Mariners prospect Danny Hultzen undergoes surgery
By Brad Rowland
It wasn’t a fantastic season for the Major League version of the Seattle Mariners in 2013, and on Tuesday, they got some not-so-positive news about a top prospect.
Danny Hultzen had surgery today in Pensacola to clean up his labrum and partial tear to his rotator cuff.
— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) October 1, 2013
Hultzen, the #2 overall pick in the 2011 MLB Draft, threw just over 35 innings in the minors this season as a result of the aforementioned injuries, but this is certainly a negative outcome to his struggles. Ryan Divish, who is a beat writer for the Mariners, also reported that Dr. James Andrews performed the surgery, and that there is no timetable for a return to the mound for the young left-hander.
In his limited time in the minors, the 23-year-old Hultzen has been electric at 4 levels (sub-2.00 ERA at 3 of them), but he struggled mightily in his first stop at triple-A. There is some concern about his potential anyway, as he was considered to be a “safe” pick who would be close to the majors after arriving in pro ball rather than a high upside pick, but work on the labrum/rotator cuff definitely won’t help things.
The Mariners are still stocked with close-to-the-majors pitching prospects (Taijuan Walker, anyone?) but Hultzen missing most or all of 2014 is still a blow for a team that needs to be better in a hurry. I would expect that more reports won’t surface for some time around Hultzen, but we’ll bring them to you when they appear.