FanPost

All Hahns on deck

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

This is being promoted to the front page for at least two reasons: Great headline and a poll with the good sense to use "rotation slots" as the measure for projecting a starting pitcher! :-) -Nico

Hello all. Instead of working on my thesis paper for grad school, I’ve decided to write an article on one of our offseason acquisitions. Jesse Hahn.

For those of you that do not recall how we acquired Jesse Hahn, he came to Oakland along with R.J. Alvarez in the Derek Norris Trade. Born July 30, 1989, the right handed throwing Hahn stands in at 6-5, 190 pounds. Drafted out of Virginia Tech as a junior in 2010, Hahn had been viewed as a first round pick before his Tommy John surgery caused his stock to drop and resulting in him being drafted in the 6th round by the Rays. Scouting reports and Fangraphs say that his repertoire contains a two-seam fastball, four-seam fastball, a "big breaking power curveball", a decent changeup, and a slider.

According to Fangraphs PITCHf/x velocity charts, his fastball averages around 91 mph, but it should be known that I came across an article that mentioned he has hit triple digits on the speed gun, but his fastballs generally sit around the mid-low 90’s. His curve averages at about 74 mph and his changeup comes in at about 83.5 mph. Fangraphs says he threw a slider 1.5% of the time that averaged at about 81 mph. His two seamer is said to have good movement, his curve is considered to be well above average. Hahn seems to have a decent repertoire, and with his solid command he can be quite dominant.

Reports say that Hahn has made a lot of progress with his command compared to his early days in college, and is now considered to have very good command. When Hahn is on his game he looks to be a definite number three starter, potentially a number two. Durability is his main concern. Hahn has yet to throw more than 73 innings in a season, and his health seems to be a concern. However I couldn’t find anything to worry about other than the TJS he previously had.

While Hahn did not pitch at all in 2011 due to the TJS, he returned in 2012 strong. He ended the season with a 2.77 ERA, 2.20 FIP and a 3.67 K/BB in 52 innings for Hudson Valley in the New York-Penn League. He made 19 starts for High-A Charlotte in the Florida State League in 2013 with a 2.15 ERA and 2.49 FIP in 67 innings, then was traded to the Padres the following offseason. This past year he had a 1.91 ERA, 2.77 FIP in 42.1 innings with Double-A San Antonio, a 2.53 K/BB, and at the major league level he had a 3.07 ERA and 3.40 FIP and was valued at 0.8 fWAR.

What I really like about Hahn is his consistency. All throughout the minors he’s had a very consistent K/9 (around 8-8.5) and LOB% (75%-76%). His BB/9 has risen a bit as he has moved up through the minors and up to the majors, which is to be expected especially when jumping from AA to the show. But his BA and BABIP has also been fairly consistent among all levels as well, which to me says he should be able to keep up this performance while moving into a new league (I hope). Steamer doesn’t project him to be as good as I think he will be, having him projected for 144 innings, a 4.33 ERA, a 4.23 FIP and valued at 0.9 fWAR.

So there you have a brief overview of one of our new pitching acquisitions Jesse Hahn, who seems to have a chance to be part of the starting rotation either as the number 3 or 4 pitcher in the rotation. Many of the scouting reports had him pegged as a number 3 starter potentially a number 2, which leads me to envision a future top three consisting of Gray, Hahn, and Pomeranz, All of which seem to have a stellar curve as their strike out pitch (love me some curves). Hahn looks to have quite a bit of upside, especially if he can stay healthy, which shouldn’t be an issue. After all of this I sort of see him as a Sonny Gray lite, and I am definitely looking forward to seeing him pitch.