DENVER – Right-hander Gabriel Hughes, the Rockies’ top pick in 2022 and the team’s No. 16 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, won’t be misled by numbers, good or bad.
In three starts since returning to Triple-A Albuquerque’s starting rotation from a left oblique injury, Hughes has thrown 15 2/3 innings, struck out 16 and yielded four hits, five walks and no runs. That sounds like a trio of good games to most of the world.
“My first two outings back in Triple-A had really good results, and weren't the best-executed games,” said Hughes, who was called up by the Rockies on Wednesday. “I didn't have a ton of first-pitch strikes, didn't get a ton of 1-1 [count] strikes.
“It’s really kept things in perspective and allowed me to understand, ‘I got away with it today, but I need to be making sure that I'm still doubling down on my process.’ I need to make sure I’m not letting, ‘Oh, I went five scoreless, 4 2/3 scoreless,’ become like, ‘I know what I’m doing.’”
Hughes, who turns 25 on Aug. 22, has had practice focusing on what’s important. It’s a skill that is especially important. With the 2023 Tommy John surgery and the early-season setback this year behind him, his Major League debut is now imminent.
To prepare, Hughes built a process that helps block out distractions. He committed to the teachings of Brian Cain, a mental skills coach who works with multiple professionals (including Rockies pitcher Chase Dollander). He also found that the Rockies’ new pitching coaches and their expanded information staff have made strategy easily digestible.
“It has really helped me simplify my thinking about the game – I'm getting ahead, I'm staying ahead, and then I'm finishing the at bat,” he said. “Pre-two strikes, I'm filling up the zone. Two strikes, I'm getting a little outside the zone for swing and miss, and for weak contact.”
Hughes also has turned concerns of scouts who saw his upper-90s fastball at Gonzaga University, and haven’t seen it either in pro ball or since the injury, into a non-issue in his mind.
“This year, I've been able to go out and get better numbers than I did last year, and better than I did the years before, so I don't think it's the end-all be-all,” said Hughes, who faced Team USA’s World Baseball Classic entry during Spring Training. “If I was constantly trying to chase who I was before surgery, I would really be miserable. I would be constantly trying to become who I was four years ago, instead of accepting and understanding where I'm at today, and working to maximize that.”
Hughes is seeing progress. While velocity isn’t a focus, his 93.2 mph four-seam fastball average in his last start – six scoreless innings with six strikeouts against two hits and one walk in a win over Salt Lake – was his highest of the season, which is a sign of health. He also scored well by his standards.
“Under my personal definition of execution, it was something around 72 percent,” he said. “First-pitch strikes were right about 71 percent, and getting to 1-2 as opposed to 2-1, I was right around 70 percent. Seventy percent is what I'm shooting for in all three of those categories.”
But before every game, Hughes puts the numbers away to get to a favorite part of his process.
“The day that I pitch, in that couple hours before I go out, one of the things I do is watch this five-minute video of pitches I’ve gotten for swings and misses,” Hughes said. “Every couple of weeks, I’ll go through and update it.”
If all continues, he’ll have an opportunity to stick in a Rockies uniform this season.