Since his legendary performance in the Arizona Fall League this past winter, Atlanta Braves RHP phenom Tommy Hanson has chartered a meteoric ascent towards the top of baseball's list of elite young hurlers. His demotion to AAA Gwinnett left collectors and Braves fans alike dejected as his showing in the Grapefruit League was widely considered a rousing success.
Undeterred, Hanson compiled dominant start after dominant start against International League hitters, holding them to a .169 BA while pacing all of minor league baseball with 9o K's in just 66 innings. That statline, coupled with the passing of the arbitration timeline and Atlanta's end of the rotation struggles, ushered forth the Tommy Hanson era with a June 7th MLB debut against the hard-hitting Milwaukee Brewers.
Tommy Hanson's MLB Debut:
Armed with a devastating three pitch arsenal, including a 98 MPH fastball, Hanson's right arm had the eBay market abuzz with activity for his first year cards. Just minutes prior to his first pitch, his 2007 Bowman Chrome cards were selling at $10-12 each, nearly double their previous week's values. He hummed a first pitch ball to Brewers leadoff hitter Craig Counsell and, when the dust had cleared 90 pitches later collectors sat slack jawed at the following line:
5 IP...7 Hits...7 Runs (6 Earned)...1 BB...5 K's...3 HR's Allowed (2 to Ryan Braun)
Control wasn't a problem, but command was. A belt-high 98 MPH gasser that blew away AAA hitters,was rawhide-shelled candy to Brewers sluggers like Ryan Braun and Mike Cameron, . Fortunately for Hanson, the venerable future Hall of Famer Chipper Jones offered a bailout for the youngster by keeping him out of the loss column with a perfect 4-4 game, including HR's #7 and 8 and 5 RBI's. New arrival Nate McClouth and shortstop Yunel Escobar put the finishing touches on the comeback with 9th inning heroics of their own.
All in all, it wasn't the start that anyone, especially Hanson, anticipated but the beauty of being in a major league rotation is that you get four days in between starts to make adjustments. Hanson's opportunity at redemption happens tonight in an intriguing interleague matchup against the Baltimore Orioles. In this game, Hanson will get to standoff against former International League foes Matt Wieters and Nolan Reimold who both seem to be acclimating nicely to the challenges of hitting big league pitching.
While Hanson's sequel outing lacks the pregame fireworks and panache of his debut it should, unlike most sequels, be a much more palatable performance then the original.
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