With Matt Somner out suspended and Curtis Woodhouse preparing for a boxing bout on Sunday, the Stags had just Neil MacKenzie available.
But now the former Notts County man will vie with teenager Hotchkiss to start against high-flying Torquay United on Saturday.
"I have been aware of this young man for quite some time," said Stags boss David Holdsworth, after the teenager put pen to paper.
Hotchkiss has previously spent a loan spell at UniBond League side Garforth Town earlier this season.
He is a former Sunderland youngster who had a brief, unsuccessful trial with League Two Rotherham United earlier in the campaign. He is contracted to Leeds until the end of next season.