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Pittsburgh Pirates 2016 Top Prospects: #5 – Alen Hanson

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The Pirates Prospects 2016 Prospect Guide is now on sale. The book features prospect reports on everyone in the system, the 2016 top 50 prospects, and the most comprehensive coverage of the Pirates’ farm system that you can find. Subscribers to the site get free and discounted books, with Top Prospect subscribers getting the 2016 book for free, and Annual subscribers getting $10 off. Both levels of subscribers can also get the book for just $5. Details on all three promotions can be found on the products page, and you can subscribe to the site or upgrade your current plan on the subscriptions page.

While the top 50 prospects are exclusive to the book, we will be releasing the top 20 prospects over the next few weeks. The reports will only be available to site subscribers, including those with a monthly plan. You can subscribe here, and if you like these reports, be sure to purchase your copy of the book on the products page of the site to get much more analysis on every player in the system.

To recap the countdown so far:

20. Willy Garcia, RF
19. Clay Holmes, RHP
18. Mitch Keller, RHP
17. Max Moroff, 2B
16. Chad Kuhl, RHP
15. Cole Tucker, SS
14. Stephen Tarpley, LHP
13. Steven Brault, LHP
12. Yeudy Garcia, RHP
11. Kevin Newman, SS
10. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B
9. Nick Kingham, RHP
8. Elias Diaz, C
7. Reese McGuire, C
6. Harold Ramirez, OF

We continue the countdown with the number 5 prospect, Alen Hanson.

5. Alen Hanson, 2B

After the Neil Walker trade in December 2015, the door is open for Hanson to step up and be the second baseman of the future in Pittsburgh. Before that happens, he is going to need to iron out a few inconsistencies with his game on the offensive side of things.

Hanson has struggled with inconsistent play on both sides of the ball throughout his young career. He came up as a shortstop, but struggled to make the routine play, displaying a lack of focus at times. This became even more frustrating when he would make a difficult play look routine. The Pirates eventually moved him off the shortstop position and over to second base, where his defense really improved in 2015. He showed the range of a shortstop, cutting out the middle of the field, and was much more consistent.

The problem for Hanson was that his offense was inconsistent in 2015. He had his usual early season slump, which has taken place in each of the last three seasons. He started hitting in May, but eventually slumped again at the end of the year, which might have cost him a September call-up. He’s a switch hitter, but struggled against left-handers, which also raises some concerns in the future.

When Hanson’s bat is on, he makes an impact from the middle infield, with the ability to hit for some power – a lot of which is in the form of extra bases – while also adding a lot of speed. He can hit for average, controls the strike zone, and outside of his time in Altoona, he puts up some decent walk rates. If he adds some consistency to his game, he could be an above-average second baseman in the majors.

Hanson could jump to the majors at the start of 2016 if Jung-ho Kang is still out. He picked up time at third base this year, and there was talk of him possibly learning left field. His best route to the majors would be a super utility player until he gets adjusted. If he does get adjusted, then he’d be in line to take over second base for the Pirates for the long-term, possibly sharing time with Max Moroff if the platoon issues remain.

Click Here to Purchase the Pirates Prospects 2016 Prospect Guide

Tim Williams
Tim Williams
Tim is the owner, producer, editor, and lead writer of PiratesProspects.com. He has been running Pirates Prospects since 2009, becoming the first new media reporter and outlet covering the Pirates at the MLB level in 2011 and 2012. His work can also be found in Baseball America, where he has been a contributor since 2014 and the Pirates' correspondent since 2019.

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