Phil Hughes’ Velocity Still Encouraging

Another day, another update on New York Yankees right-hander Phil Hughes, who couldn't find his fastball this spring. Looked under the cushions and everything. The Yankees came into the season with only two starting pitchers who had very good seasons in 2010, and Hughes was one of them. The mysterious velocity loss led to Hughes getting crushed at the beginning of the season, and the disabled-list stint came more because the team didn't know what else to do rather than because of any pain or discomfort.

Murti also speculates that if everything goes well with subsequent starts that Hughes could be back around July 4th. When Hughes does come back, though, there will be a decision to make, as all five of the Yankees' starters have been league-average or better this season, which is something you should have expected with the Yankees bringing in Bartolo Colon, Freddy Garcia, Matt Morris, Paul Byrd, and Odalis Perez.