After a solid rehab outing in class A Staten Island, Phil Hughes took the next step toward returning to big leagues by pitching for the Trenton Thunder (the Yankees’ AA affiliate) today against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Blue Jays). While Hughes showed inconsistent velocity in his first outing, his overall performance was much stronger today.
Hughes threw 88 pitches across 6 1/3 strong innings, 61 for strikes. He allowed a run on three hits and one walk, while striking out 8 Fisher Cats. Most importantly, Hughes had good velocity throughout the game, sitting constantly between 92-94 (according to the dynamic duo of Mike Ashmore and Josh Norris, who provided great coverage of the game).
Phil’s strong performance today suggests that his return to the major league rotation is rapidly approaching. I am not sure about his use of his secondary offerings today, but the important sign is that Hughes was effective, had good velocity, and was able to sustain that velocity through 6+ innings. As a bonus, he was efficient with his pitches, something that has been a problem for him recently (though it’s of course easier to be efficient when you’re blowing away AA hitters).
I imagine Hughes will have at least one more rehab outing to allow him to get up to 100 pitches, and show that all his secondary offerings are ready to go. That will likely take place in AAA Scranton, though it is not out of the question that he could pitch in Trenton again. Whether he needs one or two more rehab starts, it is clear that barring any unexpected setbacks, Phil Hughes will be back in the Yankee rotation in the next few weeks.
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4 Responses to Hughes looks strong in latest rehab outing
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TIQ IQ
I was able to watch the game via the internet and it appeared that Hughes had a complete nasty curves. However, it is hard to tell since the TV angles were that of a minor league game. However, depending on Hughes looks I would not be surprised to see him get 1 start and be ready for the big leagues the following weekend. If he needs another start then we won’t see him til after the ASB. Either way Hughes should be back sooner than later and if he is throwing 92-94 consistently there is a high probability of him being a huge boost to the team.
It’s great to hear that the curve was looking sharp, he hasn’t been able to use it consistently in a while. When it’s on, it can be a real weapon.
Eric do you know why Phil has struggled to develop more secondary pitches? has it been a physical difficulty (just struggling to learn them/command them) or more mental (no confidence, etc…)
I was at the game. Since I had no access to radar, I can only say that the ball came out of his hand effortlessly and his command was as good as I’ve seen it. He seemed to be throwing a 4 seamer, a hard slider (cutter?) and a very nice slower curve. He also seemed to lose a little command in the 7th. Now that I’ve seen the numbers (92-94), I can say that they were believable, and in fact originally thought they may have been a little higher.
A few of his outs were hard hit balls, but them’s the breaks.
Lyerly’s homer was quite a shot!
FWIW, I was sitting 3rd row, section 13