Daniel Alexander Hultzen (born November 28, 1989) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

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. He played in

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(MLB) for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

in 2019. Hultzen attended the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

, where he starred for the

Virginia Cavaliers baseball The Virginia Cavaliers baseball team represents the University of Virginia in NCAA Division I college baseball. Established in 1889, the team participates in the Coastal division of the Atlantic Coast Conference and plays its home games at Da ...

team. He was drafted and selected second overall by the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

in the 2011 MLB draft. Hultzen pitched a scoreless inning for the Cubs in his major league debut against Milwaukee on September 8, 2019.

High school career

Hultzen attended St. Albans School in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

starting in seventh grade. There he was named First-Team All-American by

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.Virginia Cavaliers: Danny Hultzen
, ''University of Virginia'' Hultzen was drafted to the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

in the 10th round of the 2008 MLB Draft. However, Hultzen didn't sign, opting to attend college.

College career

Hultzen enrolled at the

, where he played

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for the

team in the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

(ACC). In 2009, Hultzen won ACC Freshman of the Year for baseball and was named First-Team All-ACC. He was also named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll and All-ACC Baseball Team. In 2010, Hultzen was named ACC Pitcher of the Year. He is the first Virginia Cavalier to win the award.Danny Hultzen and the 2011 MLB Draft
, ''The Good Point'', June 6, 2011 He was also named First-Team All-ACC a second time. Over the 2010 season, Hultzen finished with a 10–3 record and an ERA of 1.59 in innings. In 2011, Hultzen won the John Olerud Award, awarded annually by the

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to the best

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of the season.

Professional career

Seattle Mariners

On June 6, 2011, Hultzen was the second player selected in the

2011 Major League Baseball draft The 2011 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2011, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gerrit Cole out of the University of California, Los Angeles, with the firs ...

, taken by the

. Hultzen signed a contract with Seattle on August 15. The deal was worth a minimum of $8.5 million over five-years, with a $6.35 million signing bonus. He made his professional debut in 2012 with the

Jackson Generals The Jackson Generals were a professional baseball team located in Jackson, Tennessee. From 1998 to 2020, they were a part of Minor League Baseball's Southern League (SL) as the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs (1998–2006), Seattle Mari ...

and was promoted to the

Tacoma Rainiers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, ...

in June. In 25 total starts between the two clubs, he was 9–7 with a 3.05 ERA. He was named to appear in the 2012

All-Star Futures Game The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National League- ...

. Hultzen missed the majority of the 2013 season due to a shoulder injury. After the 2013 season, he underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum and

rotator cuff The rotator cuff (SITS muscles) is a group of muscles and their tendons that act to stabilize the human shoulder and allow for its extensive range of motion. Of the seven scapulohumeral muscles, four make up the rotator cuff. The four muscles a ...

in his shoulder, and missed the entire 2014 season. He played in only three games in 2015 due to injury. In 2016, while rehabbing with the

AZL Mariners The Arizona Complex League Mariners are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Seattle Mariners, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona. The team is com ...

, he suffered recurring problems and underwent another surgery. Hultzen elected free agency following the season on November 7, 2016. Hultzen sat out the 2017 season while finishing his university degree.

Chicago Cubs

On March 1, 2018, Hultzen signed a minor league contract with the

organization. He was assigned to the Triple–A

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. T ...

to start the 2019 season. Hultzen allowed zero runs in his major league debut on September 8, 2019. He pitched the seventh inning for the Cubs against the

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. After issuing a hit batsman and a single, he struck out the side. On December 2, Hultzen was non-tendered by Chicago and became a free agent. On January 22, 2020, Hultzen re-signed with the Cubs on a minor league deal. Hultzen did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

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. He became a free agent on November 2.

Coaching career

On January 14, 2021, Hultzen announced his retirement, and joined the

front office as a pitching development assistant under Assistant General Manager and Vice President of Pitching

Craig Breslow Craig Andrew Breslow (; born August 8, 1980) is an American baseball executive and former professional baseball pitcher. He is currently the President of baseball operations, Chief Baseball Officer of the Boston Red Sox. Breslow pitched for 12 ...

Scouting report

Hultzen was considered one of the most polished prospects in the 2011 draft class due to the excellent command he had over his pitches. In addition to his pitching, Hultzen was considered an excellent position player, although it was unlikely he would ever have been developed as a position prospect. His main pitch was a

four-seam fastball A four-seam fastball, also called a rising fastball, a four-seamer, or a cross-seam fastball, is a pitch (baseball), pitch in baseball. It is a member of the fastball family of pitches and is usually the fastest ball thrown by a pitcher. It is s ...

at 91–94 mph. He also had a

two-seam fastball A two-seam fastball is a pitch in baseball and softball. It is a variant of the straight fastball. The pitch has the speed of a fastball and can also include late-breaking action caused by varying the pressure of the index and middle fingers on t ...

with similar velocity. His off-speed pitches were a slider and vulcan changeup in the low 80s. Hultzen struggled with his control in AAA in 2012, walking 43 hitters in innings. Addressing those concerns, Hultzen said, "You need to learn how to fail in this game ... I haven't faced a lot of failure as a pitcher. You need to learn how to cope with it, and I think I have. Hopefully most of it is behind me."

References

External links

Player Bio: Danny Hultzen

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hultzen, Danny 1989 births Living people All-American college baseball players Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Montgomery County, Maryland Sportspeople from Bethesda, Maryland Chicago Cubs players Virginia Cavaliers baseball players Jackson Generals (Southern League) players Tacoma Rainiers players Arizona League Mariners players Peoria Javelinas players Arizona League Cubs players Iowa Cubs players St. Albans School (Washington, D.C.) alumni