Breaking Down Hughes’ Delivery

New York Yankees uberprospect Philip Hughes made his big-league debut last week. It didn’t go so well, but that happens. What’s fascinating is this breakdown of Hughes’ delivery by Carlos Gomez at The Hardball Times (full disclosure: I contribute to THT).

In a nutshell, Carlos looks at video of Hughes as a minor leaguer last year and compares it side-by-side with video from his Yankees debut. Carlos mixes in some still shots so we can see where Hughes is during various points of his windup.

Among many other things, Carlos has determined that Hughes’ arm slot is a little higher this season than it was in ‘06. This translates into a sharper downward breaking curve ball and a straighter fastball.

Which is better? That is largely a matter of opinion, and Carlos offers his:

In terms of how his body moves, I would certainly like him to be more like he was in ‘06. Better momentum, better center of gravity, better rhythm, later hand break. I would hate to see him slow down in order to get “balanced” or to focus too much on “staying back.” I don’t think he will keep his velocity throughout his career if he keeps doing what he’s doing now. I wouldn’t be surprised to find that his four-seam fastball’s average velocity is declining slightly already due to those changes.

Folks, this is great stuff. The amount and type of detail Carlos, a former pro ballplayer, is able to detect and analyze is astounding. He offers insights that, frankly, often fly over my head.

Well, at least on first reading…