Tale of da Tape, Paxton vs Hultzen
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Q. Has Danny Hultzen "taken a big step forward" in the AFL?
A. What Hultzen has done, is he has proven to ever'body that he likes it rough.
As Michael Pineda does. As Dustin Ackley does. If you're going to call weak fouls, get off the court or get punched. That Dr. Danny would be a killer, this was a mild surprise to some people. But as Bones McCoy once asked a Romulan, "Would you like to find out just how fast I can put you in the hospital?"
Jack Zduriencik was aware of Hultzen's makeup, previously. Jack Zduriencik's entourage is aware of this, subsequently.
Since Danny Hultzen has made it obvious, to doubters, that he got ML game, Zduriencik therefore has less resistance to plow through next March. That, and only that, is the consequence of Hultzen's splash in the AFL. Less internal bickering.
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Q. Is it Paxton vs. Hultzen? What is the English Premier League's rule on homegrown rookies in one April rotation?
A. More obvious silliness, this Paxton "or" Hultzen faux-dilemma.
Look, Walker's here next year (if not before). Campos is here the year after. That's four arms in three years -- presuming nobody else shows up, such as Forrest Snow.
My calculus is a little rusty, but if you have 4 blue-chippers in 3 years, then two of them have to debut together in some year, now don't they?
And if you wanted to integrate a larger group of young players, would it be now, or would it be later in the rebuild? Get 'em in there.
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But if it were one of the other, it would be Paxton, not Hultzen.
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Q. What does Hultzen have left to learn? He's throwing three plus ML pitches, and throwing them to spots. What more can he learn in the minors?
A. Pitch sequences and margin for error.
At the highest levels, it's about intuition -- the feel for when you can get away with extra aggressiveness, and the feel for when you need to cover up and save your GQ-class cheekbones.
From a pitcher's point of view, there is a time when he's safe to get six inches of the plate. There's another time when he has to be sure to miss in off the plate. When are those times? Don't ask me; I'm not a pitcher ...
Felix had a 4.52 ERA as a rookie, a 98 ERA+, way too many homers and XBH. He over-challenged. His sense of danger wasn't finely developed. ... these days, Felix' intuition is hair-fine. You don't even see him use it.
We remember Michael Pineda giving up a long HR in June and Felix laughing about it, literally laughing, how could you be so stupid as to throw that pitch to that guy in that count... it's not Pineda's fault, and Felix wasn't being malicious. It's just that there is no replacing the intuition that comes with experience.
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