By Adam Chasen:
In 2008, LJ Hoes was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the third-round of the amateur Major League Baseball draft. Hoes decided to make the jump directly out of high school, where he had attended St. John's in the district. Three year's later Hoes has emerged as a top prospect in the Baltimore system.

On Monday, Hoes received a promotion from class Single-A Frederick to Double-A Bowie, making another step toward possibly becoming the heir-apparent to long-time second baseman Brian Roberts.

While Hoes has struggled some during his minor league career, he has shown enough upside to convince most that he will at least make it to the big leagues one day, and could possibly become an everyday starter with some improvement. Hoes is expected to play both second base and outfield in Bowie.

Hoes is batting .241 with seven doubles, three homers, 17 RBIs and a .638 OPS in 41 games. Despite batting .303 against left-handers, he is only hitting .196 against right-handers, an area that clearly needs work.