Scouting The Sally has a glowing report on Virginia pitcher Danny Hultzen, who appears to be among a handful of players the Pirates are considering taking with the first overall pick in the 2011 MLB Draft.
The background here is that a number of observers consider Hultzen to be a lower-upside pick than other players, such as Anthony Rendon, Gerrit Cole, Dylan Bundy or Bubba Starling. But Scouting The Sally says that’s nonsense.
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.
There’s a lot more there, but essentially, STS feels that folks might be quick to categorize Hultzen as a safe, low-upside pick because he threw 88-91 MPH last year. He throws harder now, and STS thinks that could make him a good-to-great ground ball starter in the majors, along the lines of Jaime Garcia.