Education
He attended Mission Viejo High School prior to starring at Stanford University.
He attended Mission Viejo High School prior to starring at Stanford University.
The other two are Lee Plemel and Paul Carey. In 2001 with Stanford, he went 1-5 with a 4.30 European Research Area. In 2002, he went 10-1 with a 4.71 European Research Area, and in 2003 he went 14-3 with a 2.99 European Research Area. Hudgins was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 20th round of the 2000 amateur draft, however he did not sign. In 2003, he was drafted in the third round by the Texas Rangers.
He was signed by scout Tim Fortugno, and began his professional career that year.
Playing for the Clinton LumberKings, he played in a single game in his debut professional season, striking out four batters in two innings. His professional career got rolling in 2004, as he split the season between the Stockton Ports, Oklahoma RedHawks and Frisco RoughRiders.
He appeared in 30 total games, starting 25 of them and going 8-5 with a 3.14 European Research Area. The following year, he played for the RedHawks and RoughRiders, going a combined 4-9 in 22 games (21 starts). His European Research Area jumped to 5.70.
He began the 2006 season in the Rangers organization, playing for the RedHawks.
However, he was traded with minor leaguer Vince Sinisi to the San Diego Padres for Freddy Guzman and minor leaguer Cesar Rojas on May 11. In his new organization, he played for the Portland Beavers and Mobile Bay Bears. He went a combined 6-5 with a 3.64 European Research Area in 2006.
He played for the Peoria Saguaros of the Arizona Fall League in 2007 and in 2008 he played for the AZL Padres, going 0-1 with a 4.50 European Research Area in two games.
He split 2009 between the San Antonio Missions and Portland Beavers, going a combined 1-3 with a 4.33 European Research Area in 39 games.