Hudson Welcomes Rockies Opportunity

From the desk of Thomas Harding/MLB.com

MESA, Ariz. — The purple jersey and the Cactus League — where “I try to keep my hands moist, versus looking for a towel everywhere” in Florida Spring Training — are new to right-handed pitcher Dakota Hudson. But there was something familiar about his Rockies debut on Tuesday afternoon.

Hudson faced the Cubs, against whom he has made 10 regular-season appearances (3-0, 3.72 ERA) while with the Cardinals.

“Going across country just to face the same team over and over,” Hudson said with a chuckle. He teetered in the first inning — his lone frame in the Rockies’ 10-9 victory at Sloan Park — but kept it scoreless by striking out Jorge Alfaro looking.

Hudson went through his catalog of pitches, with the curveball working better than the sinker, cutter and slider. The lone hit off Hudson was a screamer to center from Christopher Morel over the head of center fielder Brenton Doyle. He walked two.

“A little bit of first-start jitters, but it was good to get out there and compete,” Hudson said. “There were a lof ot small misses early, so it’s just reining in those misses, getting in the zone a little bit quicker. I liked how my stuff was playing.

“What’s been good for me in my life BP, I didn’t really have it. I had been working mostly a slower slider and a cutter. Today it was more sinker and then the curveball. But do what you can, work through it early. With 100 pitches (in a normal start), I’d like to have seen where we ended up going with a few more curveballs than normal.”

After a lengthy comeback from Tommy John surgery on his right elbow in 2020, Hudson finished last season healthy for the first time since the operation. The Cardinals non-tendered him, and the Rockies moved in, signing him to a $1.5 million deal with incentives based on innings pitched that could double his salary.

“He probably was not as sharp as he’d like to be in his first outing, but overall I liked the movement to his pitches,” Rockies manager Bud said.

The Rockies have two rotation spots available and want Hudson competing with Ryan Feltner, Peter Lambert, Ty Blach and Noah Davis. After scouting Hudson last season the Rockies feel he can regain the form of 2019-20 when he went 19-9 with a 3.24 ERA in 41 games (40 of which were starts) across two seasons.

“It feels like baseball again,” Hudson said.