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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.