Phil Hughes' Location (briefly)

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Although it came in a rain-shortened victory for the New York Yankees, Phil Hughes' pitch location last night was the best it has been in his somewhat short 2011 season.  He kept the ball away from both lefties and righties consistently, throwing just 8 total pitches on the inside part of the plate.  Of those eight inside pitches, he recorded 5 outs and no hits, with one strikeout of A. J. Pierzynski in the second inning.  He also allowed no line drives in his 6 innings of work.

Phil Hughes Tinkers With his Curveball

The Yankees' Phil Hughes enjoyed his best start of an injury-marred 2011 season on Sunday, allowing two runs and walks apiece in six innings pitched while striking out five in a win over the Toronto Blue Jays. Hughes, making his second start since serving a DL stint for shoulder inflammation, got six hitters to swing and miss at his fastball (thrown at an average of 91 MPH) after failing to register a whiff with the pitch in his last appearance. The 25-year-old righty made some changes to his mechanics and the grip on his curveball prior to his Sunday start. Here's Ben Shpigel of The New York Times:

Hughes last pitched July 6 against Cleveland, and the 10-day layoff allowed him to throw four bullpen sessions. He used that time to gain comfort with a subtle mechanical tweak — his hips now open more as he finishes his delivery — and a new curveball, one that he turned to out of necessity. Once an outstanding pitch, it had lost bite and depth. He noticed that hitters were tracking the ball out of his hand, and as a result he did not generate as much weak contact or as many as awkward swings as before.

So last week at the suggestion of the pitching coach Larry Rothschild, Hughes abandoned his knuckle grip in favor of a more conventional style, which produces a more acute break, added velocity — 75 to 80 miles per hour — and a spike in confidence.

Hughes' curveball averaged slightly more than 74 MPH prior to his Sunday start, breaking away from right-handed hitters 6.2 inches more than a pitch thrown without spin and dropping 5.1 inches. For comparison, his 2010 curve averaged about 76 MPH, broke away from righties 5.5 inches and dropped 8.6 inches. So, Hughes' breaker had lost some bite and depth. Did the change in curveball grip make a difference on Sunday?

The pitch was effective, as Hughes threw 17 of his 25 curveballs for a strike and batters went a collective 1-for-9 against the breaking ball. There were some differences in terms of velocity and break, though nothing huge: Hughes' curve averaged 75 MPH, breaking away from righty batters 4.5 inches and dropping 4.6 inches. The new grip on the pitch didn't seem to add much velocity or sharp break.

Pitch break frequency of Hughes' curveball on Sunday, July 17Pitch break frequency of Hughes' curveball, 2010

On average, the type of curveball that Hughes displayed last year (with sharp, downward break) tends to fare better than the type of curve that he showed against Toronto on Sunday. Since the beginning of last season, curveballs with the velocity and movement characteristics of Hughes' 2010 curve have a .217/.252/.360 opponent batting line and a 26 percent miss rate. But curves with the kind of velocity and movement that Hughes had on Sunday, with considerably less downward break, have a .258/.287/.408 opponent line and a 22 percent miss rate.

There are many other factors that can influence the effectiveness of a pitch (such as delivery, other pitches in a player's repertoire and sequencing), but hitters generally put better swings on the kind of curveball that Hughes is currently throwing. For Hughes to have long-term success with the pitch, he might want to re-discover the downward bite that his breaker showed last season.

Phil Hughes Returns, Sort Of

Yankees right-hander Phil Hughes made his first major league start in nearly three months last night at Progressive Field, taking a loss against the Indians while allowing two runs in five innings pitched. Hughes, on the DL since mid-April with right shoulder inflammation, walked and whiffed two Indians apiece while also beaning two batters and tossing a wild pitch.

The Bombers' would-be number two starter behind CC Sabathia regained some, but not all, of the zip that was conspicuously absent on his fastball in April. Hughes averaged 91.5 MPH with his heater against Cleveland, topping out at 92.9 MPH.

That's certainly better than his 89.3 MPH showing in the season's opening month. Still, he didn't look like the same pitcher who sat at 92.5 MPH and maxed out at 96 in 2010. Hughes didn't get a swing and miss on any of the 40 fastballs that he threw. By contrast, Hughes' near-20 percent fastball miss rate last year ranked just outside the top 10 among starting pitchers.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi ascribes the lack of whiffs to Hughes elevating his fastball too much:

I think that's because he was up a lot. When it's up, it's flat; when it's flat, it's easy to keep your bat on the same plane. He's got to get a better downhill plane the next time he goes out.

 Here's the frequency of Hughes' fastball location from last night's start:

Girardi was right. It seems like Hughes is trying to use the same pitching approach as last year, but without the same quality of stuff.

Hughes elevated his fastball a lot last season, and to great effect. Forty-four percent of his fastballs were thrown up in the zone, and hitters managed just a .241 Weighted On-Base Average against the high heat (.328 league average). Forty-nine percent of his fastballs have been in the upper third of the zone this season. In a small sample, hitters have a .418 wOBA against Hughes' elevated fastballs in 2011.

Climbing the ladder with a fastball that can hit 96 on the gun is a different story than trying to do the same with an offering that doesn't break 92. Hughes' high heat could be a problem if he can't rediscover that extra gear on his fastball.