As he's the top prospect in the NYY organization, one-time Red Sox fan Philip Hughes probably deserves his own thread in this forum. Here's a new interview with him from BA:

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prosp...ews/262427.html

I'd rather continue to pretend he doesn't exist.

Or hope he gets traded for an old worn down pitcher

How in the world did 21 teams pass on this guy, including the Twins twice?

Happens all the time... even to guys with connections. Big-time connections.

Factoid
Mike Piazza was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 62nd round of the 1988 draft, as a favor to his Godfather, manager Tommy Lasorda. In all, 1,390 players were chosen before Piazza, who went on to become an All-Star catcher




In his "New Historical Baseball Abstract," author Bill James wrote "it is now clear that Mike Piazza is the greatest hitting catcher in history." Piazza's amazing offensive production, including nine seasons of 30 or more homers, earned that lofty praise. Defying the odds, Piazza was a low draft choice who made his way through the Dodger organization to become a 12-time All-Star. In spite of his mediocre defensive skills behind the plate, he's destined to rank among the top five catchers of all-time.

http://www.thebaseballpage.com/players/piazzmi01.php

Or Albert Pujols in the 13th round who then goes on to dominate just a few years later.

Coming out of high school he had the best command of the high school pitcher crop, but there was worry about his fastball being very straight, and his secondary pitches (slider, change) werent too special yet. That being said, the Angels considered him for the pick where they took Weaver. I doubt they're regretting it too much at the moment, although we'll see a few years down the road.

Being that i'm not a scout, I dont know how much of a glimpse you can make into a high school pitcher's mind to see how much of a "pitcher" he really is. Maybe his excellent command was a good indicator, but since signing he learned a curveball (which he throws at 2 varying angles/speeds for strikes), a 2 seamer with good life that gets him groundballs, a good changeup that drops off the table, and is now tinkering with a splitter/split change. All the while, he has kept his 2nd best pitch from high school in his back pocket (the slider), only throwing it in side sessions or a few times a game just to keep the feel for it. On the other hand, you have kids like Colt Griffin who throw really hard and can command their fastball enough in high school to dominate, but havent the foggiest clue how to really pitch.

Having seen him pitch several times over the past 2 years i'd have to say that hes got the command to be a #2 innings eater right now in the majors at age 20, and should be even better if he continues to work on his changeup and overall command in general. He's definitely got the makeup to pitch in the majors too if you've ever talked to him. He's got great poise and hes just a genuinely nice kid. The pitcher to look out for is Christian Garcia, whos got better stuff (couple mph more on the fastball, bigger curve), but missed part of this year with an oblique injury and doesnt have Phil's command.

It's all about staying healthy at this point

Mattingly comes to mind too. 19th round I believe, lots of teams passed on him multiple times and he was an MVP 5 years later.

Here's a video of the kid, if anybody is interested.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4hIfXx8n-Q

It's one of his first few starts in AA, with the Trenton Thunder.

I heard that this kid has a history of injuries. Any truth or news about that?

He's had a couple injuries. I think he stubbed his toe and broke it, and I think the elbow issues last year and was shut down for part of the season. However, he's remained healthy all of this year, and it really doesn't appear too much of an issue right now.

According to nyyfans.com Phil Hughes to start Thursday. It was heard over the radio but no links yet.

ESPN has picked it up:

Yankees' Hughes to face Blue Jays on Thursday

I posted in in the game thread, dont ask me why but I didnt think there would be a Hughes thread.

Anyways, I think this is a little too early for him. Not rushing him meant maybe wait til at least May for him to be up

Here are his stats so far. He's been hit a little in his 3 AAA starts, especially by righties - but 17:4 K:BB looks pretty good.

I won't cry if he gets shelled, though.

I hope he gets drilled on Thursday. Not because he's a Yankee, but because NYYFans will go into meltdown mode.

Let's hope he experiences the "Chase Wright Memorial Shell-Shock Experience" on Thursday.

Torre/Yanks seem really desperate (Pettite pitching in relief x2 , Rivera pitching in the 8th, and now bringing up their prize pitching prospect very early into the season) for only the first month of the season, even with their injury issues.

Do you think this is a Steinbrenner move? It feels like the kind of slightly irrational thing that would happen after a sweep by the Sox.

Absolutely!

I don't know that it's too early. When 3/5 of your rotation is on the shelf and 1/5 of it sucks coupled with the fireworks show that the other options have provided, it's likely not too early. I think Wright was lights out in Trenton so they tried to go with the hot hand. Besides, at face value it's a one or two start assignment. That's not to say if he pitched well he would not stick. I don't see the harm really.

I don't see the big deal because he's one of if not the top pitching prospect in baseball but he's also not even 21 yet so he's really young to be starting in MLB.

I love to see the Yankees in desperation mode like this - first we see Torre already using Rivera for five-out saves, and now Cashman is rushing Hughes to the majors after one good start in Triple-A. If they are breaking all their self-imposed rules three weeks into the season, a prospects-for-aging-veteran trade or two can't be too far away.

If Hughes is everything he is projected to be, then there's no big risk to bringing him up. But if he continues their string of pitching suckitude, thinks are going to get ugly in the Bronx.

No harm if he succeeds - and he could. If he fails and 1) doesn't respond well mentally to failure, or 2) starts tinkering with his mechanics, and subsequently either gets hurt or simply struggles to regain his mechanics, then you've set him back by rushing him. If he succeeds, but gets overworked - he has yet to pitch 150 innings in a season in his brief MiLB career - and subsequently gets hurt, you've set him back.

Such things aren't so much a risk with, say, Chase Wright - because he doesn't have great stuff, he's not a top prospect, BP doesn't even project him as an MLB starter. So if he succeeds, great. Stranger things have happened (Aaron Small). If he just treads water while A-Rod hits 3 HR a game, good enough. And if the whole experience ruins him, so what? He's (relatively) disposable.

A lot more at stake with Hughes. The fact that he is likely better than the other available options isn't necessarily reason enough to throw him into the fire. If it's a panic move, it's a bad one. If it's a move based on a belief that he's ready to succeed - or capable of withstanding failure - at this level, then why not?

I'm all for "disaster" needless to say.

I'm not sure I know why, but for some reason it seems like the Yankees have been overwhelmingly lucky/good at this sort of move. Part of it is that they really fall in love with their prospects, so they're far more patient with their struggles early, but they kick the crap out of the sox when it comes to bringing these guys up and having them produce at good levels immediately. While my gut says this is way too early for Hughes, you can then look at Cano, whom it was far too early for, and see that he performed just fine.

Hopefully a good shell shocking, and possibly a Brien Taylor-esque bar fight after the game would be a fitting start/end to his career.

If his mental makeup is that suspect, perhaps he's not cut out for NY. I honestly think it's for a start or two. Funny thing is the year Wang and Cano came up it was out of total desperation as well and they stuck. Melky came up that year too and had a horrible time and it did not ruin him. Brace yourselves for an over reaction by Yankee fans, regardless of how he pitches.

What if he gives up back-to-back-to-back-to-back HRs? Do you really want to risk the mental toughness and confidence of the game's best pitching prospect, who by the way might be the key to your season?

This is a bad move.

Wang, Cano, Cabrera - none of them were never the top-rated prospect in all of baseball at their position, were they? I'm not, in any case, saying that I expect Hughes' makeup to be such that he's ruined by the pressure.

My only point is that you don't gamble with the career of a 21 year old kid on whom your future rests (whereas, it may be worth the risk with a lesser prospect). Calling him up for a start or two probably isn't that much of a gamble - but at the same time, if it's purely a panic move, then it represents more of a risk than if they truly think he's ready. That's all. I'm not trying to blow it out of proportion. Kids get called up to the big leagues all the time.

It could be a brief detour that has little impact on his continued development in the minors. It could be the little taste of the show that whets his appetite. It could even work out better than expected. All of which are fine. Or it could set him back. Would you rather get some innings out of an arm in April? Or get some pitching out of a stud prospect later in the year?

I bet for all the people saying this is a bad move, most of them are praying that this kid doesn't get up to the big leagues and dominate from day one.

Personally, even though he's 21 or something, I wouldn't bet against a kid who has great stuff and has dominated at every single level.

I'm hoping to see the breaking ball that I saw in his youtube video but never saw this spring. I suspect that's one of the reasons why he was struggling this year. As long as he struggles every time he faces us, I could care less if he dominates the rest of the league and, as a Sox fan himself, I'll wish him buona fortuna.

See, thats the kicker though: He's had three total career starts in AAA, and he was not dominant at all.

In fact, he didnt even spend a whole year at double A, although he was dominant there

Doesn't Igawa mean home run in Japanese?

Unless you include his last start: 6 IP, 2 H, 10 K, 0 BB in "at all." That looks pretty dominant to me.

Of course, prior to that he had an absolutely terrible game: 7 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 1 K in 5 IP. I don't have an explanation for the inconsistency. It's just a couple of pitching lines. Maybe he was working on something specific in the bad game, or corrected something specific in the most recent game. Maybe he's just inconsistent from one game to the next.

I don't think there's anything inherent in a lack of minor league experience, or apparent from three AAA box scores, to say that calling him up is clearly a bad move. I just wonder given the circumstances.

Rotoworld:



Make it Friday, Joe. Make it Friday!!

Chase Wright got sent down and Hughes will still pitch Thursday.

Man I hope he gets rocked tonight

He's got a pretty nasty curve ball.

2-0 Jays through 1/3 of an inning ...

I know this is petty, but anyone else unnerved by the fact that this guy doesn't close his mouth at all when pitching/on the mound. It's just weird. I don't know if he's trying to intimidate guys with his fangs or what...

It is sort of retarded looking.

Much better 2nd inning, of course it was vs J.Smith, J.Phillips and J.McDonald, all of which could pass as AAA hitters.

Either the Yankee Stadium gun is low, or Hughes doesn't throw nearly as hard as I thought he did. Seems like most fastballs are hitting 90-91. He does have a nasty 12-6 curve though. Its only been 4 innings, and I know its his first start in MLB and all, but he doesn't look as impressive to me as I thought he would. Perhaps its because living in Yankee country I hear constantly how he is the second coming of Clemens, and all that other hype, etc ... I don't know, I guess I was just expecting his stuff to be more electric. And for him to have better control. Still, he has only given up the 2 runs through 4IP, and just the 1 hit since the first inning.

EDIT -

Looks like his final line is 4 1/3IP 4ER 7H 1BB 5K

The umpires giveth, and they taketh away.

The BJ announcers said the replays showed Matsui was out at 1B on his single earlier in the game, but he was called safe.

Now McDonald at the beginning of this inning could have been called out b/c M,wicz did get his foot on the bag after Cairo's errant through, but McDonald was called safe.

Hughes really did all right, considering the defense playing behind him, and the overall questionable umpiring (throughout the league, really). And on the offensive side, maybe some awful coaching by the NYY staff (apparently Pena told Giambi to head for 2B, where he was nailed for the 2nd out of the 4th inning.

Jeez, I would hate to jinx him, but Hughes has a no hitter through 4 innings

This is sig worthy.

This makes me very sad... mostly b/c of the trash talk that will result from this.

I cant wait until the Sox get a shot at him.

Hardball Times had a nice article explaining how Hughes' delivery makes him a good candidate for injury, if anyone needs a pick me up(wow, that was a terrible thing to say, huh?)

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/...anical-changes/

EDIT: Link added

Only if it works.

I just emailed, texted, and IMed my yankee fan best friend to...uh... let him know...

...yeah, yeah, that's the ticket...

Bad kharma I guess, Paps just blew his first save

Uh oh.

Id feel bad if I thought he was seriously hurt in any way, but this seems like nothing but phenomenal news for the Yankees all around. They hit the crap out of the ball and they got an awesome start from their best prospect.

That line sure looks like a Jon Lester line doesnt it? Lets hope he keeps walking people.

On SoSH they mentioned the YES cast noticed the Yankee trainer saying the words "popped" and they're speculating it's his knee, not his hammy. A popped knee ligament could be serious. A strained hammy, not so much.

Edit- NYYFans from two minutes after the injury, and as of this second has crashed. Hilarious.

Oh, really? Well, that would be really crazy tragic... like Greek tragedy... pitching phenom, team saviour, in the middle of no hitter. That would actually make me feel a good deal of pity for the kid.

Of course, perhaps he shouldnt have been called up in the first place.

Pretty crazy nyyfans went down at the same time.