The Arizona Diamondbacks are one of the biggest surprises of the season. They are 8.5 games up on the defending champion San Francisco Giants thanks in great part to their pitching staff which has been anchored by rookie Josh Collmenter, Ian Kennedy, and perhaps most importantly, Daniel Hudson. Hudson is 16-9 in a league leading 30 starts, proving to be a reliable and reliably good option for Arizona. He’s sporting a 3.41 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. Most startlingly, Hudson is only 24 and this is his first full season in the pros.
The Dbacks acquired Hudson from the Chicago White Sox in 2010 in exchange for Edwin Jackson in a deal the Dbacks clearly won big time. Jackson is now a member of the Cardinals and White Sox are a mediocre second place team, one game over .500. Arizona is paying Hudson only $419,000 this season for what could turn out to be a 20 win campaign. This year, he’s thrown 203 innings, the first time in his career he’s topped 95.1, and has shown no signs of wearing down. According to baseball-reference.com, Hudson through age 23 is closest to Jarred Weaver at that point in his career. If that comparison holds, Arizona could be in possession of one of the top starters in the majors going forward. I can definitely see some really good Cy Young battles in the National League between Dan Hudson and Clayton Kershaw in a few years much the way Jeff Weaver, Justin Verlander, and CC Sabathia currently duke it out in the AL.
Watch out for Daniel Hudson. He’s a quiet talent that seems to be developing into one of the top pitchers in the league. I think that this postseason will be the coming out party for Hudson on the national stage. I’m looking forward to it.
-Max Frankel
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