A main piece in the Joe Musgrove trade to San Diego, just who did the Pirates get when they traded for (among others) Hudson Head? [Fourth in my offseason look at prospects without much of a track record, but the scouts like him]
- Born: April 8, 2001
- B/T: L/L
- 6’1″, 180-lbs
- Drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 3rd round of the 2019 MLB June Amateur Draft from Winston Churchill HS (San Antonio, TX). Traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Numbers
His raw numbers are listed above courtesy of baseball-reference.com. Let’s aggregate by year then focus on the important numbers for minor leaguers:
We don’t have a lot of data on Hudson, but what we do have was encouraging. It was only Rookie ball, but then he was only 18 at the time, so it works. He drew walks at a great clip, leading him to a huge OBP number. He has some speed to make that work too. His power was limited, but at age that is not unexpected.
Most encouragingly, he did not strike out excessively. When you get a prospect who shows good plate skills as a teenager, that’s one less thing you have to teach him.
Yes, yes, we know, hardly any data, but at least it popped up on the right part of the map, right?
The Scouts
- Rotowire: #191 on their Top 400.
- BaseballHQ: Not on their Top 100.
- Fangraphs: Not on their Top 120.
- Fantasy Six Pack: #516 on their dynasty list.
- Prospects365: #151 on Ray Butler’s Top 200.
- Imaginary Brick Wall: #154 on the Top 487.
- Fantrax: #90 on the Top 250.
Warnings
We lost 2020, and he was only 18 in 2019, so we just have to wait to see what he does on the field in 2021, let alone how he does at higher levels.
Conclusion
Scouts like him. He has the tools to succeed, both defensively and offensively. If he draws walks, gets on base, and uses speed, he could be a nice leadoff type hitter.
If his power develops, and scouts say he has good raw power already, coupled with his good bat speed, he could have a special bat. His defense is already good enough to handle CF and he should stay there.
In short, he is about potential, and the potential is very good indeed. He was already in the Top 150-200 range, and a good season for him should put him in the Top 100 discussion by this time next year.