Drue Hackenburg was the second-round selection of the Atlanta Braves in the 2023 Draft, one round after the team selected Hurston Waldrep. When the Braves drafted him, Hackenburg was viewed as a bit of a project. He posted a 5.80 ERA during his final year at Virginia Tech, but his strikeouts-per-nine-innings was over 10. Hackenburg is the younger brother of former Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenburg and comes from a family full of professional athletes.
As a pro, Hackenburg strikes out about twice as many batters as he walks, and yet he lacks a true out pitch. He is a sinker-slider guy who works in a changeup from time to time. This arsenal allows him plenty of heavy sink to generate a lot of ground balls. His fastball touches 95, and his mid-80s slider can earn him some swings and misses outside the zone.
Hackenburg's first full season of pro ball in 2024 saw him have a phenomenal year, where he led all Braves pitchers in ERA (3.07) and batting average against (.212) as he pitched his way to Triple-A. He posted a 1.52 ERA in four starts with Gwinnett before season's end.
2025 saw a major step back as Hackenburg struggled with an oblique injury. He finished the year with an ERA near seven in Double-A Columbus. He came into 2026 trying to right the ship. That included going 3-0 with a minuscule 0.96 ERA in five starts with Columbus. He dominated in 28 innings, striking out 26 batters to just five walks, with an opponents' batting average of just .144.
When he returned to Gwinnett in June of this year, he faced another reality check. He got hit hard. A guy who's known for keeping the ball on the ground and keeping home runs to a minimum, Hackenburg gave up five long balls and surrendered an OBA of .300 in 57 innings to end the year. He still posted almost twice as many strikeouts as walks, but the walk total itself went way up.
Atlanta drafted Drue Hackenburg in the second round as a guy they thought they could "fix," and when he was going right, the Braves looked like geniuses. The injury obviously derailed things, but if Hackenburg can find his swing-and-miss stuff, he could be promoted to the Majors as early as next season. He has the potential to be a reliable back-end starter who can eat a lot of innings.
A comparison I love in this spot is Kyle Gibson. The two pitchers feature almost identical deliveries and feature heavy usage of the sinker. Gibson enjoyed a productive twelve-year MLB career, notched 112 wins, and earned a 2021 All-Star selection. All in all, that would be a great path for Drue Hackenburg.
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