Phil Hughes so far (8 starts, about a quarter of the season) has been the Minnesota Twins' best pitcher and should definitely have All-Star consideration. In addition to his old school 4-1, 3.61 ERA, he has 7.6 K/9, 6.7 K/BB, and 1.225 WHIP. This translates to a 41.6 PE, which is in Ace territory. Take into consideration that he achieved that with a .326 BABIP (thanks to the Twins' playing catchers, shortstops and designated hitters at the outfield), and his numbers become ever more impressive: Adjusted WHIP: 1.09, xPE: 46.8, FIP 2.94. The strikeouts (20.3% K-rate and 7.6 K/9) are especially a welcome departure from the usual for the Twins.
Last season was a horrible season for Hughes, but still his K-rate was high (and has been, it has 18.9% and 20.3%, last season and the season before last, respectively) and was going deep into games. This game, against the eventual AL West champions, could have been a mirror image of his last appearance with the Twins:
All in all, Phil Hughes is up to a great start and it should not be all that surprising. According to this analysis, he was a solid two to three starter last season, and based on this analysis, he was a good, but not a top 3, pitcher for the Twins to target last off-season.
Last season was a horrible season for Hughes, but still his K-rate was high (and has been, it has 18.9% and 20.3%, last season and the season before last, respectively) and was going deep into games. This game, against the eventual AL West champions, could have been a mirror image of his last appearance with the Twins:
All in all, Phil Hughes is up to a great start and it should not be all that surprising. According to this analysis, he was a solid two to three starter last season, and based on this analysis, he was a good, but not a top 3, pitcher for the Twins to target last off-season.
