St. Louis Cardinals Player Projections: Dakota Hudson

The St. Louis Cardinals 2018 Minor League Pitcher of the Year showed some great traits last season, and all signs are pointing towards a solid 2019 for Dakota Hudson.

Many people expected to see Dakota Hudson for the first time as a starter, but that wasn’t the case with the way the St. Louis Cardinals were built in 2018. Hudson spent his first moments as a major leaguer in the bullpen, and he performed admirably.

He managed to finish with a solid 2.63 ERA over 27.1 innings, and didn’t give up a single homer during that period. He had trouble with his control translating into a scary 5.9 BB/9, but it didn’t result in him giving up runs

With that walk rate, Hudson is in for a bit of regression in terms of ERA, but I also expect some improvement from him in that, among other areas. Here is what ZiPS is projecting for Hudson’s 2019.

For me, the first interesting thing to note is the way that the games are laid out. Much like Austin Gomber, Hudson is slated to take on a reliever/spot starter hybrid role for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2019. The team’s pitching staff is flexible and Hudson is slated to develop as a starter, so it makes sense in many facets.

The numbers regression seems to be a bit high, especially considering that the projections keep his home run rate pretty low and have him decrease his walk rate down to 3.8. He is projected to give up a bunch of hits, but both the ERA and the FIP seem pretty high considering Hudson’s build and performance last season.

I think Hudson is going to take one of the biggest leaps forward in 2019 because of his solid arsenal and ability to limit the long ball. On top of that, the defense will be much improved with the addition of Paul Goldschmidt and Harrison Bader playing a full season.

That will help a guy who keeps home runs down like Hudson tremendously. Despite having some of the best defensive players in the league last season, the holes in the defense made it somewhat ineffective as a whole.

There is still stuff to worry about, like the noodle arms at third and in left or the overall question mark in right field, but the defense should be improved as a whole from last year. This should enable Hudson to take a big step forward in 2019 as one of the most important pitchers on this year’s team.

My Projection: 148 IP, 10-9, 3.51 ERA, 96 K, 73 BB, 136 H, 1.5 WAR

Dakota Hudson already has many of the tools needed to be successful in this league, and he should be able to continue to build on it. At just 24 years old, Hudson is ready to take the next step for the St. Louis Cardinals and establish himself as a solid pitcher in the major leagues.