Philip Hughes: Welcome to a New Era
April 24, 2007
By
Alex Young
Sometime yesterday afternoon, the baseball world was greeted by a bit of unexpected news. The New York Yankees, a team notorious for wreaking havoc in their farm system in order to acquire the big names, announced that they have called up the pitcher who many consider may be the best prospect in the game.
The Yankees could have gotten Dontrelle Willis for young 20-year-old power righty Philip Hughes. In fact, they could have gotten nearly any one and essentially solidified the weakness of the team - the starting rotation - by simply dealing Hughes for a proven commodity. But the often prospect lacking Yankees held out. In their eyes, Hughes would be better than a Willis, or any other pitcher they could have gotten.
After all, he proved this assumption to the organization after his performance in AA last season. Hughes finished the year with an impressive 2.25 ERA in 116 IP. He went 10-3 in 21 starts, while striking out 132 and walking just 32. He was rewarded with an invite to Spring Training this season, but many within the organization believed he needed a little more developing. He was sent down to AAA.
While he hasn't been overly dominant thus far in AAA Scranton (2-1, 3.94 ERA), the Yankees have found themselves in need of the young prospect. With early season injuries to Mike Mussina, Carl Pavano, and Chien-Ming Wang, who is set to make his season debut Tuesday, the Yankees found themselves with a gaping whole in their rotation. While they have tried to fill it with the likes of Jeff Karstens and Chase Wright, it has become blatantly obvious that the current stopgap experiment is not working.
Upon announcing that Hughes had been promoted, Torre told reporters that the Yankees are counting on him. "It's a necessity for us," Torre said. "They don't think it's the wrong time for him. His ability, his presence, I think he's mature enough."
If you're unfamiliar with Hughes, you'll quickly find out that he has four plus pitches. His fastball that has been clocked as fast as 98 mph. He also throws an impressive 1-7 curveball, a late biting slider, and a changeup. Add quite the deceptive delivery and it's become clear why Hughes is so highly regarded.
The Yankees say Hughes will make only one start before being sent back down once Mussina is ready to be activated. However, that might be a tough move if Hughes has a good outing on Thursday. Nevertheless, this kid is certainly the future for the Yankees. So sit tight and enjoy the ride on Thursday.
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