There isn't a lot that can be made of Spring Training numbers, even during an abnormally long spring. So we've focused a little energy into trying to scout some top prospects lately. The following information was gathered from Tommy Hanson's March 18th, 2009 start against the New York Mets in Port St. Lucie -- David Wright, Carlos Beltran, and Carlos Delgado were not in the lineup. I watched the game on SNY and used their radar gun for velocities.
The Basics:
Fastball...87-89 for the first three innings; 91-93 in the fourth inning. He did not locate it well in the first three innings, but was hitting his spots in the fourth. Fernando Tatis hit one of his 89 MPH fastballs out of the park (first inning). Touched 94 with it twice -- on back-to-back pitches in the fourth inning. Thrown 37 times out of 66 pitches (56.1%) at an average speed of 90 MPH (92 in fourth inning).
Curveball...75-76 consistently. This is definitely a plus pitch -- gave hitters jelly legs. All three of his strikeouts came with his curveball: Rene Rivera (looking), Fernando Tatis (looking), Jeremy Reed (swinging). This was his go-to pitch the second time through the lineup. Thrown 14 times (21.2%) at an average speed of 75 MPH.
Slider...81-83 on the eight occasions he threw it (12.1%); average speed of 82 MPH. This pitch appears raw. It doesn't move nearly as much as his curve. He didn't locate it well.
Changeup...78-80 but all over the place. Touched six different speeds on the seven times he threw it (10.6%), averaging 79 MPH. He used this pitch so infrequently that I didn't get a good read on how he moves or locates it.
Box Score Breakdown:
Hanson's final line was 4.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K (17 batters).
On top of Tatis' home run, Hanson gave up a line drive single to Reed and a bloop single to Livan Hernandez. Reed stole second after his single.
He walked Ryan Chruch and Luis Castillo.
Hanson induced three ground balls and five fly outs.
We plan to post Scouting Reports regularly this season. Adam Foster can be reached at adamf@projectprospect.com.