Craig Hansen

2013

There was no outlook written for Craig Hansen.

2009

The Pirates acquired Hansen at the trade deadline for his potential in future seasons. Good thing, because he showed little reason to get excited in 2008. Hansen possesses a legitimate mid-90s fastball, but he doesn't always know where it's going to go. In 16 outings for the Pirates, the former Red Sox farmhand put together a 7:20 K:BB ratio. A three-season sample size doesn't offer much hope -- 6.39 ERA, 1.73 WHIP -- but if the light bulb ever goes off inside of Hansen's head, then the Bucs will suddenly possess a prized commodity. After all, he was rushed to the big leagues by Boston at 22 years of age. Hansen has given Pirates fans little reason to hold their collective breath for that to happen in 2009, however.

2008

What happened to Hansen? He received a big bonus coming out of St. John's as a first-round pick in 2005, but was hit hard in 2006 before being sent down to Triple-A Pawtucket for some seasoning. He still possesses the high-90's fastball, but has struggled to throw early strikes, and that gets him in trouble. He still has the cache of a prospect, though some of that has been lost because of his early-career struggles. His name has come up in trade talks, but if he can overcome the confidence and composure problems, he could be an effective set-up man in Boston.

2007

The Red Sox put Hansen on a regimented pitching program for the first few months of the 2006 season designed to make him a more complete pitcher. They were concerned that he was all fastball and wanted him to work on off-speed stuff and learn how to pitch in certain situations. Once with Boston, he was inconsistent in a seventh-inning setup role and was sent back to Triple-A with an ERA over six. He still has the "future closer" label, but the Red Sox aren't going to hand him the job just yet. Boston is looking to add a veteran for that role. There are a couple of spots available in the Boston bullpen, but we wouldn't be surprised to see Hansen begin the season in the minors.

2006

Hansen is expected to become Boston's closer at some point in the future. He's definitely on the fast track to Boston. After being drafted in the first round of the 2005 draft, Hansen made his organizational debut at Double-A Portland. The team was so high on him that he was almost brought up for September to provide some quality relief, but a dead arm in September tempered those expectations. He has the closer mentality we hear so much about and a lot of that has to do with his high-90s fastball.