Phil Hughes' Remarkable Run

Remarkable storylines abound on the 2010 New York Yankees. Ageless wonder Andy Pettitte is 8-1 with a 2.46 ERA! Robinson Cano is leading the team in nearly every offensive category and is the runaway AL MVP so far! Alex Rodriguez has a minor injury that requires an impromptu news conference and hundreds of mentions in the press!

(OK, the last is more irritating than remarkable. But what else would you expect from A-Rod?)

The fans and media must be saturated with “Yankee X is on fire!” stories. At least that’s the only explanation I can think of for why Phil Hughes’ superlative start has gone relatively unnoticed.

The 23-year old flamethrower is an astounding 9-1 with a 3.11 ERA after picking up the win in Sunday’s 9-5 victory over the Quadruple-A Astros (not really, but they certainly didn’t belong on the same field as the Bombers this weekend.) Hughes has a team-leading 74 strikeouts against just 22 walks and is neck-and-neck with Pettitte and Tampa Bay’s David Price in the AL Cy Young race.

By itself, Hughes’ start is noteworthy. To appreciate how truly extraordinary it is, let’s wind the clocks back four months.

Back in spring training, Hughes wasn’t just a back-of-the-rotation pitcher—-he hadn’t even earned a starting spot yet. Battling with fellow young phenom Joba Chamberlain for the No. 5 spot, Hughes was just as likely to start the season in the bullpen. The media provided daily coverage of the back-and-forth battle, and SportsCenter ran side-by-side graphics throughout March comparing the duo’s spring training numbers. On the strength of an improved strikeout-to-walk ratio and strong outings in late March, Hughes got the fifth rotation spot. But a hamstring tweak here or a dismal performance there, and Joba gets the nod while Hughes languishes in the bullpen.

Instead, a guy who’s never thrown more than 86 innings in a season and had only 13 wins in his career blossomed into the pitcher the Yankees always hoped he would be. And Hughes’ consistency is almost more impressive than his stats. He’s thrown at least 99 pitches and gotten through the fifth inning in all 12 of his starts, mixing a slew of standout appearances with a couple mediocre outings. Not once has he looked like the pitcher who gave up eight runs in 1.2 innings in one start next year.

In short, Hughes has gone from back-of-the-rotation question mark to elite MLB starter almost literally overnight. And despite his mediocre outing on Sunday, he shows no signs of slowing down.

Hughes’ torrid start may not survive the summer, and even if it does he’ll most likely hit his de facto innings limit of 160-170 by the end of August if he keeps pitching every five days (the latest iteration of the Joba Rules, which translates nicely to ‘Hughes Rules’.) But until then, don’t overlook one of the most incredible stories of the Yankees’ season so far.