AKS

Hudson Head, OF

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Scouting report

The big prospect acquired in the Joe Musgrove deal with San Diego, Head's pro experience consists of 32 AZL games the summer after he was drafted in 2019, and two Fall Instructional League camps in '19 and '20. If you've been following both the prospect lists and the site’s analysis of the recent Padres deals, you'll know the Friars have a penchant for taking expensive gambles on pop-up high school prospects. Head, who signed for a record-setting bonus ($3 million, basically slot at 22nd overall) in the third round, was one of their 2019 selections of this ilk. A two-sport athlete whose football exploits (he was in a QB timeshare at a 6A school) cut into his time on the showcase circuit (though he was known in Texas), Head eschewed his commitment to Oklahoma to turn pro. Sometimes prospects who’ve never faced the upper echelon of high school pitching require a prolonged adjustment period upon first entering affiliated ball due to the leap in stuff quality from varsity high school ball, even if that prospect comes from a talent-rich area like Texas or Southern California. But that was not an issue for Head against pro pitching in the 2019 AZL. Despite some clear mechanical flaws, he sprayed hard contact all over the field and hit .283/.383/.417 against the best pitching he’d ever seen in his life. Then we had the long 2020 layoff, and my look at Head in fall instructs after he hadn’t faced live pitching for nearly a year was not as good. He wasn't tracking pitches as well, he was late on some pretty average fastballs, he lacked balance at the plate, and his pitch recognition backed up. His swing does have an arm bar, but that was also true in 2019 when he was letting the ball travel deep and hitting it hard the other way. He added a footwork component that wasn't there in 2019, an extra toe-tap before his stride. I can't outright declare this to have been detrimental, it just wasn't there when he was successful. During the Padres' final day of intrasquads, he (ironically) half-swung at an Omar Cruz fastball that was way inside, which hit Head on the hands (sorry if that’s confusing), causing him to leave the game. None of this is enough for me to move off of where I had Head evaluated last year, though. Because of the lack of minor league season, the 2020 Instructional League was full of pitching that was typically more advanced than what Head would have seen during a normal instructs, and he was dropped into that environment after not playing all year. And let’s not forget that Head has some unique athletic traits. He’s ambidextrous, and swings and throws a baseball with his left hand though he quarterbacked primarily with his right, occasionally using his left when he rolled out that way. I still think he’s a potential traditional big league leadoff hitter, but while some others young kids really blew up on the backfields last Fall, Head struggled. The context for those struggles is important, though. (Alternate site, Fall Instructional League)