Alen Hanson (2B/OF, SF) - Waiver Wire Pickups

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OWNED IN: 8% of leagues

ANALYSIS: A former top Pittsburgh prospect, Alen Hanson seemed to have found himself a role with the Giants before injury struck. While starting the season on the bench Hanson played every game from April 25th to May 12th, and in the process performed well enough to get on the fantasy radar. This season Hanson is slashing .298/.346/.638 with four homers and three steals showing off both his speed and contact skills. For a player who was almost out of a big league job at the end of last season, this production should send him right back to Bay after returning from the DL.

Whatever the playing time is moving forward, owners should be interested in the speed profile. Throughout his minor league career, Hanson was a 30+ steals guy every year, and while the speed has not played up at the majors so far, it seems to be less a skills issue and more an opportunity issue. This season, he is three for three in steal opportunities, and last year was six for seven. If the Giants let him run a bit more, this could be a sneaky steals source off the waiver wire. The other nice thing is both his batting average and walk rate are up, meaning more chances to be on first base and try to steal. Small increases mean more opportunities to run, and that is only good news for fantasy owners.