Chicago Cubs Season in Review: Brandon Hughes
At the beginning of July the Chicago Cubs has one of the most formidable bullpens in the National League. By August, it was a shadow of its former shadow.
David Robertson, Scott Effross, Mychal Givens and Chris Martin all left for greener pastures. The Cubs were left with a motley crew of rookies, castoffs and the slim pickings of the waiver wire.
Shining through that grim fog though was Brandon Hughes. A 26-year-old rookie, Hughes flunked out of the Cubs farm system as an outfielder in 2018. Drafted in the 16th round of the 2017 MLB Draft, Hughes slashed a measly .240/.304/.321 as a professional, he wasn't going anywhere as a hitter.
A one-time reliever in his 19-year-old freshman year of college, Hughes fell back on the last thing he had left, and found immediate success. In 32.2 innings in 2019, Hughes pitched to a 3.31 ERA across three lower minor league levels. Coming out of the pandemic he improved even further, posting an immaculate 1.71 ERA in 42.0 innings in 2021. Rocketing up through the Cubs farm, Hughes made his Major League debut on May 17 after pitching 16.2 scoreless innings to begin the season at Double-A and Triple-A.
But as is oft said, the biggest jump between levels in any sport is the gap between Triple-A and the Major Leagues. Hughes didn't fall victim entirely to more seasoned hitters, but his meteoric rise was briefly stunted.
Through his first 18.0 innings, he posted a 4.50 ERA, surrendering three home runs and eight walks. But underlying those statistics were a blistering strikeout-rate for a rookie.
In that span he'd worked 24 K's, and Hughes only built on that success.
For the rest of the season, Hughes found more and more success. From Jul.1 through Oct. 5 he had an ERA of 2.50 and 44 strikeouts in 39.2 innings. By August he moved into the closer role after Robert left Wrigley Field for Citizens Bank Park.
Ending the season with an ERA of 3.12, Hughes went from a Single-A bust to a bullpen back-end staple within four seasons.
However, one cannot discuss Hughes without examining his biggest flaw.
During the 57.2 innings he pitched during 2022, he surrender a whopping 11 home runs. Hughes is a steady fly-ball pitcher, not ideal coming into the late0game out of the 'pen.
He benefitted from some good BABIP luck, opponents hit just .233 when putting the ball in play, but Hughes must find a way to avoid the long ball coming back in 2023. If not, he could soon find himself cast back into the minor leagues when his statistics regress.
Final Grade: B+
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