Top 20 Oriole Prospects – No. 20 – Kyle Hudson

Kyle Hudson was drafted in the fourth round of the 2008 draft, and is a interesting player in our system. Hudson, played three seasons at the University of Illinois. In fact, Hudson was the leading wide receiver for the Illinois football, where he also had great success. With the wide receiver instincts, and his great speed, he tracts the ball down very good in the outfield, reminding me some what of Adam Jones. I watched a highlight video of this kid, I was amazed by his lightning speed.

At his time at Illinois, he put his name in a few record book categories. He was tied for first in amount of stolen bases in a season at Illinois, with 40. Also, he is tied for second in career batting average with .376, very solid. Although he played in a weak conference, and hasn’t showed a lot of skills at the plate so far in the Orioles system, he has potential. He will never be a power hitter, but could have more of a Jacoby Ellsbury type of game. The best we could hope for with Hudson offensively is if he develops into a gap-to-gap hitter. He could easily stretch a single into a double with his speed, and keep the pitchers focused on him while on base with his great base stealing abilities

Hudson, is currently playing A ball at Delmarva. He is batting .176 in 17 at bats, with a .300 on base percentage which is not all that bad with his limited at bats. Although, he already has 2 stolen bases, and also one of the leaders on the team with walks, he needs to cut down on his strike outs. It seems like if he does not get a hit, or get a walk, he is striking out. Since he is very young, great athleticism, good defense, and focusing only on baseball for the first time in his career, he has a good upside. I would not be surprised to see him in Bowie in two or three years.