2012 Phil Hughes Performance Thread

[just-blaze]

No love for Hughes after tonight's performance?

Of course not, the majority of people here want him in the bullpen and even some of those people don't think he would survive there.


He's been the 2nd best pitcher in the rotation over the last 5 starts. Pettitte might change that but Hughes has proven that he should stick in the rotation for awhile.

[just-blaze]

Saw a graphic on YES postgame that in his last 4 starts he has a 2.88 ERA.

Saw it at a glimpse so the ERA could be wrong but it was definitely a sub 3 ERA.

His next start is against the Angels

Angels are second to last in runs but the hitters in that lineup historically do pretty well off of Phil.

Hopefully he continues to pitch well.

Iannetta is on the DL (he hit the 2 run foulball that rattled him) and I believe that Kendrick has cooled down so he SHOULD do well.

Then again, Albert just hit his 4th HR tonight and Trout has been killing it, so......it could be a tough game for him.

[NYCrusader]

Iannetta is on the DL (he hit the 2 run foulball that rattled him) and I believe that Kendrick has cooled down so he SHOULD do well.

Then again, Albert just hit his 4th HR tonight and Trout has been killing it, so......it could be a tough game for him.

Ianetta has only had that 1 official at bat against Phil Hughes that he did hit for a HR so he is actually not a big part of the sample size.

I checked the numbers before I made my post, all the hitters for their respective sample sizes hit him relatively well.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/batvsp.../3/phil-hughes

Including Kendrick.

We also have to take into account the added wrinkle of Mike Trout and the speed/power threat he is at the top of the order since he has been called up.

Hopefully Phil does pitch well though and continues to build off of his last 4-5 starts.

[89FoxBody]

He's still having trouble going deep into games but overall I'm very encouraged.

[35Knucklecurve]

Even though it's the Royals, I was very encouraged when I saw his line last night. These are still major league hitters and if you make mistakes, most of the time they will take advantage of it.

How do his mechanics look? When I saw him earlier and he was struggling, he looked like an entirely different pitcher.

[Yankees1962]

Even though it's the Royals, I was very encouraged when I saw his line last night. These are still major league hitters and if you make mistakes, most of the time they will take advantage of it.

How do his mechanics look? When I saw him earlier and he was struggling, he looked like an entirely different pitcher.

The Royals have some bats. Pitching is another story for them and the main reason why their record is bad.

[BRNXBMRS]

Even though it's the Royals, I was very encouraged when I saw his line last night. These are still major league hitters and if you make mistakes, most of the time they will take advantage of it.

How do his mechanics look? When I saw him earlier and he was struggling, he looked like an entirely different pitcher.

He looked great, the problem is he throws a ton of pitches by the time he gets to the 5th - 6th inn.

[JSG]

He looked great, the problem is he throws a ton of pitches by the time he gets to the 5th - 6th inn.

he's been pretty solid, picked it up the last 3 starts. my concern is that, when he misses, he delivers meatballs front and center belt high on a platter. the mistake to the #9 hitter was a grooved HR pitch (wound up only a double). his HR rate is a shocking 2.1 per 9 innings !! maybe it's pitch selection, maybe it's lack of concentration, dunno -- but it would be great if he could address/correct this.

[YESSIR!]

It's good to see Hughes bounce back of late...finally got the ol' ERA below 5! Maybe he'll sort of reverse what he did in 2010 and turn it on after a slow start instead of the other way around. His numbers since May 1st have been really solid:

5 GS, 31.1 IP, 28 H, 29 K, 7 BB, 1.12 WHP, 3.45 ERA

The main issue is the HR's (6), which are just killing him. He's obviously always going to give up a hefty amount being an extreme flyball pitcher, but a 2.1 HR/9 is just ridiculous. Hopefully that'll correct a bit and help to drag his ERA down some.

[Yankee Tripper]

He looked great, the problem is he throws a ton of pitches by the time he gets to the 5th - 6th inn.

Better than throwning a ton of picthing and leaving the game after 3 down 5-0. Glass half full and all that.

[effdamets]

Let's remember that Catfish Hunter used to give up a lotta homers.
If Phil can keep them as the 'solo' variety, it won't sting as much.

[BRNXBMRS]

he's been pretty solid, picked it up the last 3 starts. my concern is that, when he misses, he delivers meatballs front and center belt high on a platter. the mistake to the #9 hitter was a grooved HR pitch (wound up only a double). his HR rate is a shocking 2.1 per 9 innings !! maybe it's pitch selection, maybe it's lack of concentration, dunno -- but it would be great if he could address/correct this.

Just as Singleton he was throwing hard with movement but when you throw hard with no movement a MLB hitter will crush it. Hope he keeps up the nice string of starts.

[BRNXBMRS]

Better than throwning a ton of picthing and leaving the game after 3 down 5-0. Glass half full and all that.

No question.

[Bub]

Let's remember that Catfish Hunter used to give up a lotta homers.
If Phil can keep them as the 'solo' variety, it won't sting as much.

There have been others as well. A solid WHIP while giving up the homers is usually manageable. I like that we're seeing more changeups and less sliders, along with the aired-out fastball and sharp curve. Hopefully he can keep this up without getting a tired arm later on.

[effdamets]

There have been others as well. A solid WHIP while giving up the homers is usually manageable. I like that we're seeing more changeups and less sliders, along with the aired-out fastball and sharp curve. Hopefully he can keep this up without getting a tired arm later on.

Oh I LOVE the bump in velocity!

Let's face it, the only way to get these kids to throw the ball hard is to let them THROW THE BALL HARD!!!!
Enough of the "let's save something in the tank for the later innings" BS.... What a garbage philosophy for pitching!
Let the kids throw the damn ball for cryin out loud!

[BRNXBMRS]

Oh I LOVE the bump in velocity!

Let's face it, the only way to get these kids to throw the ball hard is to let them THROW THE BALL HARD!!!!
Enough of the "let's save something in the tank for the later innings" BS.... What a garbage philosophy for pitching!
Let the kids throw the damn ball for cryin out loud!

Is this Nolan Ryan?

[effdamets]

Is this Nolan Ryan?

Hey - what he does there in Texas has a little merrit.
If you baby the pitchers, they'll never grow up and be men.
But you can't abuse them either.
So there's a little bit of a line that needs to be drawn.

[dont_ya_know24]

such a noticeable difference in phil, and for the better. last night his fastball just looked like it had more pop, movement, and command. less of the cutter, more of the changeup- especially as an out-pitch later in the game- enabling his ability to switch up his approach within his starts. More confidence, composure, and consistency.
phil is starting to look like a pitcher.

[Mr.Muhozi]

Let's remember that Catfish Hunter used to give up a lotta homers.
If Phil can keep them as the 'solo' variety, it won't sting as much.

If Phil ends up like Catfish I'd be over the moon.

[foul ball]

Phil's pitching with a whole lot of determination, he's earning his way back.

[Yankeesfan811]

Regarding the cutter affecting his curveball, I remember once an interview with Andy Pettitte where he said something like once he started throwing all those cutters he lost the feel for his curve, and only after his surgery did he start with it again. So maybe Phil can now move forward without the cutter. He's still young.

He is only throwing the cutter to righties every once in a while. I think that's what he needs to do. His curveball is definitely back though. Generating a lot of swings and misses with it lately as opposed to barely any last season.

[THEBOSS84]

It's good to see Hughes bounce back of late...finally got the ol' ERA below 5! Maybe he'll sort of reverse what he did in 2010 and turn it on after a slow start instead of the other way around. His numbers since May 1st have been really solid:

5 GS, 31.1 IP, 28 H, 29 K, 7 BB, 1.12 WHP, 3.45 ERA

The main issue is the HR's (6), which are just killing him. He's obviously always going to give up a hefty amount being an extreme flyball pitcher, but a 2.1 HR/9 is just ridiculous. Hopefully that'll correct a bit and help to drag his ERA down some.

Yep - he's got a 4.22 xFIP compared to his 4.94 ERA.

[Yankeesfan924]

If Phil ends up like Catfish I'd be over the moon.

If Hughes ends up a Hall of Famer, you'd be happy?

[bomber999]

If Hughes ends up a Hall of Famer, you'd be happy?

At this point, if he ends up as a serviceable back-end starter, I'd be happy. If he continues to pitch well, if I'm the Yankees, I look to sell high and see if he could be packaged for a front-end starter like Hamels.

[Yankee Fan in Boston]

At this point, if he ends up as a serviceable back-end starter, I'd be happy. If he continues to pitch well, if I'm the Yankees, I look to sell high and see if he could be packaged for a front-end starter like Hamels.

I don't see why he'd have much trade value to a team like the Phillies. If they're trading Hamels, they're out of the race this year, meaning they'd be giving him up for one year of Hughes (before he hits FA). I'd think they'd want advanced prospects, or at least guys with much more time till FA