Monarchs Bring Big Leaguer to Kansas City
Kansas City, KS — Former Major League pitcher Dakota Hudson has signed with the Kansas City Monarchs for the 2026 season. Hudson previously pitched for the Saint Louis Cardinals in 2018 – 2022 and Colorado Rockies in 2024. Hudson spent last season with the Salt Lake City Bees, the Los Angeles Angels AAA affiliate. He posted an 8-7 record with the Bees recording 89 strikeouts over 136 innings. He appeared in 28 games – 24 starts.
“We are very excited to announce former big league starter Dakota Hudson has agreed to join the Monarchs in 2026” said Manager Joe Calfapietra. “Dakota brings leadership on and off the field to the ballclub and obviously has a significant Major League pedigree that is very valuable to the pitching staff.”
Hudson was drafted in the first round of the Major League Draft by the Saint Louis Cardinals in 2016 – the 34th selection. Hudson was previously drafted in 2013 out of Sequatchie County High School in the 36th round and attended Mississippi State University.
Hudson, his wife and four children live in Overland Park, Kansas said about making the Monarchs his next stop in his baseball career – “The Kansas City Monarchs are a great place for me to attain my goal of pitching back in the Major Leagues. I studied the numbers – Joe puts players first and works hard to help players reach their goals and get back to MLB. We are excited to be with the Monarchs.”
Hudson was the starting pitcher for the 2017 Texas League All Star Game and was named the Texas League Pitcher of the Year that same season. In 2018 while pitching for the AAA Memphis Redbirds he was named starting pitcher for the Pacific Coast League All Star Game and represented the Cardinals in the 2018 All Star Futures Game. Later in 2018 Hudson made his Major League debut on July 27, 2018 and spent the rest of the season with the Cardinals going 4-1 with a 2.63 earned run average in 27 1/3 innings of relief.
Named to the Cardinals starting rotation in 2019, Hudson pitched in 33 games – 32 starts with a 16-7 record and a 3.35 ERA striking out 136 over 175 innings. In 2020 the Dunlap, Tennessee native went 3-2 in 8 starts for Saint Louis and later underwent Tommy John Surgery. Hudson returned to the Cardinals in in 2021 recovering from the surgery pitching in 8 2/3 innings.
In 2022 he was 8-7 with a 4.45 earned run average while having the lowest strikeout:walk ratio in the big leagues. Hudson avoided salary arbitration in 2023 and signed a one-year contract with Saint Louis. He started in 12 games and pitched in 81 innings going 6-3 with a 4.98 ERA and became a free agent after the end of the season.
In 2024 Hudson started 18 games for the Rockies and pitched 89 innings. His record was 2-12 before being assigned to the AAA Albuquerque Isotopes on July 7 and returned to the Rockies big league roster on August 10, 2024.
The four-time league champion Monarchs will open their 2026 season on May 15 at Kane County with Opening Night at Legends Field being Tuesday May 19 at 6:35 p.m. versus the Chicago Dogs. To view the full schedule, fans can visit monarchsbaseball.com/schedule. Tickets for the 2026 season are on sale now.
About the Kansas City Monarchs:
The Kansas City Monarchs are a professional baseball team in the American Association, an MLB Partner League. 2026 will be their 23rd season at Legends Field in Kansas City, Kansas. In 2020, the team partnered with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and changed their name from the T-Bones to the Monarchs in honor of the legendary Negro League franchise that played from 1920 to 1965.
