Phil Hughes Analysis Update

After having the opportunity to view Hughes' delivery, I can see where he has some hip rotation in his delivery so he's not stepping completely open. He could certainly improve his delivery with more rotation though. The follow through is harder than it should be, but it's not as violent as Darryl Kile's was. Still, it needs to be dealt with or he could face problems down the line. 300 lbs of torque is a lot to decelerate for any pitcher, but if  this isn't corrected, Phil could add to the scarring in the rotator cuff group and/or circulation problems in the shoulder I scouted Darryl Kyle in 1987 in the fall league for the Astros sponsored team he pitched on after he graduated from HS that summer. I noted in my scouting report (that I still have a copy of) of Darryl's potential problematic violent deceleration and turned it into the Pro Baseball Scouting School. This school had numerous Astros scouts attending it as well, btw. So, I had the opportunity to discuss this with the Astros' scouts there and also with Darryl. Well, the scouts did listen, but Kile was not willing to change something that he had nothing but success with in the past. I certainly wish he'd paid more attention to it because he might still be with us today. He was a heck of a pitcher. So seeing some of this in Phil Hughes delivery is hitting home with me because of my past experience with pitchers with less than optimal deceleration. Here's hoping Phil and the Yankees can figure it out.