Brandon Hughes ready to bolster Cubs’ bullpen

n”,”providerName”:”Twitter”,”providerUrl”:”https://twitter.com”,”type”:”rich”,”width”:550},”type”:”oembed”},{“__typename”:”Markdown”,”content”:”The 27-year-old Hughes — selected in the 16th round of the 2017 Draft as an outfielder out of Michigan State — relies mostly on a four-seamer and slider for the Cubs. His slider was particularly effective, netting a 49.1 percent whiff rate, per Statcast. Only Andrew Chafin (60.4 percent) and Josh Hader (54.3 percent) had a better slider whiff rate among lefty pitchers (min. 50 pitches).nnHughes also mixes in a sinker and came into camp this spring with the goal of working more on his changeup. Both of those offerings have the type of movement that could help better neutralize right-handed batters.nnThis season, Hughes will be able to keep learning his way in the big leagues from veterans like Fulmer and Boxberger. Last year, the lefty said experienced relievers like David Robertson, Chris Martin, Mychal Givens and Daniel Norris played a key role in his learning curve.”,”type”:”markdown”},{“__typename”:”Video”,”contentDate”:”2022-10-05T23:33:33.581Z”,”description”:”Brandon Hughes retires Aramis Garcia on a flyout to center field, sealing the Cubs’ 15-2 win over the Reds in the season finale”,”displayAsVideoGif”:false,”duration”:”00:00:19″,”mp4AvcPlayback”:”https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2022/2022-10/05/a753ad1c-5860e4bf-d202b3bc-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4″,”slug”:”brandon-hughes-in-play-out-s-to-aramis-garcia”,”tags”:[{“__typename”:”Tag”,”slug”:”season-2022″,”title”:”Season 2022″},{“__typename”:”Tag”,”slug”:”gamepk-663131″,”title”:”2022/10/05 chc@cin”},{“__typename”:”Tag”,”slug”:”playerid-676714″,”title”:”Brandon Hughes”},{“__typename”:”Tag”,”slug”:”teamid-112″,”title”:”Chicago Cubs”},{“__typename”:”Tag”,”slug”:”pitching”,”title”:”pitching”},{“__typename”:”Tag”,”slug”:”highlight”,”title”:”highlight”},{“__typename”:”Tag”,”slug”:”in-game-highlight”,”title”:”in-game highlight”},{“__typename”:”Tag”,”slug”:”eclat-feed”,”title”:”Eclat feed”},{“__typename”:”Tag”,”slug”:”path-to-the-postseason”,”title”:”Path to the Postseason”},{“__typename”:”Tag”,”slug”:”international-feed”,”title”:”International Partner feed”}],”templateUrl”:”https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/{formatInstructions}/mlb/xctemtqhwkzmo5qdoqgp”,”title”:”Brandon Hughes tallies final…