas Rangers catching superstar, Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez.

"Pudge was my favorite player growing up by far. Being a catcher was huge, I was always idolizing him as the best with his cannon arm and his great bat as well."

This season, Hedges has the comfort of working and playing for Storm Manager Shawn Wooten.

"Working with Wooten has been great. He has definitely taken a lot of time to try and teach me a lot, weather it's about the mental or physical aspects of catching itself. It's the little things that a lot of guys don't see and he does really well, obviously winning a World Series, catching on the big league level, he's been really helpful."

When Hedges is not playing or preparing for baseball, he likes to test his skills in the famous soccer video game, FIFA.

"I am a pretty good FIFA player, I can do some damage," said Hedges. "I play with Manchester United, running the pitch with Wayne Rooney and doing bicycle kicks on opponents."

Hedges has a firm foundation in baseball and doesn't get caught up in the hype of being a top prospect or trying to do more than he is supposed to.

"I try to stay away from number and result based goals, just going about my business every day. Trying to learn and get better every day at something new, making adjustments. I think the results will come, not taking any days off. These are goals I try to maintain."