LHP Danny Hultzen, $430,000
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Danny Hultzen is the perfect candidate for a southpaw long-relief pitcher. He is a low cost, high reward option who could very well turn into one of the Seattle Mariners’ finer pitchers in the future.
The former second overall pick of the 2011 draft first started out dominating NCAA lineups while he was a nationally recognized starting pitcher at the University of Virginia. Hultzen then dominated lineups in the minors over 32 starts from 2011-13 (14-8, 2.82) before injuring his shoulder and missing all of 2014.
Now back in the saddle, Hultzen will look to get his career back on track and crack the 25-man roster for the M’s. If he does it will likely be as a reliever to start out. But don’t rule out the 25-year old ending the season on the rotation, as the M’s need to eventually groom someone to replace free agent to be Hisashi Iwakuma for the 2016 season.