Baseball America has released their weekly hot sheet, and Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop prospect Alen Hanson is number one this week. Hanson hit for a .324/.343/.735 line in 34 at-bats with four homers over the last week to get to the top spot.
The writeup on Hanson made an interesting note on Miguel Sano. Sano was signed in 2009, the same year that Hanson was signed. The article points out that Hanson received less fanfare and money. However, Baseball America notes that Hanson has closed the gap between the two players, with Sano still being the better of the two prospects. They also noted that Hanson has a broader set of skills, and that he’s been the pop-up story of 2012.
Yesterday Baseball America ranked Hanson as the 40th best prospect in the game. Sano was ranked 22nd.
Also in the hot sheet is a write up about Jeff Locke, who put up a 0.69 ERA in 13 innings over two starts this week. Baseball America noted that Locke is “well on his way to a career as a mid-rotation starter for the Pirates”.
