Phil Hughes Finds New Home In 'Pen

OAKLAND -- When Phil Hughes got the call into manager Joe Girardi's office back in early June, he assumed he was headed for the minors.

Again.

But Hughes' young career, one of unmet potential as a starter, took a quick turn that has brought him to the last place he thought he'd be. He is a dominant setup man.

"He's really made the back end of the bullpen that much stronger for us," Yankees pitching coach Dave Eiland told FanHouse. "He's done a fabulous job."

Hughes, 23, has been considered one of the Yankees' top starting pitching prospects, but in 28 career starts he has a 5.28 ERA. As a reliever, he's got a 1.35 ERA in 26 games. He has struck out 44 batters and given up 20 hits in 33 1/3 innings.

What gives?

Pretty simple, to hear Hughes tell it.

"You can be a little more aggressive," he said. "Maybe cut out your third or fourth best pitches. I'm not using those as much, mainly fastball and curveball. That part changes a little bit. You obviously don't have much room for error when you are coming out of the bullpen so you tend to not pitch around guys you might as a starter."

As a starter, Hughes fell into a trap that has hurt many young pitchers. He nibbled around the fringes of the strike zone, reluctant to throw the ball over the heart of the plate and let his velocity and movement do the work.

"He wasn't quite trusting his stuff," Eiland said. "It wasn't that he wasn't good enough, but maybe he was giving hitters too much credit, trying to be too fine, falling behind in counts and having to use more of the plate. He was 19, 20 years old. He's matured a lot, mentally and physically. He feels like he belongs here now. Has no fear."

Catcher Jorge Posada said he's been impressed with Hughes' development as a setup man.

"He's accepted the role and took the challenge to do really well," Posada said. "I think he's one of the reasons we are in first place."

Although there are plenty of other factors that go into the Yankees hot streak, it is certainly no coincidence that they've been particularly hot since Hughes went to the bullpen. The Yankees were 29-21 (.580) after Hughes' final start. Since then, they are 45-23 (.661) (prior to Monday).

Because he's pitched so well in this role, Eiland said there is no question that Hughes is going to finish the season as a late-inning reliever. Next year, though, is a different story.

"It wasn't that [Hughes] wasn't good enough, but maybe he was giving hitters too much credit, trying to be too fine."
-- Yankees pitching coach Dave Eiland Eiland said the Yankees still view Hughes in the long-term as a starter. Hughes said he also wants to get back into the rotation.

"It's what I'm used to, what I've always done," he said. "I think you get the most value out of a starter, because they give you way more innings. I haven't necessarily proven at the big-league level that I can be a good starter, but I think I have the ability to do that.

"I think this time in the bullpen has helped me to my ultimate goal," he said, "which is to be a starter in the big leagues."