The Phil Hughes era is about to begin. After getting swept by the archrival Red Sox over the weekend and watching rookie starters Jeff Karstens (4.1 IP, 7 R) and Chase Wright (3 IP, 4 R on four consecutive homers) get shelled, the Yankees have decided to call up the minors’ top pitching prospect and will start him Thursday against the Blue Jays..

Hughes, who dominated Double-A at the end of 2006 (10-3, 22.5, 138 K in 116 IP), opened 2007 at Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre. After an uncharacteristically poor start in his second outing, he bounced back last Wednesday with a vintage Hughes line: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 10 K. After making a minor adjustment with his delivery, Hughes was back to locating his 90-94 mph fastball and plus curveball with precision.