Hickory Crawdads
Hughes was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the fourth round of the 2006 Major League Baseball draft. He started his professional career as a starting pitcher in 2006 with the Williamsport Crosscutters and the Hickory Crawdads. He spent the 2007 season with Hickory, where he was 8–9 with a 4.64 ERA, and led the league with 27 wild pitches in innings.