Following a disappointing 2011, Yankee starter Phil Hughes is having a respectable season—11-8 with a 3.96 ERA. Reuters

Two years ago, Phil Hughes was on top of the world. He had just been named an All-Star. He was on his way to winning 18 games, and was viewed as a young cornerstone of the Yankee rotation.

And in August 2010, he still had an ERA under 4.00.

For the first time in two years, Hughes can look at his numbers and say he's on the right side of that line after early April. After a dismal finish to 2010, a lost 2011 and an ugly start to 2012, Hughes has gradually worked his way back to being a valued and trusted pitcher for his Yankees. And for the first time in two years (outside of April), he has a sub-4.00 ERA to prove it, sitting at 3.96 after a strong outing against the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday.

Granted, having a sub-4.00 ERA doesn't mean what it used to. Through Thursday, the American League's average ERA was 4.10. The National League's was actually below 4.00 (3.98). This isn't 2000 anymore; getting under 4.00 isn't the pitcher's equivalent of a .300 batting average.

Still, getting under 4.00 is a validation for Hughes, he said. But he tries not to think about it in the context of how tough the last few years have been. "I try to throw last year out because it was such a disappointment," he said, "but I feel like I've been pitching pretty well lately, and it's one of the bonuses."

Though only 25 years old, Hughes is a veteran, a former first-round pick who has been in the majors since 2007. He has been the next big thing as a starter, then a key reliever on the Yankees' 2009 World Series winning team. He has been an All-Star in 2010 as a starter, and a failure last season as he lost his fastball amid a dead-arm period.

Hughes is a pitcher who relies heavily on his strong fastball, and uses it to cover up his lack of a devastating secondary pitch. So when he is tentative, or doesn't trust his pitches, as happened last year when his fastball lost its bite, he gets hit hard.

Now, he is back to throwing in the low-to-mid 90 mile-per-hour range, and he is attacking, which catcher Russell Martin said matters with Hughes more than it does with other pitchers.

"He's being more aggressive, trusting his fastball a lot more," Martin said. "That's the key—that fastball, moving it in and out, up and down. That's his strength. And his attitude towards it has been better—more aggressive, more intense out there."

Hughes is a reflective player, one who always tries to explain how he can turn a negative situation into a learning experience. He has done that as best he can over the past two years.

"I try and treat every bump in the road as a learning experience," he said. "You don't want to go through them—it's been a lot of bumps in the road, hopefully there aren't too many more—but I've come up and dealt with injuries and stuff like that."

If there is anything in particular he can take away, it is a refined ability to leave bad outings behind him and to remain mentally tough.

"Especially when I was in the bullpen, that helped a lot too because you have to throw those outings away, the bad ones, as quick as you can and get it turned around and focus on the next day," Hughes said. "It's kind of that in a bigger spectrum. Having disappointing stretches and things like that where you just have to say, 'I know I can do this and I just have to continue getting after it and know things will turn around.'"

They have. No one is talking about Hughes as an All-Star-level pitcher now, but he has reclaimed his place as a trusted, serviceable starter. For the moment, that is enough.