By Noah Adcock-Howeth

After starring as a two-way for both the 2022 Blowfish and the Winthrop Eagles, Summerville native Brody Hopkins has been drafted in the 6th round of the 2023 MLB draft at pick #187 by the Seattle Mariners.

Hopkins came to the Blowfish as a pitcher after two years at College of Charleston, but quickly asserted himself on both sides of the ball. On the mound, his fastball was up to 97, the hardest pitch by any player in the CPL in 2022, helping him to 25 strikeouts in 18.2 innings pitched. At the plate, Brody made his mark early, when his first swing of the summer sailed 425 feet into the Lexington night for a home run.

The two-way momentum carried into Hopkins’s first year at Winthrop, where he was named the Sunday starter and also saw time as both an outfielder and DH. Brody hit .288 with 9 homers and 39 RBI in 49 games at the plate, to go along with 9 steals. As a pitcher, Hopkins threw 15 times and made 12 starts, posting a 5.89 ERA with 66 Ks in 54 innings, flashing a sinking fastball regularly above 95 and a wipeout slider as well.

Brody follows in the footsteps of his older brother TJ, who played for the Blowfish in 2016 and was drafted in the 9th round by the Reds out of South Carolina in 2019. TJ made his MLB debut with Cincinnati earlier this summer, becoming the 11th Blowfish to make it to the big leagues. While Brody has played both sides of the field this year, he was selected as a pitcher and will likely remain on the mound.

Hopkins is the 106th Blowfish alum to be drafted by an MLB team, and the 5th to be selected by Seattle. It’s the second year in a row the Mariners have picked a former Blowfish, as they snagged Tatem Levins from Pitt in the 8th round last summer (Tatem was a Blowfish in 2021). Three former Lexington County players have already been selected this summer, matching last year’s total with 14 rounds remaining.