Hultzen finally makes it; guy who looks at cameras DFA'd

[Post Count Padder]

It has been a long and winding road for former first-round draft pick Danny Hultzen, but the path will finally pass through the majors. The Cubs southpaw has received his first MLB promotion, according to Brett Taylor of Bleacher Nation (via Twitter).

 

Hultzen, 29, was the second overall pick of the 2011 draft after excelling at the University of Virginia. He was seemingly breezing through the Mariners farm system when a spiraling series of injuries completely derailed his career.

 

It seemed like a longshot that Hultzen would be able to get back to functioning on the mound, let alone thriving. But he has opened eyes in 14 1/3 innings this year at Triple-A, allowing just two earned runs on a paltry four hits while racking up 23 strikeouts against nine walks.

 

Calling up Hultzen will require the Cubs to clear a place on the 40-man roster. The corresponding move isn’t yet known.

Edited September 7, 2019 by Post Count Padder

[Clem Fandango]

TIL we acquired Danny Hultzen at some point

[sweetpeteman]

Taylor Davis designated

[Regular Show]

TIL we acquired Danny Hultzen at some point

 

We now have 2 of the top ten picks from the 2011 MLB draft on our team. It's a great story and he has good stuff.

 

I'm just wondering why they made the move now... I was expecting it sooner honestly.

[We Got The Whole 9]

I didn't watch but game day said this dude was throwing 94 mph sliders. Can anyone confirm?

[We Got The Whole 9]

That was a nasty one. Thanks for posting that.

[minnesotacubsfan]

with their left-handed bullpen issues this season, its a wonder it took so long for him to get here.

 

Wick, Wieck, Hultzen seem like a solid foundation to build the pen for next year. Does Hultzen ever get back into the rotation?

[We Got The Whole 9]

Oh, no that's a four seam the broadcast got wrong, 92-94 with the slider from the first two Ks at 80 or so

It does look like it cuts a little bit, no?

[Bote McBoteface]

Wick, Wieck, Hultzen seem like a solid foundation to build the pen for next year. Does Hultzen ever get back into the rotation?

 

 

Really? That looks like a disaster to me, and I like Wick. Im gonna be so pissed if we go into 2020 without a lockdown bullpen. Its been our biggest problem every single year of our contention window. Even when we won the world series, we did it with like 1.75 reliable relievers. I want to sign and/or trade for every good reliever available this offseason.

[Cubswin11]

Wick, Wieck, Hultzen seem like a solid foundation to build the pen for next year. Does Hultzen ever get back into the rotation?

 

 

Really? That looks like a disaster to me, and I like Wick. Im gonna be so pissed if we go into 2020 without a lockdown bullpen. Its been our biggest problem every single year of our contention window. Even when we won the world series, we did it with like 1.75 reliable relievers. I want to sign and/or trade for every good reliever available this offseason.

Kimbrel, Wick, Ryan, Wieck, Phelps and maybe Hultzen is a solid group of ~5 guys going in to the offseason as the core. Spend Cishek level money on 1 FA then use the final 1-2 spots for a long guy and then an Iowa shuttle spot. The emergence of some of these guys is a good thing because it likely allows us to spend more money of offense or a SP since at the start of the year literally the whole bullpen was going to be turned over and now we have 3-4 spots filled with cheap good guys outside of Kimbrel.

Edited September 9, 2019 by Cubswin11

[Transmogrified Tiger]

IMO we need the new Strop. Kimbrel is great in the 9th, and Wick, Ryan, Chatwood, plus your favorite Iowa shuttle guy(s) is pretty solid 3 thru 5-6. I don't think it's prudent to consider Wick a guaranteed lock down guy at this juncture for those purposes, so you need another guy who is reliably very good(at least as far as relievers go).

[Cubswin11]

IMO we need the new Strop. Kimbrel is great in the 9th, and Wick, Ryan, Chatwood, plus your favorite Iowa shuttle guy(s) is pretty solid 3 thru 5-6. I don't think it's prudent to consider Wick a guaranteed lock down guy at this juncture for those purposes, so you need another guy who is reliably very good(at least as far as relievers go).

Agree, but it’s still nice to have the emergence of guys who seem above average to really good. ~5 months ago it looked like we were going to have to spend at least Brach/Kintzler money on every bullpen spot. Now, and I agree with you, we need to just spend on one spot for a solid guy. That spot could be filled with a trade too.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

IMO we need the new Strop. Kimbrel is great in the 9th, and Wick, Ryan, Chatwood, plus your favorite Iowa shuttle guy(s) is pretty solid 3 thru 5-6. I don't think it's prudent to consider Wick a guaranteed lock down guy at this juncture for those purposes, so you need another guy who is reliably very good(at least as far as relievers go).

Agree, but it’s still nice to have the emergence of guys who seem above average to really good. ~5 months ago it looked like we were going to have to spend at least Brach/Kintzler money on every bullpen spot. Now, and I agree with you, we need to just spend on one spot for a solid guy. That spot could be filled with a trade too.

 

For sure, there was a period of time after Carl had shown he was cooked and before they signed Kimbrel that future bullpens looked really bleak.

[Regular Show]

[tweet]

[/tweet]

Sahadev Sharma did a pretty cool story on Danny Hultzen also. It's a great comeback story and I hope he stays healthy.

[toonsterwu]

I'm biased, but Hultzen's start against South Carolina in the CWS was one of the more impressive starts, at any level, that I'd ever seen. It's been a long time, but IIRC, he struck out 8 of the first 9 batters, while throwing up and being sick in between innings. He thoroughly dominated a South Carolina lineup that was pretty solid.

 

Anyhow, no reason, assuming he stays healthy, that he can't stick as a key aspect of the pen. His stuff should be good enough to be a specialist, and honestly, if his fastball velo gets sharper, there's no reason he can't be a potential late inning guy. It's hard to see him ever get back into rotation duty ... the amount of work he would have to log to get back to that level is ... at this stage in his career ... probably unlikely. Not impossible, but he'd have to be monitored closely, so unless he goes to Tampa or some place where they might be amenable to having him slowly log innings, it's just hard to see.

[PackLandVA]

I thought the Cubs' MO when signing reclamation projects due to injury was to nurse them back to health over a year or two and then trade them or let them walk in FA.

[Sammy Sofa]

I thought the Cubs' MO when signing reclamation projects due to injury was to nurse them back to health over a year or two and then trade them or let them walk in FA.

 

Turns out that and the Cubs' sham medical staff are all some kind of elaborate ruse by the Ricketts to net some sweet, sweet medical insurance fraud scratch.

[WrigleyField 22]

I thought the Cubs' MO when signing reclamation projects due to injury was to nurse them back to health over a year or two and then trade them or let them walk in FA.

 

Turns out that and the Cubs' sham medical staff are all some kind of elaborate ruse by the Ricketts to net some sweet, sweet medical insurance fraud scratch.

https://www.mlb.com/news/ted-lilly-named-special-assistant-by-chicago-cubs/c-68669074

 

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/12288523/ex-major-leaguer-ted-lilly-accepts-insurance-fraud-plea-deal

 

Yuuuup