Hudson Haskin was known for his batting style as a highly touted prospect out of Tulane University.
He swings with a high leg kick — much like former major-leaguer Hunter Pence— and manages to put the barrel on the ball and hit for power for the Delmarva Shorebirds.
Haskin is batting .272/.379/.411 with four homers and 26 RBIs with 12 stolen bases in 40 games (151 at-bats).
“I’d say it’s one those things that have evolved over time,” Haskin told BaltimoreBaseball.com. “This year, I put in a lot of work during the offseason to try and refine some stuff and establish a routine. My main goal is to just be consistent and continue to work on what makes me be me and what I need to do to be successful.”
As a sophomore at Tulane University in 2020, the 6-foot-2, 22-year-old outfielder hit .333/.452/.500 (22-for-66) with six doubles, one triple, one home run, 18 runs, and 14 RBIs in 17 games on the season, which was shortened because of Covid-19. Haskin also finished the season with a perfect fielding percentage and did not make an error in 73 career games at Tulane.
Haskin also broke the stolen-base record of three-time All-Star George Springer at Avon Old Farms, a prep school in Connecticut.
Haskin is the Orioles 14th-ranked prospect, according to MLB.com.
“I’m kind of getting into the routine of playing every day, going through the ups and downs of the season,” Haskin said. “The pitching at Delmarva is definitely more consistent than it was in college. Every guy that you face has good stuff and is a good pitcher. In college, you might face a guy that is not as talented. Overall, I feel like my transition has been going well.”
Haskin was initially taken in the 39th round by the Oakland Athletics out of high school in 2018 but opted to attend Tulane to get his degree. The decision helped his draft status; he was selected by the Orioles in the second round (No. 39 overall) in 2020.
“My parents had made a lot of sacrifices over the years and always preached the importance of getting an education, so I felt that going to Tulane would give me the ability to do that,” Haskin said. “I also wanted to continue my dream of playing in the big leagues.”
Haskin was invited to the fall Instructional League camp at the Ed Smith Stadium complex in Sarasota, Florida this past year. The experience gave him the opportunity to be around big-leaguers, watching their techniques and work habits.
“That was a really good experience just to meet everybody in the organization and kind of get a taste of what professional baseball is like,” Haskin said. “It was a super-competitive environment and definitely gave you a taste of what it is like.”
Shorebirds hitting coach Patrick Jones likes Haskin’s versatility. He can hit for power, is solid defensively, and can steal bases.
Haskin contends the versatility is a key to his success. Even when the hits don’t come as easily, he can still bring something to the lineup.
“I try to impact the game whatever way I can,” Haskin said. “Defense and speed are two things that don’t slump.”
Haskin needs much more seasoning before the Orioles would consider promoting him to the major-league club. He plans to stick with the strategy that has brought him success.
“I want to be present in every moment and take it game-by-game, pitch-by-pitch and, if I do that, I’ll put myself in a good spot,” Haskin said. “I am just going to play as hard as I can wherever they put me. I’ll see where the chips fall.”
Homers: Outfielder Cristopher Cespedes hit two grand slams last week for Low-A Delmarva against the Fredericksburg Nationals. His first one came in a 10-0 win Tuesday. The second one came in a 6-3 victory on Thursday. … First Baseman TT Bowens snapped an 0-for-18 skid with a first-inning homer against Fredericksburg in a 6-3 victory Friday night. It was his fourth home run on the year and first at Perdue Stadium.
Ups and Downs: Kyle Brnovich lost his season debut for Double-A Bowie, allowing three hits, one run and one walk while striking out six batters in four innings in a 10-2 loss to New Hampshire on Thursday night. Brnovich was acquired by the Orioles along with three other right-handed pitchers — Kyle Bradish, Isaac Mattson, and Zach Peek from the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for Dylan Bundy in 2019. He was dominant at High-A Aberdeen this season, going 4-1 with a 2.36 ERA. … Grayson Rodriguez threw five-inning shutout innings in a 10-0 victory over New Hampshire on Saturday night. He allowed one hit and one walk while striking out eight. Rodriguez is 3-0 with a 1.82 ERA in five Double-A starts.
Bradish Shines: Bradish struck out a season-high 10 batters in Triple-A Norfolk’s 6-2 win over the Gwinnett Stripers on Friday. He allowed two runs and three hits in five innings. Bradish’s fastball touched 96 miles per hour, and he retired seven straight hitters to end his night.
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A bit disappointing Monday Minors article IMO...
It’s a helluva lot better than reading about the big club right now.
Hoooaaahhh!
That was a little harsh Mercy! Every article can’t be a home run and a little bit of minor league news is better than none at all. Thanks Todd! - I appreciated it!
About as disappointing as the Orioles optioning Wilkerson instead of releasing him.
If you are paying attention to the Orioles MILB teams thus far, you are seeing the development of a fair amount of players in the System.
One thing that is becoming clear to me is that Elias/Megdal et al have a very clear eye on how to choose talented young baseball players...flat out.
This Haskin kid seems like a future MLB player. He was taken AFTER Kjerstad and Westburg at #39 overall last year. Yes, we all know that Kjerstad hasn't been able to even swing a bat yet, but it is very reasonable to believe that he will get back on his feet and become an impact player in the Orioles System. In an average Orioles Draft before this Front Office, we would be lucky to have a player such as Haskin as the First Pick..
You mean like Grayson Rodriguez and DL Hall?
DLG
Yes that is exactly what I mean. Grayson and DL are premier prospects and I dearly hope that they can come through for this woebegone franchise.
I also have a lot of respect for Dan Duquette. However he was never allowed to be build a Scouting and Development system the way that Elias has been able to.
This clearly showed up in the results of most of his drafts. Names like:
- Cody Sedlock
- Keegan Akin
- Matt Dietz
- DJ Stewart (that's right, I said it....)
- Pat Connaughton (ouch...)
- David Hess
- Hunter Harvey (totally wasted pick/was drafted as a SP and wussed-out because he is a candy-ass)
- Joshua Hand
- Chance Cisco
- Steven Tarpley, etc etc, etc.
Totally outshined by his competitors in the AL East and the rest of MLB...
I blame most of this on the Owner much more than DD.
Lastly, the Orioles have the #5 slot in this upcoming Draft and will likely be picking between 1-3 in next June's Draft (which has a lot more talent than this year's Draft). Plus two more International Signing Periods from Koby Perez and Elias.
The future is much much brighter than it feels at the present time.
All the best Brother.
Have a great day everyone.
Hess? LOL!!!!!!!!
Good take BC. I couldn't have said it better
I would say the jury is still out on clear eyes, something always seems to happen
Keep the faith
Mike, I appreciate your comment, but I think you’re referring to Josh Hart, an outfielder rather than “Joshua Hand.”
Indeed you are correct on that mis-typed Name Rich.
My excuse I will use this morning is that I am getting old....that's the story I'm sticking to.
Thanks Rich. Your http://www.Baltimorebaseball.com site has become the most informative, welcoming and quite interesting column on this most interesting and complicated Baseball Franchise..
Enjoy the day....another ambush awaiting these Oriole guys starting tonight in Houston Texas...
Him too…
I hope we're all ready for the pick to be the 9th/10th best player with that #5. Slot money issue. International draft is where it's at. That Elias has as an advantage over a handicapped Duquette.
Disappointing if they do, but wouldn’t be the least bit surprised...go O’s...
the bright spots in the minors are refreshing to hear about. the problem is not many are that bright, after being fine tuned and nurtured in the minors for 3 to 5 years. they fall flat on their face when they hit the majors. why not try THE NFL way , draft them and play them right away. the ones that are good will learn and thrive , others will improve at a slower pace, and others won't make the grade , most decided in a 3 year time period , it's called on the job training in the real pro world, not the fantasy minors.
You're a Ravens fan aren't you?
Enjoying this repartee…
From the photo, he seems on the thin side. Anyone know if the O's still implement a strength and weight program that Brady started awhile back.
With attendance down so much and of course with the O’s record being what it is, and probably what it will be in September, I think they’d be wise to call up AR and GR at the same time in September and even announce a home date that they’ll be the starting battery. I bet you’d see a sellout that day.
No way we see Rodriguez this year. Adley should have been here at the start of this year. I suspect we may not see him at all either.
BRR, I agree completely there’s zero chance of that happening, which is my fault for not making it clear in that message. No, I was just saying that that would, for one game at least, pack OPACY like back in the good old days.
Mr.Gruber .... we may never see another sellout in a regular season game again. I think only a strong and deep showing in the playoffs/Series will bring that about again. Mr. Angelos and the Nats combined may ultimately prove to have been a death knell of this franchise.With the economics and condition of the city and the loss of the DC market, I'm not sure if Balitmore is truly a major league town anymore.
And yes, I was at the 2014 game and remember well the cacaphony of the crowd when Delmon doubled, so I do realize just how loved this team is. But guys like us are getting old, ya know?
Agree DL, would be the only way they sellout OPACY, that would be a marketing move for the brave...go O’s...
BRR, I’ve always said the loudest noise I’ve ever heard at a sporting event was when Toni Linhart kicked game winning field goal in O/T to beat Dolphins in 1975. My cousin was at that game and the Delmon game vs Detroit and said he thought OPACY was louder that day.
It was certainly the loudest outdoor event I've ever been to. I had 10 games packages for GTown Hoyas from 83-88. Some of those games were louder, but you had to consider there was a roof holding it all in.
Dlgruber was that linhart kick in the fog that got us into the playoffs Didn’t we win like five or six in a row to get in
Yes! They began the season 1-4 and reeled off 9 straight wins to win the division. And yes, it was in the fog but fortunately for me he was kicking it into the enclosed end zone which my seats were near enough that I could see it. My brother and I had seats beside each other and were standing on our seats screaming to each other and we couldn’t hear each other. The stadium was shaking.
Thanks Todd, another great down on the farm article, keepem coming...go O’s...
Ethelman, really??? Couldn't find anyone better? Ouch!
Send Haskin (and anyone else that can hit) to Aberdeen. The last few rounds of call ups have decimated the bats. Also, in a small sample size Henderson isn’t hitting.