Today: KC Prospect Dusty Hughes
Dusty Hughes is a lefthanded starting pitcher in the Kansas City Royals farm system. Originally drafted out of Delta State (Mississippi) in 2002, Hughes has slowly climbed his way up the KC depth chart. In his first year at low-A Burlington, Hughes went 22 batters into a no hitter before being removed due to injury concerns. He ended up giving up only 38 runs over 160 combined innings (a 2.14 ERA) at Burlington and Wilmington.
Moved up to high-A High Desert in 2005, Hughes got off to a rough start before elbow injury ended his season early. He missed the entire 2006 season recovering, and has been working his way back since.
| Yr | Tm | Age | Lvl | W | L | ERA | G | GS | CG | SH | GF | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | K/9 | WHIP |
| 2003 | Az Royals | 21 | R | 5 | 2 | 2.84 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50.2 | 38 | 21 | 16 | 4 | 18 | 54 | 9.59 | 1.11 |
| 2004 | Burlington | 22 | A | 4 | 2 | 1.56 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52.0 | 39 | 12 | 9 | 2 | 15 | 36 | 6.23 | 1.04 |
| 2004 | Wilmington | 22 | A+ | 5 | 5 | 2.41 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 108.1 | 95 | 37 | 29 | 5 | 31 | 68 | 5.65 | 1.16 |
| 2005 | High Dsert | 23 | A+ | 5 | 7 | 5.67 | 19 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 92.0 | 119 | 74 | 58 | 13 | 45 | 87 | 8.51 | 1.78 | |
| 2007 | Wichita | 25 | AA | 6 | 2 | 3.08 | 25 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 108.0 | 98 | 44 | 37 | 5 | 45 | 77 | 6.42 | 1.32 |
| 2008 | NW Arkansas | 26 | AA | 5 | 2 | 2.79 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 48.1 | 42 | 15 | 15 | 2 | 14 | 39 | 7.26 | 1.16 |
Despite being fresh from TJ surgery, Hughes put up a very impressive pro season at AA Wichita upon his return. He racked up a 6-2 record and a 3.08 ERA across 180 innings, while holding opposing batters to a thrifty .240 average. He should be returning to full strength for 2008, which makes him one of the most promising pitching prospects in KC once again.
Hughes succeeds with a 90mph fastball that he commands well, and it's possible he'll gain a few mph post-surgery. His best pitch is his plus change, though, so tip-top fastball heat isn't especially required for success. He has a slurvy breaking ball that should evolve into either a sweeping slider or a power curve in the years to come.
Update: working his first year at AAA, Hughes has bounced between starting and bullpen duty, looking very strong despite the higher competition. His ERA after 17 appearances (4 starts) is just 2.79, and his 1.16 WHIP looks a lot better than what KC's major leaguers are showing. He should get a chance with the big league Royals before the year is out.
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