As has been well articulated by many above: How can one argue that Hughes is not one of the 5 best starters in the Yankees system today? Minor league performance is predictive, irrespective of age. In fact, there’s increasing evidence that pitchers peak much earlier than hitters. If the goal is winning today, having Hughes up is a no-brainer. If the goal is preserving his arm – once again I think it’s a no-brainer: where do you think he’ll be getting more careful supervision and quality medical attention – the Bronx or the minors? If a pitcher only has so many innings in their shoulder, you want to get as many of the value-added ones in the majors as possible (Now if the worry is Torre’s Lasorda-esque pitcher-abuse behavior – well, I’d agree – but it’s Cashman’s job to keep that under control).

Discriminating against the guy because of his age is just foolish, and the product of a less objective era. While he seemed to tire in the 5th, I saw nothing in Hughes’ performance that would indicate he should spend another minute in the minor leagues – and a lot that would indicate he could be the best pitcher on the Yankees in 2008. At the latest.

I stand on the side of ‘he is ready’. Yes, he’s young and they need to be careful with him (pitch counts are a good idea), but clearly he has the stuff to get major league hitters out on a regular basis. There’s no debating that. Life can be tough and human beings tend to only learn things ‘the hard way’, with adversity and some failure. I don’t see the value of blowing away the competition at Scranton and hanging out with other 20 year olds at the local Chili’s after the game. What is he really going to learn? How is he going to somehow be more qualified by June/July? Since he has the stuff to get hitters out, the mechanics to hopefully keep his arm healthy, and a reportedly stellar mental makeup, I would rather he learn on the job while being surrounded by the likes of Guidry, Mussina, Pettite and Rivera to teach the kid how to be a pro, how to deal with a tough loss, etc.

He was not lights out, but everyone should have been able to see that his stuff is electric and the potential is huge. He painted a few corners, blew some fastballs by major league hitters, buckled some knees with the curve, and at least to me, did not look rattled. Certainly there were jitters (understandably so), but he was not intimidated.

Let him pitch. He’ll benefit in the long run, and frankly, we need him on the staff. Not to ‘save’ the team, but to go out and pitch competitively and give the offense a chance. There’s absolutely no reason to think he’s less capable of that than any other pitcher within the organization.

He is not expected to be the savior, he’s expected to be the #4 starter. Remember by the end of next he week will have 3 strong starters pitching ahead of him in Wang, Moose, and Pettitte.

Oh and the 90mph 4-seamer was blown by Adam Lind…its not all about velocity, the two best attributes of a fastball are movement and location. Just ask Kyle Farnsworth.

What I saw from Hughes last night made me almost wet my pants. Tremendous fastball movement. The best curveball I think I’ve ever seen any Yankee throw, a 12-6 hammer at 70 mph. In the minors, he didn’t just have good control and oommand, he had elite control and command. Ridiculous K/BB numbers, and a microscopic home run rate. He has nothing left to learn from the AAAA hitters and old prospects languishing in AAA. He had his jitters, but I expect more against a struggling Rangers team next time. I’ll be benching Texeira, that’s for sure. He’s the future, and by the end of the year, he might well be the best pitcher on the staff. And he’s 20 years old. Think about that, Pete. He’s built like a horse, there’s nothing wrong with him. No “buts” with Hughes. 6-5, 220, two plus, sometimes plus plus pitches, a developing change, elite command, great makeup. That is the formula for an ace in the major leagues.

Would you rather be throwing Igawa or Karstens out there? Or we could just try the Rasner thing again, it’s not like he was getting lit up out there. Torre just does’t like him.