Time to learn about Alen Hanson

[Illinest]

This guy is killing the ball. Raping might be a better word for it. If the ball were a sheep he'd be up behind it thrusting away. If the ball were a dead person he'd be a necrophiliac.

Now that I've filled your head with disturbing images...


He's 19 years old, a middle infield prospect out of the Dominican Republic. He is only 5' 11' and he's listed at 152 lbs but in spite of that he seems to have at least some pop in his bat. This is his third year in the system - his first in A ball as he's currently with the West Virginia Power. He's a switch hitter.

Now the good:
So far this year he has been the best hitter in the system bar none. .400 BA, .450 OBP, .800 SLG, 1.250 OPS, 6 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR. He's also 4/5 in SB tries and his SO pace is not too bad - at this pace he'd end up with 120-130 SOs in a full season's worth of ABs.
Also good - he plays SS. Now there is some question about his arm strength so he's not a slamdunk SS prospect but if he has to move to 2B it won't be for lack of range or athleticism. The scouting reports are unanimous about his ability to cover lots of ground. He's also got a reputation as a plus runner. We're looking at a 3, possibly 4 tool player here depending on whether you can count on continued development of power.

Now the downside - he might not be able to stay at SS. In fact he's listed as a 2B on the MiLB.com website - though the box scores do show that he's playing SS.
He's also very young and very far away. He's not going to be coming up this year, next year, and probably not the year after that either.


I'm excited. I can't lie. I won't deny.
He's doing almost everything you could want out of a SS prospect. The arm - that I think I can live with. He's showing power, batting average, speed. He's a switch hitter, he's young, athletic.
I didn't know the guy when the season started but he's demanding attention now. Keep an eye on that guy.

 

[thecrow124]

Curb your enthusiasm just a little, sure he is 19 in A ball, but his strike out rate is a bit concerning to me, and his power is definately inflated. His strike outs are concerning because just like our low minors pitchers, other teams are working with their pitchers on commanding the fastball. A lot of those pitchers will never make it out of A ball, and he is still strikiing out a lot, seeing a healthy diet of fastballs. For the same reason, I am not sure his power is truely legit, most guys can pound a fastball when that is all they are looking for, or all they are trying to hit.
Don't get me wrong, he is starting off very hot, just like last season, but he needs to keep it up all year before I am ready to get very excited.
He is also not likely to stick at short, and a move to 2B is almost assured, his throwing accuracy is a problem at short, not range or arm strength, just accuracy.
On the other side, he is just 19 and in full season ball, so he could still afford 2 clunker years and still be ahead of his age appropriate level.

 

[element1286]

Throwing accuracy is easy to fix, that won't keep him from playing short longterm. Considering he's 19, he probably doesn't have proper footwork and balance all the time, which is almost always the root cause of an inaccurate arm.

 

[Illinest]

When i was 12 i had lots of trouble throwing a baseball accurately but one of my coaches finally figured out my problem and showed me what i was doing wrong in a way i could understand. Then for about two years i had one of the best outfield arms until i screwed up my shoulder diving back to first on a pickoff drill.
I really was getting pretty good too. Did any of you see the rick ankiel throw? I didnt have the same arm strength but i used to hit the catcher in the chest from cf all the time. I had to throw it a bit higher and it took longer to get there but it was always within a few feet of the target at most.

 

[magnumo]

When i was 12 i had lots of trouble throwing a baseball accurately but one of my coaches finally figured out my problem and showed me what i was doing wrong in a way i could understand. Then for about two years i had one of the best outfield arms until i screwed up my shoulder diving back to first on a pickoff drill.
I really was getting pretty good too. Did any of you see the rick ankiel throw? I didnt have the same arm strength but i used to hit the catcher in the chest from cf all the time. I had to throw it a bit higher and it took longer to get there but it was always within a few feet of the target at most.

So..... what WERE you doing wrong, Illinest?

 

[Darkstone42]

When i was 12 i had lots of trouble throwing a baseball accurately but one of my coaches finally figured out my problem and showed me what i was doing wrong in a way i could understand. Then for about two years i had one of the best outfield arms until i screwed up my shoulder diving back to first on a pickoff drill.
I really was getting pretty good too. Did any of you see the rick ankiel throw? I didnt have the same arm strength but i used to hit the catcher in the chest from cf all the time. I had to throw it a bit higher and it took longer to get there but it was always within a few feet of the target at most.

So..... what WERE you doing wrong, Illinest?

Yes, do tell. Also, if you have any tips on improving arm strength (aside from working out, since my arms are strong, I just can't throw), that'd be just peachy.

 

[element1286]

Yes, do tell. Also, if you have any tips on improving arm strength (aside from working out, since my arms are strong, I just can't throw), that'd be just peachy.

Long toss always worked for me.

 

[Illinest]

Turn on Bruce Springsteen for this one. Glory Days.

it was mostly mental for me. For years I was told not to aim the ball - just throw it. It never clicked.

Actually what the coach did that got through to me was to basically call me a pussy. I guess he'd seen enough of me throwing bad and he started heckling me during infield drills (I was practicing at 3B that day) It was in front of the whole team and for a 12 year old it was very embarrassing. I had a pretty strong arm due to playing long toss games with my brothers but I usually took a lot off of it and tried to aim it really fine when I was playing. When he started teasing me I kept getting angry until I snapped. I remember thinking "FINE! I hope I hit him in his damn head!" and I started whipping the ball as hard as I could. All of a sudden I was throwing perfect strikes to 1B and to the Catcher. I could hear my teammates saying stuff like "where did that come from?" and the catcher kept taking his glove off and shaking the sting out of his hand.

It was like a lightswitch. I was an awesome outfielder after that. I'd always been relatively fast and able to track a flyball but now I had an arm too. The best feeling was a few years later (ironically it was the game right before I hurt my arm) that I heard an opposing coach telling his team not to run on me. I never even got as far as highschool ball but I can count the number of times on two fingers that a player was good enough to have a reputation. Me and this other kid we played against once who could hit the ball a mile.

Then I hurt my shoulder - then the very next game the highschool coach came to scout me. I think I was 2 for 4 with a few nice throws but my shoulder was screaming. He asked me to try out. So I went to a doctor to see what I could do and he recommended stretching and ice and I did that stuff religiously but the shoulder deteriorated. I think I must've torn it and made some scar tissue but we never had it properly examined. I tried out for the team my freshman year, was very fast in the 40 yard dash, but then when I went out to rightfield for the tryouts I was one-hopping it to second base from a distance where I used to be able to easily overthrow the thirdbaseman.

Call me Uncle Rico. I could've played for State.

 

[thecrow124]

Illenest, I know the feeling. I was a catcher from pee wee's to HS and no one could run on me. Then one game my Sophomore season, I had a play at the plate where the ball and runner hit me about the same time. Knocked my glove off my hand but not my thumb, the glove spun around taking the thumb with it. To this day I have trouble grabbing anything with that thumb. I still tried to gut it out, but ended up concetrating so hard on catching the ball, that people eventually started to run on me. I started overthrowing to try to stop it and ended up killing my shoulder. Typically the day after a game, I still could not lift my throwing arm above my head. Eventually I was one hopping everything to second base and thus ended my catching and baseball career.

 

[Illinest]

He's making a mockery of low A. 3 for 5 tonight. Batting .420 and OPS over 1.200.

Also - even though Josh Bell has been quiet so far with an OPS in the high .600 range I think he may take off soon. Call it optimism talking but I think he's just getting used to a higher level of baseball and I think once he starts making adjustments he'll show his first-round talent.

 

[element1286]

Aldaberto Santos is having a nice start to the season. Don't know much about him, but there don't seem to be any red flags in his profile, except maybe a lack of power.

 

[thecrow124]

Aldaberto Santos is having a nice start to the season. Don't know much about him, but there don't seem to be any red flags in his profile, except maybe a lack of power.

Santos was drafted as a college senior, this is his first true test, it is good to see him hitting at the AA level, but i don't really see much future, maybe a josh Harrison type, but nothing more. Maybe he would make a good hitting coach in the future.

 

[element1286]

Any particular reason you feel that way, crow?

 

[element1286]

Keith Law on the Power.

Some top prospects in the Yankees' organization showed promise on Friday - MLB - ESPN

""• Moving on to West Virginia, the best prospect to appear in the game for the Power was shortstop Alen Hanson, who has attracted notice with a very hot start (in a very small sample) but can back most of it up with legitimate tools; I don't write up traditional scouting reports with full slates of grades, but if I were doing so for Hanson, I'd put future grades of 6 (plus) or better on his hit, run, glove, and arm tools.

Hanson is a switch-hitter whose swing from the right (natural) side has more power while his swing from the left side is more compact. Left-handed, he overstrides but keeps his weight back, shooting the bat head at the ball with a fairly flat swing on which he sometimes rolls his hands over. Hanson's right-handed swing had more loft in BP when he stayed back, although he came out of his swing a few times and just flicked his wrists through the zone. He's a plus runner who's particularly fast when he gets underway.

In the field, Hanson has soft hands and his feet work quickly and easily in both directions. His arm is comfortably plus and his throws on Friday were accurate; I see no reason he couldn't be a big league shortstop, and, given his bat, an above-average one overall.

• The Power have several other interesting bats in their lineup, all signed as international free agents like Hanson; of the group, centerfielder Gregory Polanco stood out the most, a plus runner with a pretty sound approach and the ability to manipulate the bat, although a slight wrap and high setup make his swing a little longer than it needs to be. Second baseman Jodaneli Carvajal also stood out despite one showboating-related error when he tried to backhand a hard but routine grounder that he should have played normally.

• Two premium hitting prospects on these rosters took BP but didn't get into the game. Charleston third baseman Dante Bichette Jr. missed his second game in a row but is likely to return to the lineup Saturday night; I've written before about how much I disliked his swing in high school, but he has cleaned it up significantly since signing with the Yankees. Gone is the back-side collapse and related tendency to try to jerk everything out to left field; he's much more balanced and upright through contact without costing himself any of the hip rotation that helps him generate power. He's now able to use the whole field much more effectively and drove the ball to center and right-center throughout BP.

I asked him about it prior to the game, and he said he didn't feel like the mechanical changes were "as big as you think," but that the tweaks have opened up the opposite field for him.

• West Virginia outfielder Josh Bell was a late scratch, and took most of his BP from the left side, since Charleston started a right-hander. (I would have liked to have seen more right-handed BP, however, since that's Bell's weak side.) Bell is still strong with good bat speed and control, but has developed a near-barring of his lead arm that has increased the distance his hands have to travel from the set position to contact. He's also still rolling over that front leg on some of his bigger swings, opening up his front side and pulling off the ball. There's plus raw power in there, but he'll need to firm that front side up to get to it.

• As for pitchers, West Virginia lefty Zack Dodson was impressive, pitching at 88-92 mph with an above-average curveball at 70-74 that showed good depth and two-plane break. He pitched effectively to both sides with the fastball and showed zero fear in attacking right-handed hitters on the inner half with the pitch, even pull-oriented guys like DeLeon. His changeup was below-average at 78-80, and he clearly preferred to move the fastball around rather than shift to the changeup in typical changeup counts.

Dodson lands a little bit toward the first base side of the mound but only comes across his body when he's going hard to his glove side. He stays over the rubber pretty well with just a slight drift before he gets his front leg moving, and takes a strong stride to the plate, with late, quick arm acceleration, finishing well over his front side. Everything works, and if he can improve that changeup he's at least a good fourth starter on pure ability, but with the aggressiveness to profile as an above league-average starter down the road.

• I was thrilled to see Stetson Allie enter the game in the seventh inning for my first look at him since the summer before his senior year of high school, but he retired just one of six batters he faced, walking four and rarely sniffing the strike zone. Allie threw almost all fastballs, all 94-98, but he couldn't hit the broad side of a barn at this point and I was worried he might hit someone in the head even if he was aiming for the opposite side of the plate. He tried to throw one slider and it backed up on him.

Often these severe command problems are tied to violent or unrepeatable deliveries, but while Allie has effort, that isn't the full explanation. He's always been more thrower than pitcher, which worked in Ohio high school ball but doesn't work here, which may be getting in his head at this point. He's just 21 and has too much arm strength to give up on, but I think it's fair to assume this isn't where the Pirates hoped he'd be two years after signing."

 

[thecrow124]

Any particular reason you feel that way, crow?

Feel what way? Don't take what i said wrong, there are worse things to be than Josh Harrison, i just feel there are better prospects at every position he is capable of playing. However, if he continues to hit the way he has since being drafted, he should get pushed to Indy by the end of the season and if he performs there, i may change the way i feel. His bat probably plays best at 2B, but his defense is shaky there. His bat doesn't play particularly well as a corner outfielder, but his defense does. He probably will make a good 4th outfielder or utility guy, i'm just not convinced he is much more on a good team. But as with every other prospect i see as fringy, i hope he proves me wrong.

 

[Illinest]

Yeah with Santos I'm not super-excited just yet. He definitely deserves notice but at his age he should be able to hit AA pitching. He's not a young prospect. There's also the fact that he's currently a corner outfielder that doesn't hit a lot of homeruns.

It's also a bit of a concern that in a small sample size he's built up most of his value by hitting singles. His impressive OPS could be significantly affected by a few seeing eye singles that might otherwise have been groundouts.

I'm not saying that he's a non-prospect or anything even close to it but I think that the best we can hope is that he puts himself into a tier with Grossman and Marte.


Too bad he isn't still playing 2B.

 

[thecrow124]

He's making a mockery of low A. 3 for 5 tonight. Batting .420 and OPS over 1.200.

Also - even though Josh Bell has been quiet so far with an OPS in the high .600 range I think he may take off soon. Call it optimism talking but I think he's just getting used to a higher level of baseball and I think once he starts making adjustments he'll show his first-round talent.

Bell was brought up today on the Pirates Prospects weekly chat, Tim Williams said he is having trouble with the a hange-up, not a big deal yet. He likely almost never saw a change in HS, so the fact that he is having a little trouble adjusting to it isn't that big of a deal. Not that it is nothing, but i would be more concerned if he was having trouble with breaking pitches.

 

[Illinest]

Although i have no basis to think this: i have the same good feeling about bell that i had about mcc. I havent been around you guys long enough for you to have seen it but i used to be one of mccs biggest defenders when he was having mediocre results in the minors a few years ago. Im not as convinced about bell just yet but i really like the guy and i think theres every chance that he could become the next big bopper in the outfield. Skys the limit.

 

[element1286]

I'm not worried about Bell, but Cutch was pushed super fast through A ball, for Bell to be on the same path he will need to be in AA by August, which I don't see happening.