Jared Hughes remembers when he got first got called up to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2011.
Hughes made 11 appearances as a September call-up and posted a 4.09 ERA in 11 innings of work. The former Long Beach State Dirtbag made the transformation from hard thrower to sinker ball pitcher while working on his pitch effectiveness.
Now however, Hughes had the challenge of proving that he belonged in the major leagues.
“I had a chance to prove myself going out there and struggling at first but then developing a more aggressive mindset out of the bullpen and being able to go out there and give it my all,” Hughes said. “I had a catcher, Kris Watts that approached me and said, ‘Go out there, leave nothing out there, and be a freak’.”
Hughes not only has earned his spot in the Pirates bullpen, but is coming off a season in which he set career lows in ERA, WHIP, WAR, holds, pitches per inning, pitches per plate appearance, opponent slugging percentage and opponent OPS.
When Hughes pitched his first complete season in 2012, much was expected from him. He was expected to pitch multiple innings in relief and thus took batting practice with the team’s starting pitchers.
“Even though I never went over three innings, I was expected to be able to go as long as I possibly could,” said Hughes. “It’s something I’ve done in the past, so I know exactly what I need to do if I go multiple innings. For me, the main thing I’ve really learned is if you want to go deeper you’ve got to limit the pitches which is just attacking the zone early on. I want to keep the same aggressive mindset but I want to pound that zone and force early contact.”
In total, Hughes made 66 appearances and pitched a career high 75.2 innings. Hughes made 18 appearances in which he pitched more than one inning. Hughes was stretched out to three innings Apr. 20 that season against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Despite a career season in 2014, Hughes spot on the roster spot was not secure. Because Arquimedes Caminero, Radhames Liz and Stolmy Pimentel were out of options, there was the potential that he would start the season in Triple-A Indianapolis.
“I can’t ignore it, but at the same time I have to focus on going out there, improving and doing my job,” Hughes said. “If I start getting caught up in how the team’s being run then I’m not doing my job.”
Ultimately, the Pirates stuck by Hughes with the expectation of being prepared to go potentially pitch multiple innings as frequent as he did in 2012.
Already this season, Hughes has pitched in five of the team’s nine games and is holding opponents to a .190 batting average. Hughes has eclipsed one inning pitched on two occasions and this will be common place. He also has struck out eight batters in his first six innings of the 2015 regular season.
With him will be his always aggressive mindset and ground ball ability, the same traits that have endeared him to Pirates fans.
“I’m 0-0 every day,” said Hughes. “Every day is a new start and a chance to go out there and pitch in the major leagues and prove myself. The past means nothing and the future you can’t predict, so why not just go out there and show what I’m capable of?”
Photo credit: Rick Osentoski/USA Today
