Phil Hughes

In his first outing this Spring, Phil Hughes looked closer to his 2010 form. After dropping some weight, Hughes was hitting 92-93 on the gun, according to scouts. 

Now these numbers aren't staggering, but for someone who was having trouble breaking 90 last year, this is a great sign. 

Every Monday I will be bringing you the Top 3 hot and cold baseball players from around MLB. The twist, I’ll also be providing a buy or sell recommendation on the cold players to help you decide if this is a guy to target in a trade offer or someone you should cut if they’re clogging a bench spot. I'll also give advice on those playing well, if you should sell high or buy the continued dominance.

For the last week, here are your Hot & Cold recommendations—

All spring, the New York Yankees showed no concern over Phil Hughes' lack of velocity.

Perhaps the shellacking he received on Friday at the hands of the Boston Red Sox will get their attention.

Coming into the season, the New York Yankees' biggest weakness was their starting rotation. With no fourth or fifth starter and an inconsistent AJ Burnett pitching third, the Yankees were expecting big seasons from CC Sabathia and Phil Hughes.

Phil Hughes was born on June 24, 1986 in Mission Viejo, California. A little less than 25 years later, the sorry sack of dog**** went to Boston and gift wrapped the first win of the season for the hated Red Sox, who beat the New York Yankees 9-6.

Phil Hughes Final Line: 4IP, 5H,  5R, 5ER, 2BB, 1K .333 GB/FB ratio

If actions and words are any indicator, there appears to be a difference of opinion regarding the importance of New York Yankees starter Phil Hughes developing his changeup.

Coaches keep mentioning Hughes' further development and use of the pitch as the primary goal for him this spring.

Most pitching coaches and baseball aficionados would agree that it takes a few years for a starting pitcher to learn what it takes to be a successful big league pitcher. As Tom Glavine explained to John Feinstein in Living on the Black, “Young pitchers know how to throw hard, but very few know how to pitch”.

When looking for a young pitcher to target late in fantasy drafts, owners should identify players who have yet to produce top level fantasy stats despite having gifted arms and a collection of filthy pitches. 

Ahhh I can smell the clay already.

Pitchers and catchers have reported to camp, there is less than a week before the first Spring Training game and speculation about who will finish the 2011 season where in the AL East is already brewing.

The AL East has always been one of the toughest, if not THE toughest, divisions in baseball.

This year will be no different.

In fact, I expect it to be more competitive this season than it has been in a while.

Spring training is a great opportunity to get a sense of how a player's offseason went, and what to expect in terms of improvement or regression. How a player performs during spring training often helps scouts see how players are recovering from injury or whether or not to expect a player who disappointed the previous season to bounce back.