Jordan's prophecy came true last night as the Brewers evened their record on the current road trip to 3-3, but getting over the .500 mark might be difficult.
I say that because today marks the Major League debut of 22-year-old Tommy Hanson, ranked in the offseason as the fourth-best prospect in the game by Baseball America. Since that ranking, Hanson has done nothing but add to his legend, posting a 90/17 K/BB with only 40 hits allowed in 66.1 innings at Triple-A Gwinnett.
So, what can we expect to see from Hanson? He works in the low 90s but can touch 96 with his fastball, has a great 12-to-6 overhand curve, and a good changeup. Sounds impressive, eh? Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the high 80s slider he added last year that BA says is his best pitch. They rate all four of his pitches as at least major league average, and Kevin Goldstein at BP goes even further than that, claiming Hanson has four plus pitches. As you can imagine, that's a rare compliment, especially for a 22-year-old.
Who are we throwing against the precocious righty? The somewhat less precocious and decidedly less right-handed Manny Parra. Parra may have a long leash, but this is undoubtedly an important start for him, whether he's been unlucky or not: he's had two complete blow-ups in his last three starts, and people are getting antsy.
At least we have Mat on our side.
Go Brewers!