With the Red Sox designating Brett Harris for assignment as part of a flurry of roster moves on Tuesday, it feels like an appropriate time to check in on the prospect Boston traded to the Athletics for the infielder two months ago.
On July 1, the Red Sox acquired Harris from the A’s for minor league right-hander Ben Hansen, whom Boston originally selected in the 20th and final round of the 2024 draft out of Brigham Young. At the time of the trade, he was not ranked among the organization’s top pitching prospects.
Hansen, who had spent all of 2026 to that point with High-A Greenville, reported to the Athletics’ High-A affiliate in Lansing and made his organizational debut on July 3. The 24-year-old made five appearances (one start) for the Lugnuts, allowing two earned runs on six hits, two walks, and nine strikeouts over 8 1/3 innings before being promoted to Double-A Midland on July 22.
In eight outings (three starts) for the RockHounds since then, Hansen has posted a 2.70 ERA with 31 strikeouts to 14 walks across 30 innings in which he has limited opponents to a .183 batting average. The righty was recognized as the Texas League Pitcher of the Week after striking out nine over 5 1/3 scoreless, no-hit frames of relief on August 23. He then followed that up by firing a career-high six innings of one-run ball on Sunday.
Among 149 pitchers who have thrown at least 30 innings in the Texas League this season, Hansen has the sixth-lowest FIP (3.20), the 10th-lowest ERA, the 12th-lowest opponents’ batting average, and the 15th-lowest WHIP (1.10). He also ranks 56th in xFIP (4.66), 62nd in groundball rate (44.6%), and 68th in both strikeout rate (25.6%) and walks per nine (4.20), according to FanGraphs.
Overall, Hansen has forged a 3.71 ERA (3.88 FIP) with 92 strikeouts to 30 walks over 26 outings (six starts) and 80 innings across two High-A stops (Greenville and Lansing) and Double-A this season. That represents an improvement from the 6.23 ERA (4.56 FIP) he logged in 60 2/3 innings with Low-A Salem during his professional debut last year.
Listed at 6-foot-6 and 210 pounds, Hansen gets good extension on his delivery. As Baseball America’s Ian Cundall noted in July, the California-born hurler operates with a 92-96 mph fastball that “plays above velocity” and “misses bats,” though it can be inconsistent. He also features a 76-78 mph curveball, a cutter, a sweeper, and a changeup.
As was the case during his time in the Red Sox system, Hansen — who does not turn 25 until next March — is not yet ranked among the Athletics’ premier pitching prospects. He is, however, expected to be part of the contingent the club send to the Arizona Fall League later this year, per Bill Moriarty of A’s Farm.
Coincidentally, prospects from both the Athletics and Red Sox organizations will be assigned to the same team this fall: the Mesa Solar Sox, potentially giving Hansen an opportunity to cross paths with some of his former teammates.
(Picture of Ben Hansen courtesy of the Midland RockHounds)
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