Danny Hultzen and the 2011 MLB Draft
With all of the attention surrounding UCLA right-hander Gerrit Cole and Rice infielder Anthony Rendon as top draft picks in tonight’s MLB Draft, no player has had as dominant – and consistent – of a season this year as the University of Virginia’s left-handed phenom Danny Hultzen.
As a freshman, Hultzen, a good line-drive hitter that grinds out at-bats, hit .327 with eight doubles, 29 walks, and an .829 OPS. Hultzen’s at-bats were greatly reduced the following year as a sophomore, but he still hit .281 with an .821 OPS and more doubles (9) than his freshman season.
This season, though, Virginia had a significant amount of holes to fill given player losses to graduation and the draft. That opened a door for Hultzen, a left-handed hitter that added considerable weight to his frame, to receive a more prominent offensive role.
“The longest conversation I had with [Cavaliers head] coach [Brian] O’Connor was one day before practice when he came up to me and said ‘I just want you to be ready to hit this year, I feel like you’re going to have more of an impact on the offensive side than you did last year’,” Hultzen said.
A gifted overall athlete, Hultzen has certainly had that offensive impact for the Cavaliers this season. In addition to getting caught stealing just once – the first time in his entire college career – Hultzen has hit .321 with an .883 OPS in 109 at-bats with 16 walks and 32 RBIs.
To say that Hultzen has enjoyed his increased offensive role from last year would be an understatement.
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“I definitely missed not being out there every day. Just the opportunity to help my team any way I can is something I really enjoy, and I’m just glad I’ve gotten the opportunity this year to be a part of the lineup,” the 21-year-old said.
“I’m enjoying my time as a hitter.”
Aside from his offensive success, Hultzen is cherishing his time as a hitter because it’s about to come to an end. Though he could easily be drafted as a position player given his offensive makeup, Hultzen’s real strength is pitching, and he has become known for his dominance on the mound over the years.
Dominance might even be an understatement.
After relative anonymity before his final year of high school, Hultzen went a combined 20-2 with 230 strikeouts versus 52 walks in 202 innings during his first two seasons with Virginia, capturing ACC Freshman of the Year honors. He also received ACC Pitcher of the Year honors for his sophomore season, for the first time in University of Virginia history.
Hultzen’s impressive college pitching career – against stiff competition in the tough Atlantic Coast Conference – has seen him evolve into the top left-handed pitcher in this year’s draft and quite possibly the best pitcher in general, with first-overall pick potential.
“I’m just trying to get better every time I go out there,” the Maryland native said. “I’ve just been trying to get better and stronger and learn from my experiences in the past.”
Hultzen’s fastball is consistently thrown in the lower 90s with the ability to touch 96 mph, and is complemented by a plus changeup that registers in the low 80s. The changeup is considered his best pitch and virtually Major League ready, because of its heavy drop and identical 3/4 release point of his fastball, which can deceive even the best hitters.
Although not a plus pitch yet, Hultzen also features an 85-87 mph slider that bites hard down in the zone. He has made drastic improvements to both of his off-speed pitches and, as a result, has enough confidence to throw both of the pitches in any count, though the changeup tends to be nastier against right-handed hitters and the slider moreso against lefties.
In addition to pure stuff, Hultzen’s main selling point is the pinpoint accuracy of each of his pitches. This season, in addition to going 10-3 with a 1.59 ERA in 96.1 innings, Hultzen managed an uncanny 136 strikeouts (12.7 K/9) versus just 16 walks (1.5 BB/9), largely in part to his exceptional ability to paint both sides of the plate while pounding the strike zone.
Unsurprisingly, those numbers earned Hultzen ACC Pitcher of the Year honors for a second consecutive season, and his aggressive approach with the way he attacks hitters by primarily throwing strikes resembles that of a young Cliff Lee.
What’s even more noticeable than Hultzen’s impressive numbers, though, is how he ignores his personal accomplishments and constantly focuses on his team instead.
“I’m not out there to ‘get the win’, I’m out there to put my team in a position to win,” he said. “I haven’t worried a single minute about my record. My job is to go out there and give this team a chance to win, and I’m just going to work hard to keep being able to do that.”
Generating national attention as a top three draft choice, posting unbelievable numbers, and shattering school records all while pitching for the top-ranked baseball team in the country has put a lot of pressure on Hultzen this season.
All kinds of personnel from virtually every MLB club have flocked to Charlottesville to get looks at Hultzen and, according to coach Brian O’Connor, the standout southpaw hasn’t let the immense pressure change who he is or how he plays the game.
“Professional teams have sent their beat writers to interview him and see what kind of person he is. He’s had to have meetings with scouts and GMs throughout the season,” O’Connor said. “Somebody of that magnitude that has the potential to go that high in the draft, it is added pressure, there’s no question. How he has decided to handle this is as good as I’ve ever seen.”
What remains to be seen, though, is what position Hultzen is selected in the first round of tonight’s draft. The Pirates could make him part of an exclusive club as the top pick, or the Diamondbacks – the team that made him a 2008 10th-round pick and has been linked to him this year – could select him third overall.
With UCLA’s Cole – who took the loss in his NCAA Regionals start this past weekend – widely considered to be the Pirates’ first overall selection, it will be interesting to see if that is indeed the case.
Hultzen’s NCAA Regionals start on Saturday might have just given MLB teams a lot more to think about. On the big stage, Hultzen was as dominant as ever, allowing just three hits and one earned run in seven strong innings, walking one and striking out 12.
According to Brian McElhinny, a student at UVa and writer for the Pirates blog Raise the Jolly Roger, Hultzen is more than qualified to be the first overall pick.
“[Cole] throwing 100 with nasty breaking balls is great and everything, but pinpoint control and knowing how to pitch is just as, if not more, important,” he said. “Hultzen has that ability moreso than any college pitcher, and still has some pretty darn good stuff to go along with it.”
Whichever team drafts Hultzen will get the most polished pitcher available, and one that is largely considered to be the first member of the deep 2011 draft class that reaches the big leagues.
For Hultzen, he could care less about the draft or the pressure that comes with it, preferring instead to focus solely on his team’s NCAA postseason run.
“You can’t put too much pressure on yourself or get in your own head and let that kind of stuff affect you,” Hultzen said. “[The draft] hasn’t entered my head yet. There will be a time to think about that, but that time is not right now.”
“We’ll decide all that stuff when the time is right.”
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