NEWSLETTER
It was just about the only bright spot in yesterday’s loss, but it was a really, really bright spot: 2011 number 2 overall pick, one of the only first rounders that year not to make the majors, and a guy who was out of the game because of serious shoulder problems, finally made his big league debut.
Dude was amped up, but looked really in control and really good! He was sitting 92-93 mph with his fastball, but cranked it up to 94 mph by the end of his appearance. He got great action on his slider, and wound up striking out three batters in his inning of work:
"It was all a little bit of a blur. I had my adrenaline pumping, but once I threw that first pitch, it was baseball again." –Danny Hultzen, on his MLB debut
His first pitch was a 92-mph fastball that generated a swing and miss from Christian Yelich. pic.twitter.com/DCCutXBXeb
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) September 9, 2019
Career Ks No. 1, 2 and 3 for Danny Hultzen. pic.twitter.com/Nmczjo57MM
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) September 8, 2019
Danny Hultzen: “Memorable everything” pic.twitter.com/AmQ5fvgSBf
— Mark Gonzales (@MDGonzales) September 8, 2019
I just love these moments that baseball gives us, and I want to enjoy it thoroughly before I get into the “baseball” of his situation, including this thorough Q&A from Jordan Bastian:
“This is life, this is it, this is what you’ve worked so hard for.”
Q&A with Danny Hultzen, on a Major League debut more than 3,000 days in the making: https://t.co/TbT88ULqZa
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) September 9, 2019
But let’s talk baseball here, because Hultzen – like Robel Garcia, for example – isn’t just a great story. He’s also a very talented baseball player, whose future needs to be considered in the context of his place with the Cubs.
Among the considerations with Hultzen now that he’s on the big league team, as we think ahead into the future:
