Phil Hughes Is No Longer a Liability in the New York Yankees Rotation
July 2, 2012 · Kenny DeJohn · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
Right-hander Phil Hughes has already experienced quite the roller coaster of a season, and we’re not even at the All-Star break yet.
Hughes began the season with a 1-3 record and a 7.88 ERA, and it was clear that something wasn’t working for him.
In his last 12 starts, though, he has been stellar.
Over the course of those starts, Hughes is 8-3 and has lowered his ERA to 4.29. He has gone from not pitching more than six innings once to giving the Yankees depth nearly every time he takes the mound.
Sunday’s contest against the Chicago White Sox was one such case. He went eight innings while allowing just two runs. Oh, yeah—he retired 16 of the final 17 batters he faced.
With serious injuries to Andy Pettitte and Michael Pineda, and a much lesser injury to CC Sabathia, the Yankees have needed somebody to step up.
Hiroki Kuroda has done so, as has Ivan Nova. That being said, the most impressive starter over the course of the past month or so has been Hughes.
Sure, he is still prone to the long ball (19 over 94.1 innings), but he has been limiting the damage well enough to stay in games and provide quality innings.
He is no longer the liability that he was over the first month of the season and is now on pace to win 20 games this season.
The Yankees still need to make a trade for a starter, especially with Pettitte down for about six weeks. A brand name like Cole Hamels or Zack Greinke would greatly improve the team’s postseason chances.
The Yankees might not even be in the position they are today, though, if not for the stellar pitching of Hughes.
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