Did anyone get a chance to watch Hanson’s 5 INN in the championship game of the AFL? MLB offseason package gets you access to the game. It was the first look at Hanson for me. I thought the slider was a killer. The only knock was that he had inconsistant location with it. I recall times when he had it started out over the plate, it was an automatic swing and miss.

I did notice hanson will need to mature. He was throwing a little tiffy on the mound when he didn’t get some calls. That is a little more telling to me of him not being quite ready. His stuff looks ready though. I think it was more competitive juices rather than poor makeup.

I’ve read articles (maybe on BA) saying that it’s his best pitch.

You are both right I think. This community definitely jumped the gun making Heyward the #3 prospect in baseball (I think KG laughed at that in a chat?) and feel Hanson is a bit overrated at this point. I don’t have a problem with Hanson ahead due to how close he is to the majors.

We have one guy calling the BA rankings “ridiculous” and one guy saying that Hanson is “not even close” to Heyward.

Opinions are awesome, suggesting that BA has no clue what they are talking about is another thing.

1S pick in 08. Only pitched briefly in the GCL… heard whispers of an injury but never have seen them confirmed…. maybe someone can ask about that in the BA chat?

Here’s his report from pgcrosschecker.com (free content)

SCOUTING REPORT (3/1): DeVall will likely gain comparisons to 2006 southpaw Brett Anderson, now with the Oakland A’s after being a surprise (i.e., later than expected) second-round pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2006. DeVall is big and strong at 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds like Anderson, but more athletic. Like Anderson, he’s a polished pitcher with lots of time on big-game stages and pitches like a professional with an emphasis on getting outs rather than on velocity. DeVall can touch 92-93 mph at times but is more comfortable pitching at 87-88 mph with movement and location. Both his secondary pitches—a low-80s slider and upper-70s changeup—are potential plus pitches in both command and life. DeVall has rarely been hit even moderately hard at the high school level in the Florida Panhandle or during the summer with the East Cobb Astros program, and pitches with a confident aggressiveness. As a junior at Rutherford High prior to transferring to Niceville High for his senior year, he went 8-3, 0.70 with 98 strikeouts in 53 innings. He earned co-Most Valuable Pitcher honors at the World Wood Bat Association fall championship in Jupiter, Fla., while going 2-0, 0.00 with 17 strikeouts in 10 innings overall for East Cobb. Radar-gun scouts will pass him off as a college lefthander but scouts who have seen his body of work over the past two years will think differently.—DAVID RAWNSLEY

UPDATE (5/15): With the exception of his final game, a 3-0 loss to South Fork High in the Florida 5-A semi-finals, DeVall was solid this spring, with stuff and performance very consistent with what he’s shown in the past. That’s an integral part of DeVall’s package, he’s physically mature and mature as a pitcher in his approach to the game. He walked an uncustomary five batters in three innings against South Fork, after walking just 25 all season on his way to compiling a 13-2 record. He also struck out 152 on the season.—DR

BA’s draft report said he could be a 3/4 guy. With more velocity, maybe a 2.

Is Mark Buehrle a fair comp for him?