Dakota Hudson

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked St. Louis Cardinals #3 prospect in 2019
  Track Record: With each passing year, Hudson adds another accolade. In 2016, he won a Southeastern Conference championship as Mississippi State's ace and was drafted 34th overall. In 2017, he won the Texas League's pitcher of the year award. In 2018, he was named the Pacific Coast League pitcher of the year. Hudson earned his first big league callup last season, joining the Cardinals in July and emerging as their primary seventh-inning reliever down the stretch.
  
  Scouting Report: The physical, 6-foot-5 Hudson is a groundball pitcher with a power arsenal both starting and in relief. With his biting, 94-97 mph sinker and sharp, 89-92 mph slider, Hudson allowed only one home run in 129 innings in 2018 and averaged more than two groundball outs for every air out. Both his sinker and slider are plus pitches, and he has an average, mid-80s changeup at his disposal against lefties. Hudson draws weak contact but doesn't consistently attack the zone, resulting in a high walk rate (3.3 BB/9) and low strikeout rate (6.5 K/9) for his career. The Cardinals chalk it up to confidence and think it can be fixed, but outside evaluators question Hudson's "pie-thrower"arm action and see fringy command at best.
  
  The Future: Hudson has the durability, pedigree and stuff to start if he can improve his command. If not, he profiles well in late relief.
• 
  Ranked St. Louis Cardinals #7 prospect in 2018
  Hudson surprisingly fell to the Cardinals at 34th overall in 2016 after a dominant junior season at Mississippi State. He signed for an above-slot $2 million and showed his draft-day slide was not representative of his ability, excelling at Double-A and reaching Triple-A in his first full season. Hudson relies primarily on a fastball that sits at 94-95 mph and touches 97 and a plus short slider in the upper 80s. He previously worked mostly in and out with them but has made strides in 2017 at pitching vertically more effectively and changing eye levels at Double-A Springfield, where he was Texas League pitcher of the year. Hudson's curveball got progressively stronger throughout the season and began registering as an above-average to plus offering at 79-83 mph. He also mixes in an occasional changeup. While Hudson's stuff is quality, his fastball command is below-average, often elevating it too much, and as a result he doesn't miss many bats. His control is also inconsistent, especially on his secondary offerings. Hudson has the stuff of a mid-rotation starter, but his limited fastball command may spell a future in the bullpen, where he won't have to be too fine. He is slated to begin 2018 at Triple-A Memphis and is in position to make his big league debut during the year.
• 
  Ranked St. Louis Cardinals #9 prospect in 2017
  Few college arms had as much buoyancy as Hudson, who added 25 pounds through college and via the Cape Cod League (54 strikeouts in 56 2/3 innings) emerged as an intriguing, four-pitch power collegian. He threw in the upper-90s coming out of a Tennessee high school but had an uncomfortable relationship with control. Strength and experience brought command. He cut his walk rate in half as a junior and had a 9.2 strikeouts per nine rate. A balloon rising in teams' evaluations, Hudson went 34th overall to the Cardinals and became a rocket, finishing the year in the Double-A Texas League playoffs. Hudson has a fastball that rises to 96-97 mph and sits 94 mph. He offsets it with a biting 78-82 mph curveball and a slider that sizzles around 87 mph and is already the best of its ilk in the organization. An improved changeup will defy lefthanded hitters. One crosschecker called Hudson's arsenal the most-advanced blend of pitches in college this past year, and what brought it all together for was a simplification of his delivery that can be more repeatable. His velocity and feel faltered with career-high innings and stiffer SEC competition, but it snapped back as a pro. After a promotion to Double-A Springfield to get playoff experience, Hudson has the organization seeing its next quantum-leap college starter, following the jet streams of Michael Wacha, Marco Gonzales, and Luke Weaver.

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #14 prospect in 2016 draft
  Tall and raw-boned out of high school, Hudson has added 25 pounds over three seasons at Mississippi State. The 6-foot-5, 225-pounder found the range last summer in the Cape Cod League and has continued the momentum, for the most part, as a junior after pitching just 34 innings in his first two seasons for the Bulldogs. Hudson was contending to be the No. 2 college pitcher in the class, after Florida's A.J. Puk, thanks to a four-pitch mix that starts with a fastball that at its best sits 94 mph and ranges from 92-96 mph. His velocity and command have wavered a bit as he blew past his career high for innings. Hudson's hard curveball is plus on its best days in the 78-82 mph range, and he complements it with a an upper-80s cutter and solid-average changeup that help him combat lefthanded hitters better than in the past (.267 opponents average vs. .229 for righthanded hitters). Hudson's fastball command is below-par for the typical top-10 pick but his electric stuff could push him up into that range.
• Ranked #317 prospect in 2013 draft
  Hudson played in the same summer league program that produced Mike Minor as well as 1999 Padres supplemental first-round pick David Mead. Hudson has similarities to Mead as a tall, lanky righthander with raw arm strength. He's bigger and stronger with a 6-foot-5, 190-pound frame, and has real arm strength. He has touched 94 mph with his fastball and has projection remaining in his frame. Scouts aren't as high on his delivery, as it's tough to repeat and hurts his command. He generally pitched at 89-90 mph this year with an average curveball that flashes better. He missed a start with shoulder pain but came back and showed no ill effects. He's a Mississippi State recruit who has been crosschecked but may yet wind up in school.

Minor League Top Prospects

• 
  Ranked Pacific Coast League #13 prospect in 2018
  Hudson finished tied to the PCL lead with 13 wins despite getting called up to St. Louis on July 28 and was on track for the ERA title (2.50) as well. He won the league’s pitcher of the year award despite spending final six weeks of the minor league season in the Cardinals bullpen. Hudson was exceptionally durable in the PCL, pitching into the sixth inning in 15 of his 19 starts. He attacked opponents with 94-97 mph fastballs and finished them with a hard, upper 80s slider that could creep into the low 90s. His didn’t miss an overwhelming amount of bats because of inconsistent command, but he was tough to square up and drew lots of weak contact. “He’s a dominant guy,” New Orleans manager Arnie Beyeler said. “He’s not afraid of contact, he works ahead in counts, finishes hitters and he’s got stuff. Durable-looking guy. He just kept winning, and it’s not surprising with what he brings to the table.” Hudson’s below-average command showed up with more walks than strikeouts in the majors. He’ll have to fix that to start long-term, but he has the stuff and pedigree for the rotation.
• 
  Ranked Texas League #10 prospect in 2017
  While Flaherty was the pitcher with the highest ceiling to come through Springfield this season, Hudson's consistency and extreme groundball rate could make him a future mid-rotation starter. Hudson excels at moving his pitches around the strike zone to draw weak contact and navigate a lineup. He topped the TL with a 2.53 ERA by working off a 93-96 mph fastball and plus curveball that took a step forward this year. He occasionally mixes in a below-average changeup and hard cutter/slider. Hudson improved his control by cutting his walk rate to 2.7 per nine innings, but he didn't miss many bats as the Cardinals emphasized learning how to pitch both horizontally and vertically to improve his command and generate early-count outs.

Top 100 Rankings

• Ranked Baseball America's #74 prospect in 2019

• July, 2018 Scouting Report
  Hudson has carved through Triple-A in his second full season, using his 94-95 mph and swing-and-miss slider to go 12-2, 2.42 and earn a Futures Game selection. Hudson’s scattered fastball command limits his ability to get strikeouts, but he keeps the ball on the ground, minimizes damage (one home run allowed all year) and rises up in big spots (.183 opponent average with runners in scoring position). If another injury hits the Cardinals rotation, Hudson is in position for his first callup.
• December, 2016 Scouting Report
  Background: Few college arms had as much buoyancy as Hudson, who added 25 pounds through college and via the Cape Cod League (54 strikeouts in 56 2/3 innings) emerged as an intriguing, four-pitch power collegian. He threw in the upper-90s coming out of a Tennessee high school but had an uncomfortable relationship with control. Strength and experience brought command. He cut his walk rate in half as a junior and had a 9.2 strikeouts per nine rate. A balloon rising in teams' evaluations, Hudson went 34th overall to the Cardinals and became a rocket, finishing the year in the Double-A Texas League playoffs. Scouting Report: Hudson has a fastball that rises to 96-97 mph and sits 94 mph. He offsets it with a biting 78-82 mph curveball and a slider that sizzles around 87 mph and is already the best of its ilk in the organization. An improved changeup will defy lefthanded hitters. One crosschecker called Hudson's arsenal the most-advanced blend of pitches in college this past year, and what brought it all together for was a simplification of his delivery that can be more repeatable. His velocity and feel faltered with career-high innings and stiffer SEC competition, but it snapped back as a pro.
  
  The Future: After a promotion to Double-A Springfield to get playoff experience, Hudson has the organization seeing its next quantum-leap college starter, following the jet streams of Michael Wacha, Marco Gonzales, and Luke Weaver.