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Texas A&M baseball: Aggie mid-season awards

By Cahil Murchison

BATON ROUGE, LA - MARCH 30: Texas A&M Aggies infielder Braden Shewmake (8) bats during a baseball game between the Texas A&M Aggies and LSU Tigers on March 30, 2017, at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by John Korduner/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
BATON ROUGE, LA - MARCH 30: Texas A&M Aggies infielder Braden Shewmake (8) bats during a baseball game between the Texas A&M Aggies and LSU Tigers on March 30, 2017, at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by John Korduner/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Leslie Plaza Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
(Photo by Leslie Plaza Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Defensive MVP: Mikey Hoehner — Catcher

This was a no brainer for me. It’s been a while since the Aggies have had a catcher that is as talented and athletic as Mikey Hoehner. His ability to become a wall behind the dish is impressive, allowing few balls to get past him. Yet what is more impressive, is his ability to gun down those trying to steal a bag. This season, he has thrown out seven prospective bag thieves which is one of the best in the conference. There’s no doubt that the Cisco College transfer has added a sense of security to Aggie baseball and it shows. As someone who has connections to the Aggie die-hards and those who have been around Aggie baseball for a long time, there is a different feeling about Mikey Hoehner than there is for most catchers.

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A great catcher can turn a good pitcher into a great one. If you haven’t noticed, the Aggies already have some good-to-great pitchers in their own right. Now that Hoehner is here, it just makes things better. It shows too. Performances like the Sunday game against Vandy don’t just happen without quality on both ends of the pitch. It takes two to tango, and what a beautiful dance it was.

A catcher with a great arm can change the game as well. Speedy runners will think twice about trying to get into scoring position after getting on first, which could turn a base knock into something harmless rather than a run scored. It’s the little things that matter, and Hoehner has done a bang-up job of keeping the other teams at bay and the Ags confident.