What It Means:

J.T. Realmuto is the culprit here. It was his liner that hit Hughes in the knee in the ninth inning on Thursday. The 29-year-old right-hander lands on the disabled list after posting a rough 5.95 ERA, 1.51 WHIP and 34/13 K/BB ratio across 59 innings this season. He was shifted from the rotation to the bullpen at the end of May. No timetable for his recovery has been made immediately available, but X-rays taken after the game did not reveal any structural damage, so he may have at least dodged that bullet.

Hughes' 4.98 xFIP is lower than his ERA, but it still ranks 10th worst among pitchers with at least 50 innings pitched this season, and his 13.1 strikeout percentage is seventh-worst. Our models currently project Hughes to record a 4.78 ERA and a 13.7 strikeout percentage over the remaining course of the season.