Alec Hansen

Last year’s minor-league leader with 191 strikeouts in 141.1 innings, Hansen looks like a future No. 1 or No. 2 starter on paper. His success in his first full season may oversell his realistic long-term upside. At 6-foot-7 he gets excellent extension on his mid-90s fastball, which is his bread and butter, and allows his secondary pitches to play up against overmatched minor-league hitters. His curveball has a chance to be a 55 or 60-grade offering and his changeup could be average or a tick above, while his slider lags behind. His fastball won’t be quite as dominant against big-league hitters, so he will need to command it well, which he did not really need to do against Low-A and High-A hitters. Given the inherent risk with pitching prospects and the fact that Hansen’s perceived value may be a bit too high after this monstrous statistical campaign, he makes for a good sell-high option this offseason. He should start the year at Double-A and spend most, if not all of the season in the upper levels of the minors.