MLB Draft 2011 Review: Danny Hultzen the Right Choice for Seattle Mariners

During the days, weeks and months leading up the 2011 MLB draft, everyone was certain that Rice third baseman Anthony Rendon would be selected at No. 2 pick by the Seattle Mariners. And why wouldn't they think that? 

He's easily the best hitting prospect in the draft.

He plays gold glove type defense. 

And he does it all at third base, arguably the Mariners' biggest need right now.

Everyone thought he was the perfect fit.

Everyone, that is, besides general manager Jack Zdurenik and director of scouting Tom McNamara. They believed that University of Virginia left-handed pitcher Danny Hultzen was the right pick.

And they just might be right. In Major League Baseball, drafting the best available player is better than filling a need.

The Mariners saw Hultzen as the second-best player, behind first-pick Gerrit Cole, so they drafted Hultzen over Rendon. End of story, right?

Well, not for Mariners fans.

Seattle-ites had dreams of a star-studded infield containing Rendon, Justin Smoak and Dustin Ackley for years to come. Now that cannot happen, and it's likely that fans will dislike this pick.

But the fact of the matter is this: The Mariners need a third baseman now. Rendon can't fill that need. They don't know what their team will look like in two years, when Rendon is projected to make his debut.

Injuries happen. Trades happen. Free agency happens. Most of it is unpredictable.

Because of this unpredictability, and because the path to the majors is usually a long process, drafting the best available player is smart. Especially in baseball.

If you really think the Mariners will be content with Chone Figgins for two years, then sure, maybe Rendon would have been the best pick. He could replace Figgins after his contract expires in 2013 or '14. But chances are, the Mariners will replace Figgins much sooner. And hopefully, they'll do it with someone who won't also need to be replaced by 2013.

Look at it this way: Who is absolutely, 100-percent positively going to be with the team in 2013?

Felix Hernandez, Michael Pineda, Justin Smoak, Dustin Ackley. Maybe Franklin Gutierrez.

Sure, other guys will still be there, but those are really the only sure things. The M's didn't draft a first basemen, second basemen or outfielder. Which I'm fine with.

The moral of the story is that in baseball is that teams change quickly. Don't limit yourself to one pick because you're trying to fill a need. A need, nonetheless, that might already be filled in two years. Pick the best player and build from there.

If the Mariners rotation is still stacked when Hultzen is ready for the majors, then fine. They have an excess of talent at one position. All that does is give them more options.

Hultzen won't necessarily end up being the better pro than Rendon, but other than Miss Cleo, no one can truly predict that.

I've got confidence in Zdurenik's judgment of talent, and I'm glad he didn't reach for a positional "need."

There's no such thing as a project player that can fill a current need. There's only the best available player. And the Mariners got him.