Phil Hughes

Early life

Hughes was born in Mission Viejo, California on June 24, 1986, and attended Foothill High School in Santa Ana, California, where he was a first-team High School All-American pitcher and had one perfect game. In his junior year (2003), he had a 12–0 record and posted an 0.78 earned run average (ERA) while striking out 85 batters in 72 innings. In his senior year (2004), he had an 0.69 ERA and a 9–1 record. In 61 innings, he gave up 41 hits and three walks while striking out 83 batters.

Hughes first committed to Santa Clara University, but he chose to sign with the New York Yankees when they selected him in the first round, with the 23rd overall selection, of the 2004 Major League Baseball draft. The Yankees were awarded this pick as compensation when free agent pitcher Andy Pettitte signed with the Houston Astros.

Minor leagues

In 2004, Hughes pitched five scoreless innings for the rookie Gulf Coast League Yankees, striking out eight hitters. He spent 2005, his first full professional year, between the Class A Charleston RiverDogs and the Advanced A Tampa Yankees. He had a 9–2 record and a 1.24 ERA, and in  85 ¹⁄₃ innings he gave up 54 hits while striking out 93.

After attending spring training with the Yankees in 2006, Hughes began the season with Tampa. He was promoted to the Double-A Trenton Thunder of the Eastern League at the beginning of May after he had a 2–3 record and a 1.80 ERA with Tampa while striking out 30 batters in 30 innings.

On June 13, Hughes took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and threw a one-hitter through seven innings in a 3–0 victory over the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. Ten days later, he put forth another dominant start, taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning and pitching eight shutout innings in a 4–0 win over the Connecticut Defenders. With Trenton, Hughes had a 10–3 record, a 2.25 ERA, and 138 strikeouts in 116 innings. He made one appearance in the Eastern League playoffs, earning a no-decision after pitching six innings of 1-run ball with 13 strikeouts. The game was the only postseason victory for the Thunder that year. After the season, he won the Kevin Lawn "Pitcher of the Year" Award as the top Yankees' minor league pitcher.

Entering 2007, Baseball America rated Hughes the Yankees' #1 prospect, said he had the best curveball and best control in the Yankee system, and called him "arguably the best pitching prospect in the minors." Baseball America also named him the fourth-best prospect in baseball. MiLB.com named Hughes the top right-handed starting pitching prospect in the AL East farm systems. In January 2007, the Yankees announced that Hughes was being invited to spring training. According to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, scouts believed that Hughes was ready for the major leagues, but Yankees' general manager Brian Cashman said it was "unlikely" that Hughes would play for the Yankees in April. Hughes began 2007 pitching for the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees of the International League (IL).

2007

Following injuries to several Yankees' starters in 2007, Hughes was called up in April. Hughes made his major league debut on April 26 against the Toronto Blue Jays. In  4 ¹⁄₃ innings, he allowed four runs on seven hits, earning his first career loss. In his second major league start on May 1 against the Texas Rangers, he was maintaining a no-hitter through  6 ¹⁄₃ innings before pulling his left hamstring while facing his future teammate Mark Teixeira. Mike Myers later allowed a hit, but Hughes earned his first career win. After the game, he was placed on the disabled list (DL). He returned on August 4 against the Kansas City Royals, allowing six runs in  4 ²⁄₃ innings and earning a no-decision in a 16–8 victory. In his final start of the year, on September 27 against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, he allowed one run in a season-high seven innings and earned the win in a 3–1 victory. In 17 starts for the Yankees, Hughes had a 5–3 record, a 4.46 ERA, and 58 strikeouts in  72 ²⁄₃ innings pitched. He was the second-youngest American League (AL) player in 2007.

Hughes was included on the Yankees' postseason roster as a long reliever. He made his first postseason appearance in 2007 against the Cleveland Indians in the AL Division Series (ALDS), giving up one run in two innings in Game 1, a 12–3 loss. In Game 3, Hughes (the youngest player on the Yankees' roster) relieved an injured Roger Clemens (the oldest player on the roster) in the third inning and pitched  3 ²⁄₃ scoreless innings. He struck out four and earned his first playoff win. The Yankees were eliminated in four games in the series.

2008

Prior to the 2008 season, it was reported by numerous news sources that the Yankees were thinking of including Hughes in a trade to the Minnesota Twins for Johan Santana. The trade never happened; Santana was traded to the New York Mets instead.

Hughes began the 2008 season as the third starter in the Yankees' rotation. In his first six starts, he had an 0–4 record and a 9.00 ERA. On April 30, he was placed on the disabled list with a strained oblique and cracked rib. On a May 2 visit to an optometrist, Hughes was found to be slightly nearsighted; as a result, he started wearing glasses on the mound.

After recovering from the rib injury, Hughes pitched for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre; he helped them win the 2008 International League title, earning the win after striking out 12 batters in the clinching game. On September 13, a day after the IL playoffs, Hughes was recalled by the Yankees. On September 17, Hughes made his first start since April 29, giving up one earned run over four innings and earning a no-decision in a 5–1 victory over the Chicago White Sox. In his final start of the season, on September 24, he gave up two runs in eight innings and received a no-decision in a ten-inning, 6–2 victory over Toronto. He finished the season with an 0–4 record, a 6.62 ERA, 23 strikeouts, and 34 innings pitched in eight starts. Because injuries severely limited his workload during the season, the Yankees sent Hughes to the Arizona Fall League after the season to pitch more innings.

2009

Although he had a solid performance in spring training, Hughes began the 2009 season in Triple-A. He was called up to the majors in April after Chien-Ming Wang was placed on the disabled list. Hughes made his first start of the season on April 28 against the Detroit Tigers and pitched six scoreless innings, earning his first win since 2007 in an 11–0 victory. On May 25, Hughes threw eight scoreless innings, earning the win in an 11–1 victory over the Rangers.

After he posted a 3–2 record and a 5.45 ERA in seven starts, Hughes was moved to the bullpen when Wang returned to the rotation in early June. Hughes pitched well, becoming the primary setup man to Mariano Rivera in July due to injuries to Brian Bruney and Dámaso Marte. Despite his success as a reliever, Cashman maintained that Hughes would be a starter over the long-term.

Hughes's first regular season win in relief came on July 17, when he threw two scoreless innings in a 5–3 victory over Detroit. On July 23, he recorded his first career save after a 6–3 Yankees victory over the Oakland Athletics. He relieved CC Sabathia in the eighth inning and pitched two perfect innings. From June 10 through July 3, he had a  25 ¹⁄₃ inning scoreless streak, the longest by a Yankee reliever since Rivera had a  30 ²⁄₃ inning scoreless streak in 1999. In 44 games as a relief pitcher in 2009, Hughes posted a 1.40 ERA; he had 65 strikeouts in  51 ¹⁄₃ innings.

Hughes pitched in all three games of the ALDS against the Minnesota Twins, posting a 9.00 ERA. In Game 5 of the AL Championship Series (ALCS) against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, he suffered a loss when he gave up a run and also allowed an inherited runner to score in the 7–6 defeat. He had scoreless outings in Games 2 and 3 as the Yankees won the series in six games. He had a 16.20 ERA in the World Series, but he won his first World Series ring as the Yankees defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in six games.

2010

On March 25, 2010, Hughes was named the Yankees' fifth starter. Throughout the season, the Yankees occasionally had Hughes skip starts to limit his innings, in hopes that this would help him stay healthy. On April 21, Hughes carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning against the Athletics before allowing a leadoff single to Eric Chavez; he faced two more hitters prior to being relieved, having struck out 10 batters.

He won his first five decisions, a streak snapped May 22 by the New York Mets. He followed with another five-game win streak, the last coming against the Mets on June 19. After missing a start, he saw this win streak come to an end June 29 against the Seattle Mariners.

Hughes was named to the AL All-Star Team, Sunday, July 4. Five days after his first selection to the midsummer classic, Hughes threw seven innings and gave up one run to beat the Mariners 6–1. His next outing, the All-Star Game, did not go well. Hughes, after retiring the first batter he faced in the seventh inning, allowed a pair of singles to Scott Rolen and Matt Holliday before yielding to Matt Thornton; Rolen and Holliday scored the tying and go-ahead runs on Brian McCann's three-run double that proved decisive in the NL's 3–1 victory. On August 14, Hughes allowed three runs in six innings, earning the win in an 8–3 victory over the Kansas City Royals. It was the 50th start of Hughes's career, making him at 24 years and 51 days old the youngest Yankee to make his 50th start since Al Downing made his 50th start at 23 years and 61 days old in 1964. Hughes had 18 wins (tied for fourth in the AL with Trevor Cahill and Justin Verlander behind Sabathia, who had 21, and Jon Lester and David Price, who both had 19), only 8 losses, and a 4.19 ERA while striking out 146 batters in  176 ¹⁄₃ innings of work. His run support of 6.48 runs per game was the highest in the major leagues.

Hughes made his first postseason start in Game 3 of the ALDS against the Twins. He threw seven shutout innings to earn the win in the clinching game of the series as the Yankees beat the Twins 6–1. Game 2 of the ALCS against the Rangers did not go as well for Hughes, who allowed seven runs in four innings and earned the loss as the Yankees were defeated 7–2. He allowed four runs in  4 ²⁄₃ innings in Game 6 and earned another loss as the Yankees lost 6–1 and were eliminated from the postseason.

2011

Hughes, who began as the third starter in the 2011 season, suffered from a dip in velocity. His four-seam fastball averaged only 89 mph and peaked at 92 mph after three starts, compared to his usual 92–95 mph. After opening the season 0–1 with a 13.94 ERA in three starts, Hughes was placed on the DL due to a dead arm syndrome. It was later revealed that Hughes had been suffering from shoulder inflammation. He underwent an arm strength rehabilitation program for several weeks. On July 6, he made his first start in nearly 3 months, pitching five innings, allowing two earned runs, striking out and walking two batters, in a 5–3 loss to the Cleveland Indians. On August 2, in a rain-shortened game, Hughes threw his first career shutout as the Yankees defeated the White Sox 6–0 in six innings. Late in September, Hughes was moved to the bullpen after back stiffness caused him to miss a start. In 17 games (14 starts), Hughes had a 5–5 record, a 5.79 ERA, and 47 strikeouts in  74 ²⁄₃ innings pitched.

Hughes was included on the Yankees' postseason roster as a relief pitcher. He had scoreless outings in Games 4 and 5 of the ALDS as the Yankees were defeated by the Detroit Tigers in five games.

2012

On January 16, 2012, Hughes signed a one-year deal worth $3.25 million that included incentives, effectively avoiding arbitration. His deal was a $500,000 raise from his disappointing 2011 season.

Hughes was the Yankees' third starter in 2012. He started the season averaging only four innings in his first four starts while posting a 1–3 record and a 7.88 ERA. From May to the end of the season, however, Hughes had a 15–10 record and a 3.90 ERA. He had a season-high four-game winning streak from May 22 through June 15. Hughes threw a complete game on June 3, allowing one run in a 5–1 win against the Tigers. On June 26, he threw eight shutout innings and earned the win in a 6–4 victory over Cleveland. He threw  7 ¹⁄₃ shutout innings and earned the win on September 13 in a 2–0 victory over the Boston Red Sox. In 32 starts, Hughes had a 4.19 ERA and 165 strikeouts in  191 ¹⁄₃ innings pitched. He was tied for sixth in the AL in wins (16, with Max Scherzer, Yu Darvish, and Hiroki Kuroda), but he also tied for eighth in the league in losses (13, with Dan Haren and Ervin Santana).

In Game 4 of the ALDS against the Baltimore Orioles, Hughes allowed one run in  6 ²⁄₃ innings but received a no-decision in a 13-inning, 2–1 loss. The Yankees won the series in five games. In Game 3 of the ALCS against Detroit, Hughes allowed one run in three innings before exiting with back stiffness; he took the loss as the Yankees lost 2–1. The Tigers swept the Yankees in four games.

2013

Hughes began the 2013 season on the DL with a bulging disc in his back. He returned from the DL on April 6, allowing four runs (three earned) in four plus innings and earning the loss as Detroit won 8–4. On May 15 against the Seattle Mariners, Hughes only lasted  ²⁄₃ of an inning after giving up 7 runs, 6 hits, 2 walks, including a grand slam to former Yankee Raúl Ibañez in a 12–2 Yankee loss. It was the shortest start of his career and at the time the shortest non-injury start by a Yankee at the new Yankee Stadium.

After pitching to a 4-13 record and a 4.86 ERA, with a 5.71 ERA in the second half, the Yankees removed Hughes from the rotation on September 4, replacing him with David Huff. Hughes went 1–10 in home starts in 2013, making him just the second MLB pitcher to win fewer than two games when making at least 15 home starts in a season; the other being Phil Huffman of the Toronto Blue Jays in 1979. He has the third-highest ERA in Yankee history among pitchers with at least 500 innings pitched.

Minnesota Twins

Hughes agreed to a three-year contract worth $24 million with the Minnesota Twins on November 30, 2013. The deal was confirmed by the Twins on December 5, 2013.

2014

The 2014 season was arguably the best season for Hughes, pitching to a 3.52 ERA in 209 2/3 innings. On September 24, 2014 Hughes ended the season with the best strikeout-to-walk ratio ratio in a single season in MLB history (11.625).

Hughes finished 7th in Cy Young Award voting, leading all MLB nominees in bases on balls per 9 innings pitched (0.687).

On December 22, 2014 Hughes and the Twins agreed on a three-year extension worth $42 million.

2015

Looking to build on the success of his 2014 season, Hughes went into the 2015 season as the Twins ace. Hughes had lost velocity in his fastball, dropping from 93MPH to 92MPH. His 2015 season was marred with inconsistency and injury as he only started 25 times while appearing 2 times out of the bullpen. Despite going 11-9, his ERA was 4.40 and he served up 29 home runs in only 155.1 innings.

2016

On June 9, 2016, Hughes was struck in the left knee off a line drive from J. T. Realmuto and left the game. The next day, he was placed on the 15-day disabled list due to left knee contusion. He was ruled out for 6-8 weeks. On June 11, it was revealed that there was a non-displaced fracture of the femur in the left knee. On June 12, he was transferred to the 60-day disabled list. On June 28th, Hughes' season was declared over as he was set to undergo season ending surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome. He finished the 2016 season with a 1-7 record for the Twins.

2017

For the 2017 season, Hughes began the season as the Twins 4th starter. He went on the disabled list at the end of May due to biceps tendinitis. Upon his return from the disabled list, due to not being able to regain his complete stamina, Hughes agreed to head to the bullpen to build up strength. On July 18th, Hughes was declared out for the season due to recurring symptoms due to the thoracic syndrome.

Personal life

As a child, Hughes was a Boston Red Sox fan. He had a poster of Nomar Garciaparra with the slogan "Reverse the Curse" on his bedroom wall. Hughes is a Christian. His baseball glove has the reference for the Bible verse Philippians 4:13 on it, and Hughes has the entire verse ("I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.") tattooed on his left arm. He enjoys watching the Food Network and is a fan of Alton Brown.

Scouting report

Hughes's pitch repertoire has varied over the years, although his main pitch has consistently been a four-seam fastball at 92–95 mph, and he has also relied on a spike curveball in the range of 73–77 mph. He has also developed a mid-80s Vulcan changeup against left-handed hitters, and in mid-2012 he developed a low-80s slider to right-handers.

Hughes added a cut fastball in the high 80s as a weapon against right-handers in the 2008 season, and he used the pitch 16% of the time in the 2009 and 2010 seasons:

By early 2011, Hughes's velocity on his fastball was down several mph; John Harper of the New York Daily News speculated that Hughes's overuse of the cutter was to blame, not a dead arm. Hughes continued to use the cutter into the start of the 2012 season; he posted a 7.88 ERA in April, throwing the cutter about 12% of the time in this span. In early May, Hughes dropped the cutter from his repertoire, using it only 1.2% of the time for the rest of the year.

Hughes throws a disproportionate number of his pitches high in the strike zone and above the zone.

Hughes asserts that the hamstring injury he suffered in his rookie year has permanently altered his pitching mechanics: "My stride, and things like that, have never quite been the same."

Awards and honors