St. Louis Cardinals: Dakota Hudson recognized for year with Memphis

The St. Louis Cardinals have been utilizing Dakota Hudson out of the bullpen, a chance that he has certainly earned.

Getting the call up to the St. Louis Cardinals is one that Dakota Hudson deserves as much as anyone. Due to his excellent play, the righty has been singled out by Jonathan Mayo as having the best season in the organization.

Since joining the Cardinals, Hudson has a sub three ERA in 17 appearances out of the bullpen. He has shown the stuff to start games in the future, with all the excitement that a top pitching prospect should bring.

Minors 2018

As a former first round pick, we knew that good things were coming for Hudson. Now, they are happening. Mayo uses Hudson’s 2.50 ERA and a 1.88 GO/AO ratio as the impressive stats of his year with Memphis.

Other numbers jump off of the page too. This year’s mark of 7.01 has been Hudson’s best K/9 since pitching only nine innings for Palm Beach in his debut season. There are a ton of positives to take from the 2018 campaign.

Translating To The Show

The Memphis walk rate was a little high, averaging just over three per nine innings. That is translating to the early parts of his career with the St. Louis Cardinals, as well. He has walked 12 batters in 17 innings, and struck out 11. That kind of walk rate is why this bullpen role is crucial for his success in the future rotation.

Hudson’s success comes with the contact he creates. His pitches breed grounders, which he has created at nearly a 70 percent clip in the MLB. That is inflated from his minors career, but not by all that much.

The St. Louis Cardinals have a potentially great pitcher on their hands. Even Mayo thinks so after his huge season with the Memphis Redbirds. His 13 wins at the Triple A level have been instrumental in being division champions in the GCL.

I’ve been high on Hudson since he was drafted in 2016 and his quick ascent says a lot about his ability. The walks are worth a concern, but he will settle in to be able to find success against the top level hitters. His walk numbers will be okay in the bullpen role, which is the genius in how he is being handled.

The future rotation can have Hudson as the ace. This is just our first taste of him, and if him being recognized by MLB’s prospect writers, it says even more about him. As always, we should be excited about Dakota Hudson.