Quick Hits: Hughes, IPK, & CC

Phishing: Joel Sherman wrote an excellent article for the NY Post advocating holding on to the two young first round pitchers. I would tend to agree, as I have a liking for developing through the organization. I have to draw a greater distinction between the two than Joel does, however. I feel that, despite poor overall numbers, Phil Hughes showed vast improvement by developing a third pitch (the cutter), increased velocity without max effort, increased command of his heater, and increased movement on his spike curveball. This was, by no means, a lost year for Phil, but I saw very little improvement with IPK. He is a command pitcher that does not hit spots the way Phil does. Rather, he relies on keeping hitters off-balance and getting them to chase pitches out of the zone. This approach worries me for major leage hitters who... [read full story]