The Cardinal Nation June Pitcher of the Month

photo: Dakota Hudson (Memphis Redbirds)

Listen, I’d love to spin some words and generate suspense over the identity of the best pitcher in the St. Louis Cardinals system during the month of June, but chances are I would lose my audience before ever reaching the punch line.

The reason is simple. You probably already know the answer.

Dakota Hudson (Steve Mitchell/USA TODAY Sports)

Most readers, however, care far less about Dakota Hudson’s recent success with the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds than they do about wanting to know when the right-hander is going to come to the rescue for St. Louis.

I am sorry, but I do not know how that is going to play out.

I do know, however, that the organization’s stance of holding Hudson back until 2019 to save a roster spot is not going down well with many in the fan base – a group that has seen their club go two months without winning consecutive series, yet somehow remain in the Wild Card race.

They’d like to see Hudson’s arrival to help bolster a rotation that while still a team strength, has been showing increasing signs of weakness. While the starters’ season mark is 3.46, third-best in the National League, June was not nearly as kind to the group. In fact, last month, at 4.38, the starters were almost a full run higher than their season average. For the year to date, a 4.38 ERA would rank a mediocre 12th among rotations in the 15-team National League. Both Luke Weaver and Carlos Martinez ended the month at 6.75, over six and five starts, respectively.

Given all this, it is increasingly difficult to understand why Hudson, The Cardinal Nation’s fourth-ranked prospect, would not immediately be one of the 13 best pitchers on the St. Louis roster – in any role. But that is a different discussion for a different forum.

I can tell you this. Hudson, 23, dominated Pacific Coast League hitters in June. The sinkerball specialist held batters to a collective .222 average and meager .539 OPS on the way to a Cardinals system-best 1.06 ERA. Hudson yielded 28 hits, fanned 23 and issued 11 free passes in 34 innings. Not surprisingly, he won all five starts, including three on the road.

The fans of the PCL recognized this, voting Hudson onto the league’s All-Star Game roster. He was then selected to start the contest, to be held against the International League All-Stars on July 11.

The only pressing question remains if Hudson, The Cardinal Nation’s June Pitcher of the Month, will still be a member of the Memphis Redbirds by that time.


Update

Late Monday afternoon, the Cardinals organization announced that Hudson is their June Pitcher of the Month, as well.


The process

OK, I at least did look at the data before giving Hudson his award.

Among organizational pitchers, 21 tossed at least 20 innings last month. Only eight logged an ERA under 4.00, however, in a bit of an unpleasant surprise. Just five came in under 3.00 and the only two with a June ERA under 2.00 are Hudson and a new name to watch, Dominican Summer League Blue’s Julio Puello.

Julio Puello

Puello only signed with the Cardinals in late April. Standing 6-foot-4 and weighing 185 pounds, the Dominican Republic native breezed through DSL opponents, holding them to a collective .171 batting average on the way to a 1.25 ERA. The right-hander struck out just over a batter per inning, with the only blemish a walk rate of 3.7 per nine. All told, it was an impressive first month of professional pitching for the 19-year old.

Peoria’s Alex Fagalde logged a nifty 2.08 ERA in June, also fanned better than nine per nine, was stingy with the free passes, but was stung by three long balls. His former teammate Jake Walsh, now with Palm Beach, handled the move to high-A well. with a 2.25 ERA in his first full month at the higher level.

Two other Chiefs made the list. On June 7th, Paul Balestrieri spun the only no-hitter in the system to date in 2018. In an encouraging sign, Cuban prospect Johan Oviedo had his best month with a 3.28 ERA and better than a strikeout per inning. His walk rate of 5.5 per nine is still far too high, however.

Pitcher Tm IP R H ER HR BB SO ERA AVG SLG OPS WHIP W L
Dakota Hudson MEM 34 4 28 4 0 11 23 1.06 0.222 0.254 0.539 1.15 5 0
Julio Puello DSLB 21.2 6 13 3 0 9 22 1.25 0.171 0.211 0.491 1.02 2 0
Alex Fagalde PEO 30.1 7 27 7 3 4 31 2.08 0.241 0.339 0.625 1.02 3 1
Jake Walsh PB 24 7 20 6 0 7 19 2.25 0.227 0.330 0.614 1.13 2 0
Paul Balestrieri PEO 29 8 20 8 1 9 14 2.48 0.198 0.287 0.572 1.00 3 1
Johan Oviedo PEO 24.2 11 22 9 0 15 27 3.28 0.232 0.274 0.619 1.50 2 2
Connor Jones SPR 34.1 18 30 14 4 12 24 3.67 0.233 0.349 0.661 1.22 1 1
Chris Ellis MEM 20.1 12 19 9 1 5 13 3.98 0.253 0.387 0.695 1.18 0 0

Remembering relievers

Of note among relief pitchers was Springfield Yeison Medina, who did not yield an earned run in 10 2/3 June innings. Palm Beach’s Jacob Patterson struck out 18 and walked just four in 14 1/3 innings to go with an ERA of 0.63. DSL Blue hurler Freddy Pacheco, with a 0.66 ERA in eight relief appearances, was also a strong contributor in his first full month as a professional.


Last month’s winner

I always look at how the prior Pitcher of the Month performed following his big month. Our May selection, and that of the Cardinals organization, was left-hander Austin Warner. The former independent league pitcher then earned a promotion from Palm Beach to Springfield on June 23rd.

Not surprisingly, perhaps, Warner had a rough Double-A introduction, charged with six runs in six innings (9.00 ERA). However, only two of his four prior June starts with Palm Beach were of a quality type, with his ERA for his final partial month with the Beach Birds a disappointing 4.56.


What is next

Derek Shore will be back on Monday with the announcement of The Cardinal Nation’s June Player of the Month. I am pretty sure not as many will be able to guess the winner. Also, next week, the Cardinals organization will name their top player and pitcher during June.


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Brian Walton can be reached via email at brian@thecardinalnation.com. Follow Brian on Twitter.

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