P2Daily: Can Hudson Head Be The Next ‘Toolsy’ Outfielder To Click?

When Matt Gorski started to mash home runs on a near daily basis, it seemed like there wasn’t too much surprise going around, especially from within the organization.

Every time he’d hit a home run, my mind would immediately go back to the Murphanko podcast episode where we had Kieran Mattison on. When asked who he thought might have a breakout year, he didn’t want to put any added pressure on anyone but also pointed to Gorski as a guy who could click.

Everyone knew what Gorski was capable of — it was just a matter of getting the results.

Now there’s another outfielder, Hudson Head, who isn’t having a comparable season to Gorski’s 2021 in any way other than he’s in Greensboro, but yet could have a similar path. Looking through some of the player profiles on MLB Pipeline, I came across this line about Head.

“The Pirates still feel Head has considerable tools; he just needs to learn how to unlock the shed.”

Now, doesn’t that sound familiar? Head is an interesting prospect, he’s super athletic and hits the ball way harder than it looks like he should be able to, something that allowed him to hit 15 home runs last year in Bradenton.

He also draws a lot of walks, holding a 13.2% walk rate in his minor league career. The issue has been making contact, as Head has also struck out 30.4% of the time over three seasons.

Thinking of the amount of times he’s striking out, but yet his ability to draw walks and hit for power makes me think about a quote from Gorski in this previous article. He talks about realizing how much power he has, and that it’s all really for nothing if he doesn’t make contact. That the focus was on making more contact and letting the power play.

Worked out pretty well for him.

Head was a guy that probably could have stayed in Bradenton, play well, but not get really challenged. The Pirates decided to push him up to Greensboro, and while the results haven’t been there yet, he’s getting experience that he wouldn’t be able to get back with Bradenton.

He’s had his moments — going 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBI on Friday — and a week into July has already nearly matched his hit total from May (10). Head has also already tied the total amount of extra-base hits (three) he got last month in July.

Maybe it doesn’t click for him this year, and he has to start next season back in Greensboro. It worked for Gorski. Head also won’t turn 22-years-old until the 2023 season is already under way, so he’s got plenty of time to figure things out.