Luke Hudson

The Royals picked Hudson up after he was cut by the Reds during spring training. He fixed a minor mechanical flaw and added a hard-diving sinker to his arsenal to get the Royals' hopes up for his future. Control continued to be a problem until a trip to Triple-A Omaha seemed to fix it. He joined the rotation in late July and went 5-2, making it through six innings in all but one start. If he can maintain his control, his big strikeout totals and sometimes unhittable pitching will take him far.

Hudson followed up a tough season with a shaky Arizona Fall League campaign. Until his command improves, his upside will never be realized. It's not too late, but at this point he's not close to being a rosterable fantasy player.

Hudson made a remarkable comeback last year after missing all of 2003 with a torn labrum. Even after his surgery, Hudson has one of the best fastballs in the organization. His problem right now is harnessing that fastball and getting a better command of the strike zone. Not only was his walk rate in the majors too high, but he often reached his pitch count limit by the fifth inning.

Another Reds prospect that went down with a shoulder injury, Hudson had surgery on a torn labrum in April. With a full recovery usually taking 18 months, you shouldn't be expect much from him in 2004. Before the injury, Hudson might have had the best fastball in the organization.

Hudson struck out 129 batters in 117 2/3 innings at Triple-A Louisville, and followed that performance by striking out 45 batters in 31 2/3 innings in the Arizona Fall League. The Reds have contemplated making him a closer if he doesn't win one of the spots in the starting rotation in spring training. The knock on Hudson is his control – he walked 71 batters combined in his Triple-A and AFL outings.