Jesse Hoorelbeke

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Jesse Hoorelbeke

BR Minors page

Biographical information[edit]

Jesse Hoorelbeke was a power-hitting minor league first baseman who hit over 200 home runs in a career split between affiliated and independent baseball.

Despite hitting .366/.432/.569 with 10 home runs and 46 RBI for the University of Louisiana-Monroe baseball team in 2001, Hoorelbeke did not get drafted. He was 23 years old and had not finished as the Southland Conference in any department nor been All-Conference in that lesser conference. Rather, he was signed as an undrafted free-agent by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2002, beginning his professional career that year. He was signed by scout George Genovese.

He suited up for the Pioneer League's Great Falls Dodgers that season, hitting .309/.383/.520 with eight home runs and 34 RBI in 47 games. He split 2003 between the South Atlantic League's South Georgia Waves (52 G, 12 HR, 39 RBI, .326/.403/.573) and the Florida State League's Vero Beach Dodgers (57 G, 10 HR, 29 RBI, .280/.327/.460), hitting a combined .303/.365/.515 with 22 home runs and 68 RBI in 109 games. Had he qualified, he would have led the SAL in slugging and OPS (.976) and tied for third, with Garett Gentry, in batting average.

The struggles came in 2004, as Hoorelbeke hit only .217/.310/.431 with 17 home runs and 54 RBI in 94 games split between Vero Beach (65 G, 13 HR, 39 RBI, .217/.305/.435) and the Southern League's Jacksonville Suns (19 G, 4 HR, 15 RBI, .193/.323/.422). He was released by the Dodgers following the season and was signed by the Seattle Mariners.

In 2005, Hoorelbeke played for the Texas League's San Antonio Missions, hitting .249/.326/.451 with 22 home runs and 81 RBI in 119 games. He tied with Josh Pressley and Jason Perry for third in the league in home runs, tied for third with Nate Espy in hit by pitch (five), and finished first in strikeouts (156). He was four strikeouts shy of tying Wladimir Balentien for the most by a M's farmhand.

After a couple years of struggles in affiliated baseball, Hoorelbeke began a career in the indy leagues, where he remained through 2011. He split 2006 between the Northern League's Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks (74 G, 21 HR, 65 RBI, .332/.410/.647) and the (affiliated) Pacific Coast League's Iowa Cubs (14 G, 5 HR, 9 RBI, .227/.244/.614), hitting a combined .318/.390/.642 with 26 home runs and 74 RBI in 88 games. He led the Northern League in home runs, slugging percentage (a strong 69 points ahead of runner-up Joe Mathis) and OPS (1.057). He was third in average, trailing only Mathis and Greg Jacobs. He was named the All-Star first baseman that year. On June 18, he hit four home runs in one game -- the first indy leaguer to do so since Ryan Jones in 2000. Through 2015, he is the most recent indy league to accomplish the feat.

He moved to the Atlantic League in 2007, hitting .313/.396/.586 with 33 home runs and 94 RBI in 117 games for the Bridgeport Bluefish, leading the league in home runs (7 ahead of runner-up Javier Colina), slugging and OPS and was second in total bases (253, behind Colina). He was 5th in RBI (between Pete Rose Jr. and Mike Lockwood), 8th in OBP and 10th in average. He was named the All-Star first baseman for the second year in a row. More impressively, he shared Player of the Year honors with Victor Rodriguez.

In 2008, Hoorelbeke hit .276/.362/.505 with 28 home runs and 106 RBI in 126 games for the Bluefish, tying Pat Osborn for the league lead in RBI, while finishing in fourth in home runs (two behind Pressley and Brandon Larson and one behind Carl Everett). He also spent four games with the Texas League's Arkansas Travelers, in the Los Angeles Angels system, hitting .154/.267/.154 with an RBI, bringing his aggregate season totals to 130 games, 28 home runs, 107 RBI, and marks of .273/.360/.496. Pressley was picked as the All-Star 1B instead.

He had another solid season for the Bluefish in 2009, hitting .293/.391/.517 with 23 home runs and 88 RBI in 120 games. He tied Brandon Sing on the league leader board for third-most home runs that season (behind Jeremy Owens and Ray Navarrete). He was 5th in RBI (between Jeff Nettles and Aaron Herr), 4th in slugging (trailing Charlton Jimerson, Sing and Navarrete) and 7th in walks (81, between Owens and Everett) He was the All-Star first baseman for the third time in his first four seasons in the indies.

Back with Fargo-Moorhead in 2010, Hoorelbeke hit .273/.357/.573 with 29 home runs and 75 RBI in 96 games, earning yet another All-Star selection as his league's top 1B. He finished second in the league in home runs, two behind pacesetter Jake Blackwood. He tied Juan Diaz for 7th in RBI and made the top five in slugging. In the championship series, he was 6 for 12 with two homers and 8 RBI to win MVP honors as Fargo-Moorhead won the title.

In 2011, he hit .295/.366/.490 with 15 home runs and 75 RBI in 94 games with the Redhawks, now of the American Association. His 15 home runs was his lowest total since his rookie season in 2002. He was not named an All-Star at first base, being usurped by Trent Lockwood. He hit .279/.364/.494 with 20 home runs and 53 RBI for the Atlantic League's Somerset Patriots in 2012 to wrap up his career.

He hit 247 home runs with 818 RBI in an 11-year career. 169 of those home runs came in the independent leagues -- a career record among those ranks. He broke Jorge Alvarez's mark of 145.

His brother, Casey Hoorelbeke, began his professional career in 2004. A cousin, Sean Hoorelbeke, played professionally in 2008 and 2009.