What About Tommy Hanson?

First-off, forget about that ridiculously high number, non-Atlanta Braves fans, this 6'6" right-hander is no slouch.

Saying that, Tommy Hanson appears to be spot-less in a Braves rotation that projects to include Derek Lowe, Jair Jurrjens, Javier Vazquez, Kenshin Kawakami, and the illustrious Tom Glavine.

In four innings on March 8 against Philadelphia, Hanson struck out seven Phillies (mind you, this team was short Chase Utley, Shane Victorino, and Jimmy Rollins).

As I've said before, this is Spring Training and really doesn't mean much, but still, if Hanson continues his success (he has also seen success in his games against the Astros and Panama, including striking out Carlos Lee in both of those games and earning major brownie points by nailing Miguel Tejada between the numbers), then Braves management HAS to find this guy a spot on the big league club.

Oh, and, no, I do not feel that this would be rushing him.

He, as already established, has started showing his excellence this spring and, this is my favorite stat of all time, in 28.1 innings he struck out 49 against the game's best prospects in the AFL.

I think his performance has already said "bring me up."

So, how can the Bravos fit this 22-year-old into 2009's plans?

I see three options.

1. Six-Man Rotation

Chipper Jones has thrown this idea around a couple of times, but I really don't see this happening.

What would this do to benefit the others on the staff or exemplify their strengths?

Lowe and Vazquez were acquired because of their ability to throw 200 innings, and, with the way they are getting paid, should.

But, with this set-up you do put less pressure in JJ and Kawakami while limiting the stress on Glavine's arm.

But, carrying 12 or 13 pitchers does not seem that appealing to me.

2. Trade or Release One of the Current Guys?

I'm going to kill this one really fast.

With all of the money spent and sacrifices made to get four of the guys on this staff, about 90 million dollars over the next few years and Tyler Flowers playing for the White Sox, why would you get rid of any of them?

(besides, the only real expendable piece there is Tom Galvine, and I'm sure that a lot of fans would be angry with the nostalgia that would be lost by this happening)

3. Pray For an Injury or Major "Suckage"?

Although I do not condone praying for an injury to any player, I hope Tom Glavine's arm falls off on April 10.

If this cannot happen, then I hope the last of the remaining big three's ERA is in the range of 4.50 to 6.75 by the end of May.

These two scenerios appear to be the only way for Hanson to get into the rotation.

However, as we all know form last year, injuries happen over the course of the season, and once one occurs, I don't think we'll be seeing Charlie Morton or Jo-Jo Reyes serving as the filler.

We all also know that there are underachievers throughout the course of a season, case-and-point Jeff Francoeur, and if one of these is on the staff, the Hanson will probably be peeking his head into the Majors bay the beginning of June.

So, there you have it, my potential solutions to the too-deep rotation issue.

No matter what, though, Tommy Hanson WILL be an Atlanta Brave by season's end, whether it takes one of the above or September call-ups, a fancy "A" will be on Hanson's hat at some point.