Phil Hughes: Analyzing The Yankees’ ALCS Game 6 Starting Pitcher

Vitals

6’5, 240
Right-handed
176.1 innings
4.19 ERA
7.5 K/9
3.0 BB/9

2010 Playoffs

11 innings, 7 runs, 4 walk, 9 strikeouts

Earlier Start Summary

Hughes got the nod in Game 2 against the Rangers, and he got throttled. He made it two batters into the fifth inning before he was pulled in favor of Joba Chamberlain. He allowed ten hits and three walks while striking out three, and the hits he gave up weren’t cheap. David Murphy took him deep for a long home run. Ian Kinsler ripped him for a triple. Four batters combined to hit him for five doubles. In all, Hughes allowed seven extra-base hits in a game in which he faced just 24 batters, which was a far cry from the seven shutout innings he threw against Minnesota in the ALDS. Hughes was awful, and put the Yankees too far behind.

Repertoire

Phil Hughes isn’t exactly your standard fastball/slider/changeup righty starter. He does build primarily off of a fastball he throws in the low- to mid-90s. After that, though, he’s got a pair of preferred alternative secondary pitches: a cut fastball and a curve. His cutter hangs out around 87-90mph, and he has a lot of confidence in the pitch. He also has a lot of confidence in his mid-70s curve, which stands as his obligatory breaking ball. It’s a curve with a ton of downward break. To finish things off, Hughes is capable of throwing a changeup, but he doesn’t use it very often. When he does, it has a bit more run than his fastball.

Facing Righties

Against right-handed hitters, Hughes leans heavily on his fastball and cutter, combining to throw them about 85% of the time. Interestingly enough, he’ll stay like this whether he’s ahead or behind, although you see a few more curveballs as he gets into strikeout counts. He has a preference for the outer half over the inner half, and tends to elevate his fastball. When going for a punchout, he will often try to drop a curve down and away, or he may alternatively try to hit or just barely miss that corner with a cutter.

Facing Lefties

Lefties see fewer fastballs, fewer cutters, more curveballs, and the only changeups Hughes ever throws. He’ll often start out trying to put a fastball over the outer half, although it isn’t rare that he spins a curve in the same place to catch a hitter off guard. Changeups are almost exclusively outside. Cutters are almost exclusively inside. Fastballs are all over, and frequently elevated. Finally, when he’s ahead, Hughes likes to try and expand the zone downward with his curveball to get a hitter to swing and either miss, or come up with weak contact.