Two Former Tigers Sign with MLB Team
By: Robert MacRae January 26, 2025

Congrats to these former Clemson players.

Clemson Baseball announced this weekend that Jacob Hinderleider and Jimmy Obertop have both signed free-agent contracts with the Colorado Rockies.

Hinderleider spent the first four years of his college career at Davidson before transferring to Clemson for the 2024 season.

The Kaneohe, Hawaii, native was a career .291 hitter with a .516 slugging percentage and .369 on-base percentage in 229 games (221 starts) over his college career. He had 60 doubles, six triples, 38 homers, 193 RBIs, 159 runs, 97 walks, 13 hit-by-pitches and 24 steals in his career from 2020-24.

Hinderleider was Clemson’s starter at first base – despite never having played there before – during the first half of the 2024 season, then became the starting shortstop with the season-ending injury to Andrew Ciufo.

A co-winner of the Tigers’ Defensive MVP Award, Hinderleider hit .336 with 44 runs, 17 doubles, a triple, 13 homers, 60 RBIs, a .580 slugging percentage, .407 on-base percentage, 25 walks, five hit-by-pitches and nine steals over 59 games in 2024. He made 58 starts, including 33 at shortstop, 21 at first base and four at third base.

A catcher and infielder, Obertop had his best season in 2024, when he won Clemson’s Offensive MVP Award while hitting .303 with 62 runs, 11 doubles, 22 homers, 56 RBIs, a .656 slugging percentage, .438 on-base percentage, 49 walks, four hit-by-pitches and a steal in 57 games. He started all of those games, including 42 at catcher, 12 at first base and three as the DH.

Obertop was a career .278 hitter with a .544 slugging percentage and .392 on-base percentage in 191 games (187 starts) over five college seasons. He began his college career as a member of the Michigan team from 2020-23 before transferring to Clemson for his final college campaign.

The Saint Louis, Mo., native had 33 doubles, 51 homers, 153 RBIs, 146 runs, 118 walks, 20 hit-by-pitches and three steals in his career. He is seventh in Tiger history in slugging percentage (.656) and 10th in walks per at-bat (one every 4.45).