He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Hughes puts 52.8% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 41.9% of his pitches to left-handers.
305 pitches to right-handed hitters, 253 to left-handed hitters.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .473 expected average against them, against .295 on his breaking balls.
456 of his fastballs thrown.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Hughes's sinker moves 123.6 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
57 thrown, averaging 89.8 mph.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Hughes's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 95.0 mph, against 87.1 off his knuckle curve.
309 and 99 of them thrown.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Hughes goes to the cutter: 27.7% of his two-strike pitches, against 11.5% the rest of the time.
159 two-strike pitches in 2018.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Hughes's 4-seam fastball averages 90.6 mph, and has touched 93.1.
309 thrown, 55.4% of his pitches.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 92.5 mph off the bat against Hughes, 4th percentile.
558 pitches in 2018. 4th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2018, 699th in MLB.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Hughes releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 32 degrees above horizontal and 1.7 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
558 tracked release points, averaging 5.6 feet off the ground.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Hughes's 4-seam fastball carries 14.6 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
309 thrown, averaging 90.6 mph.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Hughes throws a fastball 93.2% of the time, against 75% when he is ahead.
148 pitches behind in the count, 168 ahead.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Hughes projects a .439 average, 4th percentile.
558 pitches in 2018. 4th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2018, 698th in MLB.
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Hughes lives in the strike zone: 47.8% of his pitches are in it, 76th percentile.
558 pitches in 2018. 76th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2018, 172nd in MLB.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Hughes works with 4 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Knuckle Curve, Cutter and Sinker. The 4-seam fastball is 55.4% of everything he throws.
558 classified pitches in 2018.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Hughes releases the ball 5.9 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
558 tracked pitches in 2018.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
46.2% of the contact Hughes gives up is hit hard, 14th percentile.
558 pitches in 2018. 14th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2018, 626th in MLB.
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Hughes averages 87.7 mph across his arsenal, 34th percentile in the league.
558 pitches in 2018. 34th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2018, 479th in MLB.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
12.2 mph separates Hughes's 4-seam fastball from his knuckle curve, 90.6 against 78.4.
309 and 99 of them respectively.
His ball is straighter than it should be
Hughes's stuff spins at 2,129 rpm, 29th percentile in the league.
558 pitches in 2018. 29th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2018, 519th in MLB.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Hughes throws the sinker 17% of the time against left-handers and 4.6% against right-handers.
305 pitches to right-handers, 253 to left-handers.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Hughes lands 49.3% of his fastballs in the zone and only 41.4% of his breaking balls.
456 of his fastballs, 99 of his breaking balls.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Hughes's knuckle curve spins at 2,385 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
99 thrown in 2018.
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The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
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He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Hughes puts 52.8% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 41.9% of his pitches to left-handers.
305 pitches to right-handed hitters, 253 to left-handed hitters.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .473 expected average against them, against .295 on his breaking balls.
456 of his fastballs thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Hughes lands 49.3% of his fastballs in the zone and only 41.4% of his breaking balls.
456 of his fastballs, 99 of his breaking balls.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Hughes's sinker moves 123.6 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
57 thrown, averaging 89.8 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Hughes's 4-seam fastball carries 14.6 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
309 thrown, averaging 90.6 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Hughes's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 95.0 mph, against 87.1 off his knuckle curve.
309 and 99 of them thrown.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Hughes's 4-seam fastball averages 90.6 mph, and has touched 93.1.
309 thrown, 55.4% of his pitches.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Hughes works with 4 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Knuckle Curve, Cutter and Sinker. The 4-seam fastball is 55.4% of everything he throws.
558 classified pitches in 2018.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
12.2 mph separates Hughes's 4-seam fastball from his knuckle curve, 90.6 against 78.4.
309 and 99 of them respectively.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Hughes throws the sinker 17% of the time against left-handers and 4.6% against right-handers.
305 pitches to right-handers, 253 to left-handers.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Hughes's knuckle curve spins at 2,385 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
99 thrown in 2018.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Hughes goes to the cutter: 27.7% of his two-strike pitches, against 11.5% the rest of the time.
159 two-strike pitches in 2018.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Hughes throws a fastball 93.2% of the time, against 75% when he is ahead.
148 pitches behind in the count, 168 ahead.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 92.5 mph off the bat against Hughes, 4th percentile.
558 pitches in 2018. 4th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2018, 699th in MLB.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Hughes projects a .439 average, 4th percentile.
558 pitches in 2018. 4th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2018, 698th in MLB.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
46.2% of the contact Hughes gives up is hit hard, 14th percentile.
558 pitches in 2018. 14th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2018, 626th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Hughes releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 32 degrees above horizontal and 1.7 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
558 tracked release points, averaging 5.6 feet off the ground.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Hughes releases the ball 5.9 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
558 tracked pitches in 2018.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Hughes lives in the strike zone: 47.8% of his pitches are in it, 76th percentile.
558 pitches in 2018. 76th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2018, 172nd in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Hughes averages 87.7 mph across his arsenal, 34th percentile in the league.
558 pitches in 2018. 34th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2018, 479th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball is straighter than it should be
Hughes's stuff spins at 2,129 rpm, 29th percentile in the league.
558 pitches in 2018. 29th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2018, 519th in MLB.
Yankees
Career team 2007–2013