Jesse Hahn a potential valuable piece for Oakland Athletics
By Tyler Birss
The Oakland Athletics have acquired a collection of young, controllable starting pitchers this offseason. One of these hurlers is Jesse Hahn, a 6-5 right-hander Oakland landed in the Derek Norris trade. He and R.J. Alvarez, a bullpen piece who was also part of the Norris deal, figure to be part of the A’s plans for 2015 and beyond.
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Oakland’s GM Billy Beane and his team of scouts are known for targeting quality and undervalued pitching. Successful sleeper pitchers on Beane’s resume include current A’s Jarrod Parker, Drew Pomeranz and Dan Otero, plus former green and gold members like Tommy Milone. Hahn’s primary fastball, changeup and curveball combination might soon add his name to this list.
What’s there to like about Hahn? In his 2014 sample size with the San Diego Padres, he surrendered merely four home runs in 73 1/3 innings pitched. Yes, that was in Petco Park’s spacious ballpark, but O.co Coliseum is almost equally friendly to pitchers. Hahn racked up 70 strikeouts in those innings and rocked a 3.07 ERA. That’s a small enough sample size to be considered a tease, but also substantial enough to show Hahn’s ability to hang at the MLB level.
In a recent FanGraphs article on Oakland’s methodology, it’s discussed that Hahn had a marvelous changeup and contact rate in 2014. Hahn’s contact rate is described as comparable to Jeff Samardzija‘s. His curveball is also considered a swing-and-miss offering even without full development. This could be a pitcher on the rise under the respected tutelage of manager Bob Melvin and pitching coach Curt Young. If so, Beane swooped in, sold high on Norris and might end up with the steal of the trade.
In 2015, the only locked in rotation members for Oakland are Sonny Gray and Scott Kazmir. Pomeranz and Jesse Chavez figure to be in the mix, plus the eventual returns of Parker and A.J. Griffin will add tremendous depth, but there’s a spot for Hahn if he proves himself in Spring Training. The likes of Sean Nolin, Chris Bassitt and other recently acquired A’s hurlers will also covet that spot.
Count me as a believer on this trade. Here’s to trusting Billy Beane.
Here’s to betting Hahn has the inside track to being a staple in Oakland though. He’s already spent time in the Tampa Bay Rays’ and Padres’ organizations, so Oakland’s the cutoff where any future trades involving Hahn will create suspicion. Why would such a talented pitcher be moved for a third time? Odds are Tampa Bay became worried by his injury history, primarily a Tommy John surgery that dropped his 2010 draft stock, while San Diego simply had to give up a quality piece in order to land Norris.
A quality piece now, a rotation fixture later. That might be Beane’s idea with Hahn. Injuries aside, Parker became that fixture. Milone did the same during his stint in Oakland. In the bullpen, Otero, Ryan Cook and Sean Doolittle were undervalued by other teams. Cook and Doolittle grew into All-Stars and Otero has emerged as a versatile weapon in relief. The Yoenis Cespedes trade can be criticized until we’re all blue in the face, but Beane’s track record of building elite pitching is impeccable.
Count me as a believer on this trade. The Josh Donaldson deal is still puzzling to a degree, the return for Brandon Moss feels insufficient and the Samardzija haul seems the same. This isn’t to say these moves won’t end up favoring Oakland, it’s simply to suggest that each transaction had perplexing elements.
In this deal, here’s to trusting Beane. Alvarez has closer upside and Hahn can grow into Gray’s primary rotation running mate. Hahn has the stuff to succeed. He has the 2014 building block with the Padres to use in 2015. He even has the perfect park to pitch in. More importantly though, above all else, he has Beane’s faith. History shows this component has value and meaning for the future.