6 former St. Louis Cardinals prospects who have fallen from grace

Dakota Hudson

Another pitching prospect who the Cardinals had high hopes for, Dakota Hudson was ranked as the Cardinals' 4th best prospect in 2019, but even his scouting grade back then seemed to forecast some of his struggles.

"Hudson doesn't fit into a neat box as a starter because he's a power pitcher with below-average control who doesn't miss a lot of bats, but he generates a ton of ground balls... But unless his control and command both improve, Hudson seems best suited for the type of high-leverage situations that he proved capable of handling in 2018."

- MLB.com

During the 2019 season, Hudson went 16-7 with a 3.35 ERA in 174.2 innings of work, but the underlying numbers were extremely concerning. He led all of baseball with 86 walks, had a 1.41WHIP, and an ugly 4.93 FIP.

After missing the majority of the 2021 season with Tommy John surgery Hudson's underlying numbers finally bit him in 2022, with a 4.45 ERA and eventually being sent down to Triple-A Memphis.

Hudson could still be a find back of the rotation starter if he can get his control figured out a bit, or could be a great groundball enducer out of someone's bullepn. For now, he's a depth arm for St. Louis, but likely won't get a legitimate shot to start with the Cardinals again.