The 2020 Major League Baseball is scheduled to begin later this month following the the long delay for Opening Day due to the coronavirus pandemic. Even though the campaign has yet to begin, there may already be a submission for "Catch of the Year."
On Wednesday, the Detroit Tigers played their first intra-squad game at Comerica Park and the action was cut short in the fifth inning as a result of thunderstorms rolling through the area. Before the game was called, center fielder Derek Hill made a sensational catch in which he tracked the ball down in the air before being forced to reach over his shoulder and eventually bare-hand the ball as he was going to the ground.
We haven't even played a game yet, but we already have the catch of the year. pic.twitter.com/pcwNqRf07L
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) July 8, 2020
"I've always been pretty defensive oriented, so I've got pretty good instincts out there," Hill said after the game. "Ball started out on my left side and faded back over my right side. Didn't have time to really flip around and pick the ball back up, so decided to do it over my shoulder and just got lucky -- or at least that's what we'll call it."
Last week, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reported that Hill could potentially be the next man up in center field if there's an injury to JaCoby Jones or Victor Reyes at any point this season. Hill was selected as part of the Tigers 60-player pool last month.
Hill was originally selected with the No. 23 pick in the 2014 MLB Draft by the Tigers. The right-handed center fielder was likely going to spend the bulk of the 2020 season with Triple-A Toledo, but the minor league season was officially canceled last week.
One of the biggest issues for Hill throughout his career was his production at the plate. In 120 games with Double-A Erie in 2019, Hill hit just .243 and struck out 147 times. Coincidentally, Hill owns a .243 batting average over the course of his six-year minor league career.
