Written by Greg Fertel
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27 August 2007
So, there was plenty of reaction to what I wrote about Hughes. Let me clarify, then look at the numbers.
I'm not responding to Hughes getting knocked around.
SG over at RLYW makes the case as well as anyone that pitchers his age are supposed to struggle. I know that you can trust the long-term history on the back of a player's baseball card - and anyone who has read me for over two years now can attest to that.
However, anyone who has read for the last two years also knows that I
hate it when teams mess with a successful pitcher's delivery. Essentially, the Yankees tried to completely change Hughes' approach. A high-ball, four-seam power pitcher is fine, but you have to be a power pitcher to succeed with that approach (tell, say, Kei Igawa that). If Hughes was throwing 95, then I'd applaud the approach. But that's not the case.
If you have problems with the Yes gun, here are the readings from MLB Enhanced Gameday. Fastballs by Velocity -
- 92 mph -2
- 91 mph - 18
- 90 mph - 32
- 89 mph - 10
- 87 mph - 1
That's a significant decrease. In May, he was at 92-93 with the occasional 91 or 94. Last year, he was at 93-94 with the occasional 95/96 and 91/92. He had even been known to hit 97 on occasion in 2006.
Again, I think that Al Leiter says it perfectly. Michael Kay: "This guy was rated #1 by Baseball America. Do you see greatness in Phil Hughes". Al Leiter - (paraphrasing) - "I see a solid 1st round pick. I don't see greatness".
The pitcher who blew away the Eastern League last year is hiding somewhere.
