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I went over Daniel Hudson for a 2011 fantasy sleeper in my head, then, frequent commenter and occasional contributor, Simply Fred caught my mind’s eye and stole my thoughts like we were in some straight-to-cable, sci-fi movie.  I was wearing leather chaps, he was wearing a pith helmet.  Definitely weird stuff.  Anyway, before I could post this sleeper article, he sent me the following, “In three minor league seasons, Hudson had 310 1/3 IP with a 2.90 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 10.6 K/9.  On the D-Backs (ranked starters w/min 60 IP):

1st in the NL in ERA (1.69)
1st in the NL in WHIP (0.84)
1st in the NL in BAA (.183)
27th in the NL in K/9 (7.91)

The twenty-eighth ranked pitcher was Roy Halladay (7.86).  Hudson was fantastic at home (1.87 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, .195 BAA).  Hudson was untouchable on the road (1.49 ERA, 0.77 WHIP, .168 BAA).  He was fabulous against lefties (2.04 ERA, .85 WHIP, .174 BAA).  He was untouchable against righties (1.42 ERA, .83 WHIP, .190 BAA).”  And that’s Simply Fred stealing my thunder!  Actually, it’s not.  He just made my life easier.  So what can we expect of Daniel Hudson for 2011 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?

The sleeperitude seems pretty obvious for this one.  He reminds me a lot of Jonathan Sanchez going into the 2010 season.  I imagine Hudson will be drafted around 150th overall.  So there’s value, if he can repeat his success.  He could run into trouble with the gopher balls and his walks have been an issue in the past.  Last year, the walks were in control (literally!).  The Ks have always been a thing of beauty.  Assuming the luck he had last year goes out the window, Hudson’s a 3.50 ERA pitcher with great Ks.  Let’s say 12-9/3.50/1.18/190.  Which is a solid number two fantasy starter.  Which II, The Return of Which Mountain, makes Hudson a 2011 fantasy sleeper.