Is Matt Hobgood's Weight Going to Be a Problem?

Steve Melewski has a two part interview up with Baltimore's 2009 1st round draft pick RHP Matt Hobgood. I found this part interesting:

He worked out at the Athletes Performance Institute in Carson, California from November 9 through late January, then days later reported to Sarasota.

"That was really good for me. The Orioles recommended it. I worked out with some big league guys and minor league guys. It was a good experience and did a lot for me physically.

"About a week into API, I went with a company that delivers your food and was on an 1800-calorie per day plan. I did that plan for about a month."

Hobgood said he reduced his body fat from 22 to 17 percent, a nice reduction for about three months of work. Hobgood is 6'4", 245 pounds and he'll likely play at a similar weight this year.

"I didn't get to where they wanted me weight wise. I lost about 17 pounds of body fat and gained nine pounds of muscle. That's 26 pounds total if I had taken off that muscle.

I am a man who can put on weight like Jimmy Page plays guitar but I remember being 19. I could take off weight with a good workout routine and no change to my diet whatsoever. I could have dropped 17 lbs in a month. I understand that 9 lbs is muscle but that's only 8 lbs net loss. And according to the blurb from Baseball America that Melewski quoted, Hobgood weighed 245 before the draft. He had to lose weight to get back down to his original drafted weight? This does not seem like a good harbinger of things to come.

On the bright side, he is in camp early, will spend the entire season as a professional and be exposed to better training and nutritional habits. And hell, he just got his braces off in January, the kid has a lot of time to learn.

Another Hobgood quote:

"Tuesday, Thursdays and Saturdays we go the gym and workout with trainers. Sundays we are off. There is a lot of down time. I've been bowling already about nine times since I've been here."

Stay away from the hot dogs and onion rings, son. Bowling alleys are not known for their health food.

Maybe I could get Weaver's Tantrum to weigh in. That guy knows something about training.