Remember that Hultzen was a two-way player. Not just a hitter, but one of the best hitters (.309/.396/.441) on a team playing day-in, day-out to position itself for a national championship. Every game was meaningful because they were playing to host a regional and super-regional, and that makes a huge difference in getting to the College World Series.
What does that mean? It means he logged a lot of time at 1b, and when not at 1b or on the mound he was DH. When he was the starter, not only would he hit, but the ordinary course was that he would stay in the game as the DH after he was done pitching.
In other words, he put a lot of time and effort into things other than pitching. Obviously, he was serious about school, too. Burning the candle at both ends.
My surmise is that Z and Mac concluded that Hultzen will be 96 easy once his whole focus and energy is on pitching, and that's why they jumped at him. And why they think he can hit MLB running.
....
On the Mariners' postgame show, 710-AM scored an interview with a punch-drunk but surprisingly articulate Jack Zduriencik. Who had probably slept relatively recently - we're guessing, August 13th or so.
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I/O: Capt Jack says "there were some interesting moments" with Hultzen, who signed "right at" the top of the hour.
CRUNCH: In other words, Hultzen's camp walked away from the deal -- and meant it -- several times. Including probably with ten minutes left.
The M's gave Hultzen, what, the #5 bonus ever, and Hultzen wasn't a #1 pick. Nor was he the #2 pick in a Strasburg draft.
Zduriencik said on the radio, "You'd think a contract like this would be a dream come true for a kid, but sometimes I guess it doesn't work out" ... meaning that Z's personal reaction is shock and awe for the sheer greed that agents sometimes drag the players into. (It's not like Hultzen was going to get more money next year.)
His catchphrase was, "the kids who want to play baseball, wind up signing," meaning that the Mariners were also prepared to walk away if Hultzen was going to be irrational.
***
Some players have wound up getting contracts voided because a few minutes, if not a few seconds, late on their acceptance, so you're talking about a true white-knuckle panic situation with bleary-eyed execs and agents.
Z explained that the main problem with the trigger-wire games is that --- > agents and players are always waiting to see what some other player got ...
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Z was asked whether Hultzen's career as a doctor (and his reported $20M inheritence contingency) played in. His basic response: Hultzen can play baseball and then be a doctor...
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The takeaway: give it up for the Mariners. Zduriencik praised Armstrong and Lincoln. You should too. Big time. The suits got into the fight on this one, baby.
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I/O: Rumors that Hultzen will get a shot to skip minor league baseball.
CRUNCH: On air, Z emphasized three (3) different times that Hultzen will come to camp in 2012 to compete for a rotation spot in Safeco.
The disbelieving radio folks kept thinking he meant something else. Finally, Zduriencik brought up Mike Leake, who signed, pitched in the Arizona Fall League, came to ML camp with the Reds in 2010 and simply won a rotation spot with the big club. "Today's college pitchers are sometimes more advanced than you think."
***
I also smiled at this shtick, figuring that Zduriencik had been forced to talk this way in order to sign Hultzen. And that now he's got to show some integrity .... "Sure, kid, we'll see how you look in the pros and if you're one of our best five, sure."
But it was Cool Papa Bell who got me thinking. Stephen Strasburg and Tim Lincecum spent time in the minors, but .... it really wasn't because they had to.
If Hultzen is throwing in his best-case scenario, of course he's better than Blake Beavan is. So, super cool dude :- )
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Comments
You routinely find brilliant ideas just thrown off as if they were nothing. (If I ever had a brilliant idea I'd pair it with a boldface headline!)
... your earlier post Spec, about Capt Jack's pattern in taking players with flaws he didn't think weighed heavily ... was going to do a long series on Game Theory and just how sophisticated Jack's "pattern" really is. Here I am the Game Theory guy, I'd completely whiffed on it, but it was clear as a bell to you.
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Not sure what it means that Hultzen is a pro-level hitter, except that he's obviously got excellent body control for a left hand pitcher. As y'know, James thinks that's a big plus for a LHP -- body control leading to command over the long haul.
Jeff, you capture my attention, the true gift of an artist. I love your desire to complement, reflecting a desire to please. I love it mostly because it so effectively counter-balances your desire to win. Your love of competition and the desire to win appears to be the well spring of you love of sport, but you couter-balance this love of winning with a love of understanding. This allows you to praise the insights of others and keep your alpha-ego in proportion.
On the actual topic of discussion, Hultzen has very good pitching talent, but not special talent. He is not Felix Hernandez, or Bobby Witt for that matter. Neither is Cliff Lee, but that doesn't seem to help the hitters. Hultzen is fun because he wasn't the color-by-numbers call, but the intersection of superior talent (not special talent) with superior intellect, focus, and athleticism (for a pitcher) makes for compelling drama. Did the the M's front office just bank on a pitcher's supreme pitchability? What is the expected success rate of such a call?
Hultzen has very good pitching talent, but not special talent. He is not Felix Hernandez, or Bobby Witt for that matter. Neither is Cliff Lee, but that doesn't seem to help the hitters. Hultzen is fun because he wasn't the color-by-numbers call, but the intersection of superior talent (not special talent) with superior intellect, focus, and athleticism (for a pitcher) makes for compelling drama. Did the the M's front office just bank on a pitcher's supreme pitchability? What is the expected success rate of such a call?
It all depends on whether his demonstrated college skills translate. Pitchability is great against non-pros and in college with weird strike zones, but trying to eyeball the difference between a guy who can succeed with a minor-league zone (or that ridiculous 3-foot-wide thing the ump was calling in the Morrow game last night...) and one who can paint the black with a smaller margin for error is tough.
That's why it's great to hear Brad Miller's dad gushing about the ridiculous slider Hultzen has, and how impressed everyone is with him. He needs to have weapons AND pitchability.
If Cole works out, he has more talent than Hultzen, IMO. I'm not especially big on his future though, because he seems far more like a Hochevar low-end / Scherzer high-end type to me and that doesn't wow me.
If Bauer works out he can exceed Hultzen's potential too, I believe. But I can understand being leery of the guy throwing 130 pitches every game, the short kid with the funky motion. I'm not, but it's not my 10 million dollars.
Jungmann might be better than all of em.
Hultzen has always been viewed as the "safer" pick with the lower ceiling but the best chance of reaching it. That may be doing him a disservice - he's obviously a terrific pitcher. But he is also supposed to have the fastest path to the bigs. Bauer may have something to say about that, but if Hultzen really does make the club out of Spring Training, it'll be hard to argue with the idea that he's a #3 arm that helps us NOW and can develop into a TOR guy as he progresses.
Felix / Hultzen / Pineda / Paxton could be a whiplashing R / L / R / L meat-grinder for opposing offenses as soon as April 2012.
I would love for that to be the case. The King (and Cy Young winner), the Surgeon (how soon til we can start calling him Doc?), the Giant, and Thor (with that magical hammer of a curve).
That could be a terrifically fun rotation to watch. Not a Beavan in the bunch. I wasn't fond of the Hultzen decision on draft day, but he's here now: let's hope he's everything the Mariners believe he will be and more.
~G
I can understand the logic in passing on Rendon if you thought there was long-term damage. I still do not understand taking Hultzen over Bauer. I think thats a huge mistake.
Hopefully Hultzen's velocity does return and stay under Eliot's program as Z is betting on.
Great article on Bauer. Even though we didn't pick him, his influence could lead to some changes in the way pitching is taught:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1189170/1/ind...
Interesting quote:
"There's a wave of this," Bauer says. "The wave is coming." He rattles off names of other top pitching prospects who have embraced similar training methods, such as Dylan Bundy, whom the Orioles took No. 4 overall. Bauer rejoices that the Mariners hired a Harvard Medical School--educated doctor, Marcus Elliott, who removed the weights from the weight room. Bauer is part of a broad movement, but he has the biggest platform."