Chattanooga

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Mike Newman seems to be Fangraphs' feature tools scout.  He's got a comprehensive report on Danny Hultzen today, and a video containing dozens of Hultzen pitches from the Chattanooga game that Newman scouted.  Great job Mike.

On to the kibitzing!

His success has left me wondering if as a child, Danny Hultzen was the type to constantly ask his parents “are we there yet?” on long road trips. If so, then the left-hander is probably busy texting “Is it time yet?” to Mariners higher-ups as his combination of stuff and performance is Seattle ready.

Hultzen started the year with a moderately disappointing loss, 5 runs allowed, and has since thrown 12 consecutive lockdowns - five runs in 12 games.  This shutout-every-single-time shtick has long ago laid waste to any pretense that he needs the AA development time.  I mean, what are you going to say?  He's thrown 12 shutouts in a row.  Maybe if he throws 16.

The good news for Mariners fans:  the administration sincerely believes that Hultzen is going to be healthy and starring in the year 2018.  Imagine sitting down to lunch with Zduriencik and hearing, "Oh, sure, Hultzen will be fine for 15 years.  You don't worry a lot about mileage with Danny."  Okay, great.  Seriously, am glad to hear that.

My question would be:  that crossfire motion is very effective, but also is unnatural.  Sid Fernandez used one, but then El Sid only hit 200 IP three times in his career.  He totaled 7 seasons with 25 or more starts.  Are we sure that a cross-stepper is going to be a workhorse?  Just asking:  when was the last LHP who stepped 12-18" across to 1B, and who was durable?

We've said before that the M's stand to gain $3M, maybe $4M, one time, by sidestepping the Super Two arbitration in 2015.  That seems like niggling, but all 30 MLB teams do it.  ::shrug::

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his stuff was down from my first look at him on a Friday night against Georgia Tech in 2011 while playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference. In that game, Hultzen worked full innings in the mid-90′s mixing in a mid-80′s slider and low-to-mid 80′s changeup with great success. In Chattanooga, I had the opportunity to watch a more toned down, workmanlike Hultzen who presented as a much different pitcher now than he did just a year ago. Gone were the mid-90′s readings on the radar gun and slider. Present was a low-90′s fastball and upper 70′s curveball which allowed Hultzen to pitch at three distinct speeds.

Hultzen's motion right now is probably as relaxed as any pitcher's I've ever seen.  John Halama used to blow bubbles during his backstroke.  Jamie Moyer has the balance of a ballerina, all the way through his followthrough.  Greg Maddux looked like he could fall asleep and keep pitching.  Hultzen's relaxation is fully the equal of any of them.

We're talking about a relaxation that keeps the eyes softly on target, and the game slowed down, right through that 20-revolutions-per-second acceleration and through the pitch hitting the catcher's mitt.  Sloooowwwww, slow, slow.  Hultzen's outside his body observing the action.

In aikido they call this "keeping one point" - that at the moment of maximum chaos and confusion is occurring (a punch being thrown, a pitcher's shoulders rotating at 20 revs per second, you flipping somebody over your head) your mind is still unhurried.