Colligan is an athletic centerfielder that has started on an absolute tear against Pioneer League pitching. Entering the 4th, Colligan is hitting .400 with 7 extra base hits in just 10 games.

Kyle, a four year contributor at Texas A&M, had success each year of his college career, not an easy feat in the Big 12. While rookie ball certainly has it’s fair share of players dominating because they are more experienced, Colligan is a player worth keeping an eye on because of his athleticism, speed and defense.

He was a first-team Big 12 outfielder his junior year and hit 39 HR and stole 41 bases over his last three seasons with the Aggies. He slipped to the 12th round because his senior year was a dropoff from his previous year-by-year improvement. Still, Colligan is a hard worker that plays good defense at a premium defensive position.

He has good on-base skills and speed, but doesn’t project to be a major stolen base threat as a pro. An early comparison that comes to mind is a Ricardo Nanita type, but maybe with more pop in his bat and a better defender. Nanita also lit up the Pioneer League back in 2003, but his career quickly stalled and is currently floundering in AA. At 22 years old, Colligan will have to move through the system quickly and the Sox tend to push older college players like him anyway.

He was a leadoff hitter for the Aggies, but has been used in the middle of the Voyagers’ lineup, which says something about how much power he possesses. He doesn’t project to have massive power, but he is a strong hitter that could have above average power for a centerfielder. The encouraging thing about Colligan is that his power seems to have translated with wood bats so far.

Colligan was one of quite a few athletic outfielders taken by the Sox in the 2009 draft. 1st rounder Jared Mitchell, 2nd rounder Trayce Thompson and 17th rounder Brian Goodwin are spectacular athletes that show that Kenny Williams doesn’t want to have a slow team that lacks a leadoff hitter anytime in the near future. Colligan doesn’t have the upside of the others mentioned and shouldn’t be on any top prospects list currently, but he has some potential and for a 12th round pick he could end up being a good value.