Twins Phil Hughes: Fantasy value in the deepest of deep leagues?
By Gavin Tramps
If you are digging deep for fantasy baseball diamonds, make sure you don’t overlook the Minnesota Twins’ starting pitcher Phil Hughes.
2014 will go down as the highpoint of Phil Hughes’ career. He was seventh in Cy Young voting after tossing over 200 innings with 16 wins, 2.65 FIP and 1.13 WHIP. He led the league with an eye-watering 11.63 strikeouts per walk as he established himself as one of the best control pitchers in the game.
His success prompted the Minnesota Twins to sign the 28-year-old to a contract extension and to be honest; it went downhill from there.
A series of injuries have dogged the former Yankees’ pitcher, including being shut down with shoulder fatigue, and suffering a broken leg from a J.T. Realmuto line drive. His most significant stretches on the DL were enforced by surgery for Thoracic Outlet Syndrome.
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Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (or TOS as it is known) is, in its most simplistic terms, the removal of part of a rib to help alleviate pain near the collarbone.
Several other high-profile pitchers have undergone this surgery (Matt Harvey, Tyson Ross, Jaime Garcia). The recovery is not as predictable as Tommy John surgery. For example, the Mets and Matt Harvey were positively upbeat after eight months of recovery following his surgery, but the right-hander only pitched 92⅔ innings last season with 6.70 ERA.
There have been successes. Veteran pitcher Chris Young is the poster boy for TOS recovery, having notched up 31 wins for the Royals in the two seasons following his surgery.
According to Twins’ GM Thad Levine, Hughes’ most recent surgery was successful and the pitcher is intent on being a factor in the rotation this season. “He’s extremely hungry,” Levine said of Hughes’ eagerness to get back to Major League action.
If Hughes can prove his health and effectiveness, there will be plenty of innings available. Currently, Ervin Santana and Jose Berrios are the only two starters assured a place in the Twins’ rotation. Kyle Gibson, Adalberto Mejia, Aaron Slegers, Tyler Duffey and Hughes will decide the remaining three spots, with Michael Pineda and Trevor May both starting the season on the DL as they continue their recovery from Tommy John surgery.
Hughes has thrown less than 60 innings in each of the last two seasons. Though, he was a control pitcher, with elite command and the ability to eat innings. The Twins owe him $26 million over the next two seasons, so it is in their best interests to get as much value as possible from the 31-year-old.
Even in the deepest of leagues, Hughes will cost you nothing on draft day. He could settle into a useful, mid-rotation starter, helping to rack up innings and your ratios. The average MLB team uses 11 starters during a season, so expect Hughes to contribute if he can regain his health and command, but only expect any value in the deepest of deep leagues.