Neither junior pitcher Danny Hultzen nor junior hurler Scott Silverstein would have predicted the course their Virginia careers have taken.
For Hultzen, his campaign as a Cavalier has far exceeded even his own expectation. For Silverstein, his three seasons with Virginia have fallen short of his potential.
The two lefties grew up together in Montgomery County, Md., and played against each other until they were 11 years old. From ages 12 to 14, Silverstein played on Hultzen's team and the two formed a friendship that was rekindled when Virginia began to recruit the two.
But Hultzen believes that the recruiting process began earlier for Silverstein and that Virginia targeted his friend first.
"He was awesome, absolutely dominant," Hultzen said. "His size, throwing that hard, with that kind of off-speed pitch and the command he had - [it] was something special."
Although Hultzen currently dominates the headlines, four years ago, Silverstein was the bigger star.
"I remember opening the newspaper and seeing Scott's name all over it," Hultzen said. "On TV, they would have special showcases, and you'd read about him in magazines."\nSilverstein was the one named to the AFLAC All-American team after his junior season and the one tabbed as Maryland's No. 1 recruit. But during their senior seasons, things began to change.\n"We switched," Hultzen said. "He had an unbelievable junior year; that's when he started getting his name out there, and that's kind of what happened to me our senior year - and he was hurt."
'And he was hurt'\nDuring Silverstein's senior year of high school, he suffered a torn labrum in his shoulder and underwent surgery that sidelined him for that season and the next. Silverstein worked hard to rehabilitate, going to the park every day to lift and work with trainers, but nothing happened. Silverstein's arm did not improve, until finally, he knew he needed another operation.
"Nobody had to tell me that it was going to happen again," Silverstein said. "I remember warming up for the charity game and there had been so many bad days before and I just knew that it felt the same, and I just had to have it done again. I broke down. That was my lowest day at the field."
Hultzen recalled the pain of watching his friend come back from injury, only to head back to rehab.
"It was heartbreaking because you saw all the work he put in after the first surgery," Hultzen said, "All the rehab, all the throwing, all the doctor visits, and you hope so much that he might get better. And then when he got hurt again, it was just crushing because you knew he would have to do it all again."
At first, Silverstein worried he would not be able to stage another comeback.
"I remember coming back for the first game of rehab, [and] I was just like, 'I really don't want to go through this all over again,'" Silverstein said. "But with [your teammate's] support, you do it. They were always there when I needed them the most, and that is something I can never repay them for."
Silverstein's arm always had been his blessing, a weapon he used to hurl a ball 94 miles per hour and carve through opposing lineups. But following the surgery, Silverstein could not even use the limb to put on shirts or tie his shoes.
"We just tried our best to be supportive and help him open cans, carry his backpack, drive him to places, do whatever you can," Hultzen said. "You just try to understand what he was going through, because none of us had gone through anything remotely as bad as what he did."
'None of us had gone through anything remotely as bad...'\nHultzen never has experienced the same pitching lows as Silverstein. In fact, he has gone down quite a different road, netting an almost endless stream of collegiate accolades and experiencing countless high points. Hultzen was the 2009 ACC Freshman of the Year, the 2010 ACC Pitcher of the Year, an All-American and this season's Baseball America's Midseason Player of the Year.
Although only a junior, Hultzen already has set the school mark for career wins and career strikeouts and has the potential to be a top-three Major League draft pick.
Silverstein, who lives with Hultzen, easily could be tempted to compare himself to Hultzen, and perhaps even question whether he could have - or should have - been the one to reach such great heights. To Silverstein, Hultzen represents the standard toward which he is working.
"I'm obviously jealous," Silverstein said. "But he's earned everything he's gotten ... I'm trying to not compare myself to him, but instead I feed off him. I want to work as hard as him, hopefully reach my potential, and hopefully it's somewhere near [Hultzen's]."
Despite their diverging career paths, Hultzen and Silverstein only have grown closer, and Hultzen said the two roommates now "spend most hours of the day together." The two never drifted apart, largely because Hultzen did not let them. With a talent like his, Hultzen could have been a player "who turned up the TV when it's about him." Instead, Silverstein said, "if the TV would come on now, he'd walk out of the room. He doesn't want that kind of attention."
"It would be worse if he was the arrogant type, and he was showing me the stuff he's done, because I've seen it," Silverstein said. "If I wanted to read it, I'd go read it. But he's never shoved it in my face. He's content with what he's done and modest."
Back to business\nSilverstein made his first start as a Cavalier last Wednesday. It was a moment Silverstein had worked three years to achieve, but one delayed by another disturbing injury. Richmond's freshman shortstop Mike Small fractured his fibula and dislocated his ankle, reminding Silverstein that "one play can change things forever."
Silverstein reflected on the day when he learned he would have another operation and still uses that moment to keep the game in perspective.
"Every time I have a bad day throwing, I can always think that I've had worse days at the field," he said. "[I] turn it into a positive. I know there have been worse days and that was the lowest one."
Silverstein still has not seen his best days at the field. His coach, Brian O'Connor, acknowledged that the lefty has yet to return to his high school potential.
"Out of high school, the kid threw 90 to 94 miles per hour and I think he's got a chance ... to be where he was ... but he's not there yet, and he knows that," O'Connor said.
Silverstein also realizes, however, that he cannot judge himself by past results.
"I'm not as focused on getting back to where I was, I just want to get better for where I am," Silverstein said. "I'm 20 years old now, and I want to be the best 20-year-old I can be and not look back to where I was when I was 17."
The lefty tossed three shutout innings Wednesday, lowering his ERA to 3.86 and furthering his progress from the past three years. Despite the setbacks, Silverstein believes that his 20-year-old self can once again excite professional scouts.
"That's what's keeping me going, knowing that the ceiling is still there and I'm not done," Silverstein said. "This isn't my last run ... I know there's another year, and hopefully there's more after that. Hopefully I'll do well enough to have a chance at the next level."
Silverstein also has another chance to play in the postseason. Less than a year ago, he laid awake at night, haunted by the team's loss against a left-handed-heavy Oklahoma team during the Super Regionals. Virginia likely could have used the lefty's arm to tilt the advantage in its favor.
"During the Super Regionals, I was watching us get beat pretty bad that third game, and I was disappointed that if I was healthy, hopefully I would be there," Silverstein said. "The team struggled with lefties, and I lost a lot of sleep over that series."
This year, however, Silverstein looks to embrace a chance to help Hultzen and the teammates that helped him when he "needed them the most."
"Going to Omaha [in 2009] was awesome, but I want to go this year," Silverstein said. "I want to participate and be able to go out there on the mound and hopefully contribute, because that's what the goal is. The goal is to get there, but the goal is also to give back to the team"
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