If you squint, this former Met and Rockie looks a little like Johnny Hellweg.
The news: The Rockies officially announced their new contract with reliever Boone Logan today. To clear a space on their 40-man roster, they designated right handed pitcher Collin McHugh for assignment.
McHugh is 26 and has pitched in the majors in each of the last two seasons as a member of the Mets and Rockies, but has really struggled against big leaguers. He's pitched 47.1 innings with an 8.94 ERA and has allowed eleven home runs, while opposing batters have hit .359 on balls in play against him.
Six seasons in the minors, however, tell a different story. McHugh has a career 3.34 ERA across 638.2 minor league innings, including two and a half seasons between AA and AAA. He also strikes out 8.8 batters per nine innings while walking just 2.7. The home run ball that plagued him in the majors hasn't been an issue in the minors, where he allows just .5 per nine innings.
McHugh's major league sample is small, but FanGraphs shows him with a fastball that sits right around 90, a curve, slider and changeup. In his 2013 Baseball Prospect Book, John Sickels of Minor League Ball said "he changes speeds well and his pitches have some movement."
Could he help this Brewers team? Maybe. Despite his struggles in the majors, McHugh has shown the ability to strike batters out in the minors while keeping his walks down. That's a skill that will play in either a rotation or bullpen somewhere. It's entirely possible that McHugh will continue to struggle to adapt to MLB hitting, but I think there's enough upside here to be worth a relatively low risk transaction.
What do I think the Brewers should do? I'd claim him in a heartbeat. The 40-man roster is full right now, though, so doing so will require exposing someone else to waivers.