Moncada, Jimenez, Kopech, Giolito. These are well known names of White Sox prospects that have helped the Sox gather the number one farm system in baseball. However, the prospect that has been the most impressive in their organization hasn’t been one of the household names, it has been 2016 second round pick and ninth ranked prospect in Chicago's organization, pitcher Alec Hansen.
Alec Hansen had a legitimate shot at being selected first overall in the 2016 draft before he was sent to the bullpen his junior year at Oklahoma. The Sox still felt comfortable drafting him based on the stuff he showed throughout his career, and he has looked like the steal of the draft.
Standing 6-7 and weighing 235 pounds, Hansen has great size for an MLB pitcher. The righty has a career minor league ERA of 2.08, a WHIP of 1.01, and 231 strikeouts in only 162 innings. Hansen has back-to-back games with 12 strikeouts, and he has a total of 46 in his last five games.
The 22-year-old sports a fantastic fastball that sits between 94-97 mph with the ability to reach 99 mph. He compliments his running fastball with a solid mid-80s slider and a hard curveball. At his best, Hansen has the stuff be a frontline starter.
Due to out-of-sync mechanics, Hansen has struggled to find the zone, limiting his potential. However, the White Sox have worked with him constantly in order to improve his control, the number one thing holding him back from becoming an ace, and as you saw from the statistics above, it has clearly worked.
The Winston-Salem, Chicago’s A+ affiliate, pitching coach Brian Drahman said that Hansen’s “been really good. He’s corrected a couple of things out of the stretch and the windup, and it’s coming really easy for him right now. I think he’s starting to feel it.” Drahman has worked with Hansen to keep his shoulders level, which has greatly improved his control.
After his latest 12 strikeout performance, Drahman said that Hansen “gets in trouble where he might not be throwing strikes with his fastball, the changeup brings it back and it keeps him off his fastball. Those two pitches alone are real nice for right here, right now. He had some real good curveballs tonight and he had some decent sliders. He’s going to need to advance and when he starts advancing those pitches are going to have to come out too.”
If Hansen can continue to pitch the way he has this season and is able to transfer it to higher level leagues, the White Sox will have yet another great starting pitcher in their farm system and on their major league club soon.