After suffering an injured pinky finger on his left hand while sliding into third base on June 15th, Alen Hanson has made some recent strides in his recovery and is expected back soon.
“The recovery is going well,” Indianapolis manager Dean Treanor said. “He was out taking ground balls today, which was good to see. He is hitting off a tee and taking soft toss in the cage. He hasn’t taken BP yet. Hopefully that is a day or two away.”
After seeing his on-field work on Saturday, Treanor does not think that it will take long for Hanson to bounce back. He also does not think that he is far off.
“I think that he will progress quickly,” Treanor said. “Watching him today, defensively, that is obviously a factor too. Hopefully it is on this home stand that he is back.”
The pregame on field work for Hanson on Saturday, while taking ground balls, appeared just as smooth as normal. Additionally, Hanson has been up on the top step of the dugout several times over the past week and a half during the game, as he is clearly itching to get back on the field.
Hanson won the International League Player of the Month honors in May by hitting .362 for the month with a .998 OPS. While April and June have not been quite as strong, Hanson is still hitting .285 with a .754 OPS for the season with 20 extra base hits and 17 stolen bases.
In addition, Hanson has been showing a lot of promise at second base. He is showing the range of a shortstop, with more consistent throwing and fielding than he did at his previous position.
Since the injury was not a lengthy one for Hanson, it should also not be too much of a setback in his debut season at the Triple-A level. While it is difficult to see Hanson coming up before September, the brief DL stint should also not affect his chances to join the big league squad when the rosters expand.
