Alex Hassan Update

Alex Hassan, Boston's 20th round pick out of Duke, was named a Cape Cod League All Star. The All Star game will be held tonight at Fenway Park. Hassan, a local kid from Milton, MA, is having a solid Summer for the Orleans Firebirds and the Sox are following him as a "draft-and-follow" meaning they can still sign him before the deadline of August 17.

The Sox like Hassan as a pitcher but he has thrown only 6 innings this summer. He has allowed 4 hits and 1 run to go along with 6 walks and 7 strikeouts. Hassan's pitching is still raw, which seems to go along with the organization's strategy recently of drafting athletic and inexperienced arms. This means pitchers have less arm abuse which may help in the future.

Offensively Hassan is batting .287/.348/.376. His walk rate is rather low (8.7%) but so is his strikeout rate (7.8%). Hassan doesn't have a lot of power, but he makes good solid contact and rarely strikes out (think Dustin Pedroia).