When the Seattle Mariners used the No. 2 pick in Monday’s Major League Baseball draft on Danny Hultzen, shock was the reaction in the Northwest.
While the University of Virginia left-hander from Bethesda was expected to go in the top five — maybe even first overall to the Pittsburgh Pirates — all signs pointed to the Mariners taking a position player. With an offense that rivals the Washington Nationals for ineffectiveness (the Mariners boast baseball’s worst batting average at .230 and the Nationals are a tick behind at .231) Rice third baseman Anthony Rendon was the rumored pick.
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Rendon, of course, went to the Nationals at No. 6.
Some response to Hultzen was severe, like these posts from two top Mariners blogs, U.S.S. Mariner and Lookout Landing.
Jerry Brewer of the Seattle Times had a more reasoned response in this column, detailing how the Mariners’ top scout made repeated trips to Charlottesville, Va.
Larry Stone of the Seattle Times and Greg Johns of MLB.com had news stories on the pick. Both delved into the team’s philosophy to take the best player available.
And, if you missed it, here’s my profile of Hultzen that ran in Monday’s Washington Times and delves into what makes him an effective pitcher.
