Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Tracking Phil Hughes' fastball velocity vs. Tigers via MLB Gameday

Since a lot of Yankee fans are pretty obsessed with Phil Hughes fastball velocity, we figured it would be worth keeping an eye on. I love the data available to the average fan using MLB Gameday. Here's what we are seeing for Hughes velocity on his fastballs:

FIRST INNING:
6 fastballs @ 94 MPH
4 fastballs @ 93 MPH
3 fastballs @ 92 MPH or lower

SECOND INNING
3 fastballs @ 93 MPH
1 fastball @ 92 MPH
1 fastball @ 91 MPH
Gotta say, Hughes looks pretty good through two. 3 K's, 0 BB. He's throwing pretty hard, too.

THIRD INNING
3 fastballs @ 93 MPH
6 fastballs @ 92 MPH
2 fastballs @ 91 MPH

FOURTH INNING
1 fastball @ 93 MPH
6 fastballs @ 91 MPH
1 fastball @ 89 MPH
There were a few pitches that gameday has read as his fastball thrown at 87-88, but to my eye, they were really Hughes' cutter, so I'm not listing those.

FIFTH INNING
3 fastballs @ 93 MPH
2 fastballs @ 92 MPH
Just got a funny text from my buddy Brendan who blogs for Smoking With Hank: "Hughes is becoming a man tonight." Is he right?

SIXTH INNING
3 fastballs @ 93 MPH
4 fastballs @ 92 MPH
4 fastballs @ 91 MPH
After the Yankees batted for a half hour, the Yankees took Hughes out. He threw 99 pitches and only gave up 2 hits in 6 innings. Pretty good 2009 debut, no?
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