2012 Phil Hughes Performance Thread

[unfamous loser]

Hughes hasn't even been given a rotation spot yet... he's got bigger fish to fry than worrying about losing it in May or whenever Pettitte may be ready.

[YESSIR!]

It's hard for me to feel bad for Phil about this situation he's in.

Why do you say so?

I don't know that I feel bad for him right now, but if Hughes looks great going into the season yet is forced to the bullpen I know I won't be happy about it.

[Yankee Tripper]

Why do you say so?

I don't know that I feel bad for him right now, but if Hughes looks great going into the season yet is forced to the bullpen I know I won't be happy about it.

That's a lot of IFs. First he has to look great. Then he needs to be forced out of the rotaion while looking great.

Honestly I hope that all 5 starters are pitching so good the Yanks don't know what to do when Pettitte is ready but from past experience these things have a way of sorting themselves out.

[YESSIR!]

That's a lot of IFs. First he has to look great. Then he needs to be forced out of the rotaion while looking great.

Honestly I hope that all 5 starters are pitching so good the Yanks don't know what to do when Pettitte is ready but from past experience these things have a way of sorting themselves out.

Not really, it was...1 if. And he has a headstart on looking great. I hope the same thing as you, but I have a hard time seeing the Yanks not shoe-horning Andy back into the rotation regardless of how well the current 5 are throwing the ball at the time. They didn't sign the guy to ride buses and accrue innings for the Empire State Yankees.

[Yankee Fan in Boston]

Not really, it was...1 if. And he has a headstart on looking great. I hope the same thing as you, but I have a hard time seeing the Yanks not shoe-horning Andy back into the rotation regardless of how well the current 5 are throwing the ball at the time. They didn't sign the guy to ride buses and accrue innings for the Empire State Yankees.

Hughes has looked great in the first few weeks of ST -- he needs to show he can do it in the regular season. And Pettitte (and the rest of the rotation) has to stay healthy and pitch well. There's a decent chance this doesn't even become an issue.

[YESSIR!]

Hughes has looked great in the first few weeks of ST -- he needs to show he can do it in the regular season. And Pettitte (and the rest of the rotation) has to stay healthy and pitch well. There's a decent chance this doesn't even become an issue.

Sure, and there's also a decent chance it does become an issue. What do you think the Yankees should do if Hughes is throwing the ball extremely well and everyone is healthy?

[Jace]

Sure, and there's also a decent chance it does become an issue. What do you think the Yankees should do if Hughes is throwing the ball extremely well and everyone is healthy?

1st world problem

[Yankee Fan in Boston]

Sure, and there's also a decent chance it does become an issue. What do you think the Yankees should do if Hughes is throwing the ball extremely well and everyone is healthy?

1st world problem

For the record, if Hughes is pitching very well, I wouldn't take him out of the rotation. But there's a long way to go till that point.

I agree with Jace -- if this is the biggest problem the Yankees have, it's a great year.

[yarosh25]

For the record, if Hughes is pitching very well, I wouldn't take him out of the rotation. But there's a long way to go till that point.

I agree with Jace -- if this is the biggest problem the Yankees have, it's a great year.

If everybody in rotation is pitching well, it's an easy decision. Andy doesn't crack a rotation. If guy deserves it, he stays. Great insurance though. Consider this: John Lannan makes 5 mil a year. Pettite>Lannan. And that is one of many examples.

[freebubba]

Surprised no one has mentioned this, but if everyone is healthy and pitching great come May 1 and the Yanks are happy with Andy's stuff, you still have Garcia (assuming he hasn't been dealt at that point), what are the chances one of Hughes/Nova gets traded? Obviously, Cash asks for the moon, but if Betances and Buenols are also looking strong at AAA, I think it's a strong possibility. Now that's a hell of a lot of if's, but....

[freebubba]

If everybody in rotation is pitching well, it's an easy decision. Andy doesn't crack a rotation. If guy deserves it, he stays. Great insurance though. Consider this: John Lannan makes 5 mil a year. Pettite>Lannan. And that is one of many examples.

I think that discussion has already taken place. If Andy is healthy and ready, he get's a rotation spot. Period.

[Yankees1962]

Surprised no one has mentioned this, but if everyone is healthy and pitching great come May 1 and the Yanks are happy with Andy's stuff, you still have Garcia (assuming he hasn't been dealt at that point), what are the chances one of Hughes/Nova gets traded? Obviously, Cash asks for the moon, but if Betances and Buenols are also looking strong at AAA, I think it's a strong possibility. Now that's a hell of a lot of if's, but....

Cashman will demote somebody to AAA before trading Hughes or Nova if he doesn't get back the value he thinks he should for them. Furthermore, next year, I don't think Cashman wants to break in two rookie starting pitchers so Nova and Hughes will become even more valuable next year if Kuroda and Pettitte don't come back in 2013, so he might not deal either one of them this season.

[freebubba]

Cashman will demote somebody to AAA before trading Hughes or Nova if he doesn't get back the value he thinks he should for them. Furthermore, next year, I don't think Cashman wants to break in two rookie starting pitchers so Nova and Hughes will become even more valuable next year if Kuroda and Pettitte don't come back in 2013, so he might not deal either one of them this season.

Good points, and Cash would certainly be in the drivers seat in negotiations. I would want a couple of high quality P prospects and either a major league ready 5 tool OF'er or a young, cost controlled OF'er with some MLB experience.

[awy]

the major value of prospects is in the cost control'd years. hughes doesn't have that much value

[Yankee Tripper]

while spring doesn't mean much, fairly big start for Hughes in his quest for the rotaion as with the exeption of Upton, looks like Tampa has most of it's A lineup to start the game today.

On another note, gotta love spring where Kyle farnsworth draws a start. I understand getting a closer work agianst the A lineup but still mildly amuzing to see it in the box score.

[YankeeStripes]

Hughes is throwing 89 today.

[NelsonMuntz]

Hughes is throwing 89 today.

No he isn't. His fastball is sitting 92 - 94 but he's throwing a lot of changeups (and I believe some cutters).

[just-blaze]

Threw a changeup in a 3-2 count to get a swinging K on Luke Scott.

He has looked real good.

[Yankee Tripper]

No he isn't. His fastball is sitting 92 - 94 but he's throwing a lot of changeups.

how does his changeup look? I've just got game day so other than the box score can't tell how well he is pitching

[NelsonMuntz]

how does his changeup look? I've just got game day so other than the box score can't tell how well he is pitching

Kind of a mixed bag. First few didn't look too great (nor did they get swings) but the last few have looked better.

[jcarey]

Cashman will demote somebody to AAA before trading Hughes or Nova if he doesn't get back the value he thinks he should for them. Furthermore, next year, I don't think Cashman wants to break in two rookie starting pitchers so Nova and Hughes will become even more valuable next year if Kuroda and Pettitte don't come back in 2013, so he might not deal either one of them this season.

If Pineda is the goods and Nova continues to make strides, I have no problem trading Hughes for a cheap and suitable replacement for Swisher (although I wouldn't expect close to the same production) or Martin, if that money could be used for Hamels. That's if Hughes settles in as a mid-rotation kind of guy and we can get good value for him in return. I think that type of pitcher holds more value for other teams than it would the Yankees.

Of course, if he emerges as a frontline starter, I'd just hang on to him and fill the 5th rotation spot with anyone not making more than $1 million.

I know I sound a bit like a former poster with the "front-of-the-rotation, back-end starter" stuff, but I only mean it as a crude proxy for skill level.

[ieddyi]

I think this was the best I've seen Phil for a while

The curve looked very good, he kept the pitch count low as he was able to finish batters off. Even a couple of good changes, good velocity

If this is the level our fifth starter pitches at, we're in good shape

[YESSIR!]

I think this was the best I've seen Phil for a while

The curve looked very good, he kept the pitch count low as he was able to finish batters off. Even a couple of good changes, good velocity

If this is the level our fifth starter pitches at, we're in good shape

Agreed, I thought Hughes looked really good. Tons of first pitch strikes with an assortment of pitches. Loved seeing all those curveballs dropped in for strike-1. He even got a few swings and misses on the changeup (including a strikeout). Mixed the cutter well, too.

Matt Joyce is like Phil's personal tormentor. Dude kills him.

[snapple]

I'll just say I'm not a big Hughes fan. He looked good, which I hated. It's nothing against him personally, I just don't believe he's a starter.

[NelsonMuntz]

Here is Jennings' write up on Hughes' performance from yesterday: http://yankees.lhblogs.com/2012/03/2...-step-forward/

Phil Hughes isn’t breaking new ground when he talks about keeping it simple. He talks about not thinking too much about the big picture, controling the things he can control, and taking everything one step at a time. It’s cliche, but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong.
So what was today’s step?


“Probably the changeup,” he said. “I really hadn’t gotten a chance to throw as many changeups as I want. It seems like a lot of quick swings this spring so far, and you don’t necessarily get to have those drawn-out counts. I seemed to have a few of those today where I could really incorporate my changeup. I threw some 3-2 changeups and things like that. If I really think about the one thing that I really took a step forward with today, it was probably the changeup.”


Hughes went to his changeup for two of his three strikeouts, including his strikeout of Matt Joyce two innings after Joyce had homered on a first-pitch cutter. Hughes guessed that he went to the changeup 15 times today.


“It was very good,” Russell Martin said. “He wasn’t as consistent early on with it, but as the game went along it was getting better and better. He got in some crucial situations and he made some good pitches. … I think he’s just getting confidence the more he throws it.”


We could all go back several years to read several articles about the development of Hughes’ changeup, and we could look at any number of Michael Pineda stories written this spring to read about the importance of that pitch for a starting pitcher. Ultimately, for Hughes, the development of the changeup isn’t anything new, it’s just the latest in a series of steps this spring.


“It seems like (last spring) was so long ago, to think back on how I was feeling,” he said. “I know that (the ball’s) coming out better than it was. For me that’s kind of one building block of what I need to do. The changeup needs to come along and the cutter and everything else, but physically I feel better.”