Dusty Hughes

Dustin Robert Hughes was born on June 29, 1982 in Tupelo, Mississippi.

The Kansas City Royals selected him in round 11 of the 2003 MLB Draft. He made his Major League debut for them in 2009, making one start and seven relief appearances that season. Hughes went 0-2 with a 5.14 ERA. He was a regular member of the Royals bullpen in 2010, posting a 3.83 ERA across 57 relief outings. Kansas City designated him for assignment in January 2010. The Minnesota Twins claimed him off of waivers.

Hughes broke camp with the Twins, surrendering three runs in an Opening Day appearance against the Toronto Blue Jays. Minnesota had already been down by seven when he entered in the eighth inning. He recovered nicely, allowing just two base runners and no runs over his next four innings of work. He was the winning pitcher in an extra inning game against his former Royals club on April 12th.

Kansas City roughed Hughes up a night later, and things started to trend downward. The Twins eventually designated him for assignment on May 28th. He had a 9.95 ERA over 15 appearances for the club. Hughes cleared waivers, and finished out the year in Triple-A. He was 3-1 with one save and a 4.29 ERA in 43 appearances for the Rochester Red Wings.

Hughes spent 2012 and 2013 in the Atlanta Braves minor league system, pitching exclusively in Triple-A and never resurfacing at the big league level.