FanPost

Danny Hultzen a potential ace?


He certainly sounds like one in this scouting report:

After seeing him in person, I’m left wondering if the idea of [Hultzen] being a “safe” pick is a bit misguided due to the “funk” in his delivery and 2010 reports of his velocity sitting in the 88-91 MPH range. What I witnessed was a unique (in the best of ways) pitching prospect with plus velocity from the left side and quite possibly the best changeup I’ve ever scouted. In the two plus years of Scouting the Sally, top pitchers scouted include Julio Teheran, Tyler Matzek, Mike Minor, Manny Banuelos, Zack Wheeler, Jed Bradley and Arodys Vizcaino. In terms of present stuff, Hultzen was the best of the bunch, and it may not even be that close. . . .

After scouting Hultzen, I have little doubt he could get major league hitters out if he threw in a big league game today. . . .

At his peak, Hultzen is an all star level starter or truly elite closer with the ability to strike out seven-plus per nine innings, walk less than three per nine, and maintain ground ball rates in the 50% range. Left-handed pitchers with similar peripherals include Jaime Garcia. This recipe all but guarantees big league success at a high to elite level. In most instances, I come away from scouting a player seeing areas of weakness and Hultzen did not have any.

I'm not familiar with this writer/website, but check out this post; he seems to know what he's talking about, and both his observations and his conclusions are encouraging.