Watch: Minor Leaguer Learns on the Mound He’s Going to the Majors

Dakota Hudson was mad he was being pulled early, until he realized what was happening.

Cardinals prospect Dakota Hudson was mad at Memphis Redbirds manager Stubby Clapp came out to pull him before he even allowed a run. But then he realized what was going on. 

Clapp did take the ball from Hudson, but he gave him another one. That ball had a message written on it—“This is your call.” Hudson realized he was going to the major leagues and gave Clapp a big hug. 

“He was trying to sell it the whole time, and it had me pretty fooled, to be honest,” Hudson told reporters in St. Louis.

You can see in the video that Hudson reads the message on the ball again as he walks off the field, almost as though he’s checking to make sure he read it correctly. 

Hudson zoomed through the minor leagues after being taken in the first round of the 2016 draft. He had a 2.50 ERA in 19 starts for Triple A Memphis this season and kept the momentum going when he got to the big leagues. He has thrown two scoreless innings as a reliever with three strikeouts in two appearances since getting the call.