Games Seen 2, Innings 18 (Seen playing for Orleans, Cape Cod League, July 2009)

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Good body, tall and lanky, some athleticism and yet to fill out.

ABILITIES: Slight upper-cut in swing, armsy type hitter. Some power projection.

WEAKNESSES: Had trouble repeating swing in games I saw; didn’t adjust to off-speed; same swing for each pitch.

SUMMARY: Good athlete with physical projection who may project into everyday corner or extra outfielder. Swing can improve with instruction and experience — interesting player just scratching surface of his abilities.

GRADES: Hit: 3/5 Power: 4/5 Arm: 4/5 Field: 4/5 Run:  4/4 OFP = 48

What the Grades Mean

Watch Alex Hassan Video
Read Alex Hassan Q&A

In the video, it’s easy to see that he’s feeling for what he should be doing, and has the look of a guy who took the ball to be a team guy. Playing for the Orleans Firebirds on the Cape, Hassan didn’t throw hard, looked like he was just trying to get it over and not embarrass himself. It was experimental mop-up work.

Drafted in the 20^th round of the 2009 draft out of Duke University by the Boston Red Sox, Hassan signed in late July and traded the Cape for the next step up the ladder, the short-season New York Penn League. He also signed as an outfielder, not as a pitcher.

Hassan as a position player is more at home. He doesn’t have the flashiest tools, but he’s a decent enough athlete to have been able to play both ways in college. His body has room to fill out and if one of his tools does pop, the guess here is that it will probably be power.

Hassan was a very “armsy” hitter when I saw him on the Cape, but then went to Lowell in the New-York Penn League and hit his way out of there in 17 games, hitting .350 in 60 at-bats with no home runs, which indicates that he made some adjustments.  However, in scouting, you have to go with what the player gave you on the day you saw him.

Read Alex Hassan Q&A
Read Alex Hassan scouting report

There was a catch. Hassan was drafted as a right-handed pitcher, not as an outfielder, as he had always envisioned himself to be. So Hassan waited until July to begin playing for Orleans in the Cape Cod League, mainly as an outfielder. Hassan showed well for himself offensively, hitting .289 in 30 games. He had five doubles, two triples, and one home run, which is a pretty nice extra-base hit output for a one-month look on the Cape.

Hassan drove in 20 runs, made the Cape Cod League All-Star team, and signed shortly after the game at Fenway Park. When he signed, Hassan went in as an outfielder rather than a pitcher. Red Sox scouting director Jason McLeod explained to Baseball Beginnings the organization’s thought process.

“We drafted him as a right-handed pitcher. He’s athletic and has the makings of three future average pitches,” McLeod told Baseball Beginnings. “He was a kid who performed pretty well offensively in the ACC, and although the power numbers weren’t there, Duke is one of the harder places to hit home runs in the ACC. He worked out for us at Fenway and put on a good show in BP and followed that up with a good showing at the plate in a prospect game.”

McLeod said that was where Hassan hit his way into a chance to play every day.

“When he went to the Cape our intention was still to sign him as a pitcher, but every time we saw him, he swung the bat well,” McLeod said. “We eventually determined he had a chance to make a bigger impact as an athletic right-handed hitting outfielder. If hitting doesn’t work, we will have the option to move him back to the mound.”

When Baseball Beginnings caught up with Hassan midway through the summer, he was a guy drafted as a pitcher who was carrying his bats to the field like pitching was for someone else. You can’t expect a drafted player to come out and say what they’d like to do most, especially in the 20^th round where demands aren’t best made. What Hassan did over the summer was show with his performance what he could never say with his words.

He came to hit. And if that doesn’t work out in the future, there is always Plan B.

Baseball Beginnings: What do you prefer doing and what do you think you’d prefer to do as a pro?
Hassan: I like them both a lot, but I think I have more experience as an outfielder and as a hitter. In the last two years, I haven’t pitched a ton of innings, but I was drafted as a right-handed pitcher. They think if I get a lot of innings, then I’ll have a lot more upside on the mound. If I do sign this year, it will probably be as a pitcher.

Baseball Beginnings: You sound like a position player coming to grips with the notion that they’re going to turn you around.
Hassan: Pretty much, but I’ve done well here this summer hitting. I’ve only pitched two innings here because I got here late because of the draft. I’m here to pitch and play the outfield, but I think eventually I’ll be a pitcher. I’ll do whatever they want me to do, but I’m pretty sure they want me as a pitcher.

Baseball Beginnings: Do you think you have the capacity to grow into being a pitcher?
Hassan: Yeah, I do. Being coachable is a big part of progressing through the minor leagues. To play in the big leagues, you have to absorb what all the coaches are telling you and applying what they’re teaching you. I think it’s something that I’m pretty good at. I think that’s something in the long run that will help things work out.

Baseball Beginnings: What was your education background at Duke?
Hassan: I was a psychology major. I went there for baseball just to get drafted like every other guy. The only difference with me was that I thought if baseball didn’t happen, this would be the best Plan B. The biggest thing at Duke was that it was the strongest Plan B I could have.

Baseball Beginnings: You’re from Milton, Mass., so what’s it like when a Massachusetts guy gets drafted by the Red Sox?
Hassan: I couldn’t even tell you how many people I hadn’t talked to in forever who called to say how excited they were. It’s been a really big deal.

(Editor’s note: This interview was conducted about a month before Hassan signed with the Red Sox as an outfielder, though he was drafted as a pitcher. In his first 17 games and 60 at-bats, Hassan hit .360 playing for the Lowell Spinners in the New York-Penn League. Baseball Beginnings will track his progress as a pro and follow which path Hassan takes.)

Watch Alex Hassan Video
Read Alex Hassan scouting report