With the 34th pick in the 2016 Draft, the Cardinals have selected Dakota Hudson from Mississippi State University. Prior to the draft, ESPN had Hudson going ninth overall to the White Sox while Baseball America and MLB.com had him going at 15th and 16th respectively, so he slid significantly from his projection.
The cutter appears to be Hudson’s money pitch, with Law saying that it "looks like a major league out pitch" while Minor League Ball’s John Sickels calls it an "unfair cutter/slider hybrid in the high-80s." Sickels also noted that Hudson’s fastball sits at 93-95 MPH and can top out at 97, but there are some command issues.
In 16 games this season, the Mississippi State team captain started all 16 of those games. He recorded three complete games, with two of those being shutouts. Hudson logged 106.2 innings, while allowing 99 hits, 40 runs with 31 of those being earned, two home runs, and 34 walks. He recorded 109 strikeouts.
The Baseball America Top 100 Draft Prospects list had the 6’5" 215 lbs righty at 13 on their list, while MLB.com’s Prospect Watch list had him at 15.