Danny

Hultzen

Hultzen, 31, is joining the front office of the Cubs and will work as a pitching development assistant. He was the second-overall pick of the 2011 draft of the Mariners, but just couldn’t stay healthy, and he pitched just 3 1/3 career innings while a member of the Cubs.

Hultzen was non-tendered by the Cubs in early December, but he’ll be back with the organization in some capacity to open the 2020 campaign. It’s unclear whether this minor league deal includes an invitation to major league camp. The former first-round pick of the Mariners finally made his MLB debut last September at age 29 and worked 3 1/3 scoreless innings of relief for Chicago.

The former top prospect finally broke through at the big league level in 2019, firing 3 1/3 scoreless innings over six appearances with the Cubs. The 30-year-old hurler has always been long on talent, so as long as he’s healthy there should be teams willing to give him a chance.

The 29-year-old former Mariners’ prospect has come all the way back from another shoulder sugery, and has worked 14 1/3 effective innings at Triple-A Iowa, posting a 1.26 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 23/9 K/BB ratio. It’s a fantastic story that he’ll finally have a chance to make his big league debut.

The former top prospect returned from another shoulder surgery this past season to post a 5.19 ERA and 16/2 K/BB ratio over 8 2/3 innings in the minors. Hultzen will turn 29 later this month and isn’t a great bet to ever see the majors at this point, but the Cubs will give him another shot.

Hultzen, James Paxton and Taijuan Walker have generated plenty of buzz at Mariners’ camp, but they have only appeared in intrasquad and B-games thus far, which is a pretty firm indication that they’ll begin the season in the minors. Barring injuries, Hisashi Iwakuma, Kevin Millwood and Hector Noesi are the favorites to follow Felix Hernandez and Jason Vargas in the rotation. However, the rotation could look a lot different during the second half of the season.

There had been reports that Hultzen had an outside shot to win a spot in the rotation, but obviously that’s not going to happen. The No. 2 overall pick in last year’s draft, the left-hander has yet to officially throw a professional pitch but did hold a 1.40 ERA and 18/5 K/BB ratio over 19 1/3 innings. He has a shot to crack the team’s rotation at some point this season and is a fine keeper league option.

Hultzen, who turns 22 later this month, was selected No. 2 overall in June’s First-Year Player Draft. The 6-foot-2 southpaw made his unofficial pro debut in the Arizona Fall League, posting a 1.40 ERA and 18/5 K/BB ratio over 19 1/3 innings. We shouldn’t look into the results that much, if at all, but the Mariners obviously believe he’s close to the big leagues.

Hultzen hasn’t been considered for a promotion and the Mariners may look to shut him down after the minor league season. He remains an option for a September callup . Since moving to the Triple-A level, Hultzen is posting a 4.35 ERA with 50 strikeouts over 41-plus innings (nine starts).

The Mariners are spot starting Hisashi Iwakuma and recently optioned Hector Noesi, so we find that hard to believe out of necessity if nothing else. Hultzen has a 5.25 ERA in three starts since being promoted to Triple-A Tacoma last month. He should find himself in a callup situation at some point during the second half.