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.