Hudson Haskin 2023

[Frobby]

2 minutes ago, LookinUp said:

Yup. I'm happy he's still here. Maybe if he can stay healthy he can get into a groove and improve how the scouts view him w/r/t future value. Right now they can't think too highly of him, or have really significant doubts about his health, considering he was available for peanuts and nobody took a shot on him.

I assume they see him as a 5th outfielder type without real upside. But guys can change their projections. It's happened before, even though it's obviously not easy to do.

I think there are at least two reasons nobody chose Haskin, regardless of what they thought his long term ceiling could be:

1.  He’s been injury prone and is coming off hip surgery.  Hips are very tricky things and there’s no guarantee he will come back from his surgery “good as new.”   And it’s not like other teams have access to his medical records or know anything about how his rehab has gone.  So this isn’t like taking a flyer on a guy recovering from TJ surgery where the recovery path is well known.

2.  Even if healthy, Haskin really isn’t ready yet to help a major league team.  He’s only played 23 games at AAA and then missed the rest of the year.   He did decently the last two years but it’s not like he dominated the leagues he played in.   He needs a year of full, healthy development time before he’d be ready to help a major league team (if ever).   

If Haskin has a good season in 2024 and puts up an .800+ OPS, there’s a decent chance a team will select him next year if he’s left unprotected again.  
 

[Tony-OH]

On 12/7/2023 at 2:13 PM, Frobby said:

Injuries have had a pretty big impact on Haskins’ progress.

It's kept him off the field, but I don't believe it's affected his tools. Now, we don't know how the hip surgery will affect him and that certainty is a valid question, but even from the first time I've seen him he just is not all that impressive tools wise. 

Especially not for a guy who was a $1.9 million 2nd round pick. Now again, he was selected during the COVID shortened 2020 draft, so I think Elias and his scouts were thinking his new found plate discipline would project into the minors. 

Unfortunately, those early games in the season are usually against smaller schools so he probably did not see a ton of top pitching and he did only hit one home run in his 84 PAs before his season was cut short. 

The issue with Haskin from a prospect point of view is that he just doesn't have the plate discipline or pop to really project as a regular. And while he does have above average speed, he's nothing more than an adequate defender in LF with a below average arm and a below average CF.

Now injuries have certainly kept him off the field and that regard, you could make the argument that it's hurt his development. He's not an awful hitter though he's very pull heavy at times. Unfortunately for him though, his good OBP is driven largely by a Chance Sisco-like ability to get hit by pitches rather than an above average hit tool. 

Saying all that, I'm not ruling out him developing into a 4th/5th outfielder type if he can stay healthy and maybe develop a little more consistent power.

 

[Frobby]

9 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

Unfortunately for him though, his good OBP is driven largely by a Chance Sisco-like ability to get hit by pitches rather than a an above average hit tool. 

So he’s got an above average get-hit tool!

Where do we find these guys?  Sisco, Cumberland, Adam Hall, and Haskin all seem(ed) to be ball magnets.   

I’m not disputing your take on Haskin, I’d just like to see him get through a season healthy and see if he can overcome some of his issues with more reps.  
 

Edited December 9, 2023 by Frobby

[Tony-OH]

52 minutes ago, Frobby said:

So he’s got an above average get-hit tool!

Where do we find these guys?  Sisco, Cumberland, Adam Hall, and Haskin all seem(ed) to be ball magnets.   

I’m not disputing your take on Haskin, I’d just like to see him get through a season healthy and see if he can overcome some of his issues with more reps.  
 

Haha. He does crowd the plate which is why he's able to get hit as much. I'm not sure it really translates to the majors though.

I hope the young man can stay healthy as well and maybe he'll surprise us a bit. I'll root for him as an Orioles fan.