Phil Hughes will make his Major League debut on Thursday against Toronto. The Jays will provide a stiff first test for the game’s best pitching prospect. This move was expected at some point in 2007. That it came this soon is something of a surprise.
The Yankees needed to find a starting pitcher. Injuries necessitated it, and Chase Wright showed that he is not ready for the show. He makes too many mistakes for the Major League level and needs to work on dealing with tough spots. Hughes has the stuff to produce right off the bat, including his mental makeup. The problem with this is its timing. Hughes has been publicized to the point where he has to deal with unfair expectations. Now that the Yanks are turning to him in April with the staff struggling, they will get even higher. The rookie will be portrayed as a savior. He will be expected to turn things around completely. Considering the hype that would surround him already, it would have been best to minimize the pressure by calling him up in the dog days of summer. At that point novelty in the new season will have detracted interest, and the team would ideally be playing much better. Thats means he would have to fit in, not save the year.
Hughes may well have the stuff to deal with everything. He may come out and dominate, but this was a panic move. The safer move would have been to call up Ross Ohlendorf, who is pitching well in AAA, and let Hughes dominate the minors for a little longer. Allowing him to hone his stuff and gain confidence would not have been terrible. If this does not work, the Yankees will have used up their literal ace in the hole remarkably early in the year, letting Roger Clemens know that there is no backup plan and driving his price up in the process.
The silver lining is that Hughes has a good chance of shutting me up. He has THAT much talent.
