Hudson Wins Top Pitching Honor

Daniel Hudson's phenomenal run through the Chicago White Sox farm system in 2009 was rewarded Monday when the 2008 fifth-round draft pick won the MiLBY as the Overall Starting Pitcher of the Year. "I didn't have any inclination at all," Hudson told MLB.com. "I thought maybe I'd be in High-A all year. I'm really grateful they were so aggressive with me.

Thankfully, I put up pretty good numbers. My mind-set was to go out, do my best and give them a reason to promote me."

Hudson gave the White Sox plenty of reasons to promote him during his five-month trek through the Minor League system. The 22-year old Old Dominion product started the year with the Low A Kannapolis Intimidators. He would post a 1.23 ERA and a .190 batting average against in four starts before earning his first of four promotions in 2009. Hudson would eventually pitch his way to Birmingham after posting a 3.40 ERA in eight starts with High A Winston-Salem.

It was in Birmingham that Hudson really solidified his status as a top prospect in the White Sox organization. He went 7-0 with a 1.60 ERA in nine starts with the Barons, holding hitters to a .188 average against while striking out 63 batters in 56 1/3 innings. He finished his run through the Southern League by tossing 28-consecutive scoreless innings.

Hudson would only make five starts in Triple A, going 5-0 with a 3.00 ERA, before earning a September call-up to the big league roster.

Overall, Hudson finished with a 2.32 ERA that was ninth overall among full-season pitchers. His 166 strikeouts ranked him sixth and his .200 batting average-against was the second lowest in the Minors. He walked just 34 hitters all season, giving him a ridiculous 4.88 K/BB ratio.

"You don't hear these stories a lot," Hudson told MLB.com. "You hear position players or relievers [being promoted]. It's rare for a starting pitcher to jump like that. I figured I'd be in A ball all year just because it's so hard to get moved up. But it seemed like every time a rotation spot got open, they seemed to say, 'Let's test him some more.' I was able to answer those tests pretty well."