Can Alen Hanson make Pirates fans forget Sano?

We all remember the saga, the uncertainty and, ultimately, the disappointment. Miguel Sano, the best hitting prospect to come out of Latin America in years was ever-so-close to being a Pirate. For a long time, it was reported that the Pirates were the only team to have made Sano a firm offer. Even after a lengthy age-verification process through MLB and accusations of Pirates tampering, Neal Huntington and his crew seemed poised to land the prized prospect.

Then, it all fell apart. Fed up with the Pirates' refusal to meet Sano's asking price, Sano's agent signed him up with the Minnesota Twins, much to the chagrin of Huntington and to the vast disappointment of Pirates Nation. There was nothing to do but move on.

So, move on they did. Weeks later, the Pirates signed another promising but less-highly-touted Latin American prospect in Alen Hanson. Hanson was a toolsy shortstop that the Pirates brass thought had the chance to become a five-tool prospect. But he was much less polished than Sano and didn't flash the same power potential. Hanson had only a mediocre showing in his first year of pro ball in America. He started hot in the GCL, but struggled mightily after being promoted to short-season ball. He hit a meager .200/.273/.200 in a short stint for the State College Spikes.

Somewhat surprisingly, the Pirates aggressively promoted him to lo-A ball to start 2012 and Hanson's response was swift and surprising. In a breakout akin to that of San Francisco's Brandon Belt a couple years back, Hanson has immediately put himself on the prospect map. To date, he's hit .332/.393/.590 flashing surprising power for someone with his 5'11" 152lb frame.

The biggest question now seems not to be whether or not he'll make it to the majors, but rather, if he'll be able to stick at SS. Some evaluators project an eventual move to 2B, but ESPN's Keith Law has repeatedly insisted that he has the tools to stay at SS for the long haul. After not making a dent on any of the preseason prospect rankings, his name is showing up everywhere these days. Keith Law ranks him 48th on his midseason Top 50 list and Baseball America has him ranked 40th. He's a switch-hitter, he's hitting for power and has good enough speed to have led the GCL in triples last year and was second in stolen bases.

A switch-hitting shortstop with speed and power? Sounds too good to be true doesn't it? And that's exactly why the Pirates front office wants you to know the name Alen Hanson. Sano is still considered the better prospect (ranked 26th by Keith Law and 22nd by Baseball America), but nobody's star is rising faster then Hanson's. In a few years, the Pirates brass hope that Hanson's name will hang on the lips of every Pirates fan the way Andrew McCutchen's does today. If that day ever comes, people in Pittsburgh may one day be heard to say, "Sano who?"