Sox Scoops 40.101: "Hang Wins Third Player Of Week Award This Season'

[HoosierVic]

By Mike Talley
Black Sox Beat Writer
Chicago Sports Online

Grand Junction, CO – This is getting to be old hat.

Hao Hang, one of the Black Sox’s top minor league prospects, won yet another Player of the Week award earlier this month from the Provost Sub-League. Hang, a power-hitting left fielder, plays for Chicago’s Single-A affiliate in the Charley Pegler League, the Grand Junction Gold Sox.

Hao Hang

The June 11 award was the third Player of the Week trophy Hang has brought home this season. He won his latest honor after going 10-20 with 4 home runs, 7 RBIs and 4 runs scored. Hang also won Player of the Week on April 16 and May 14, and played in the Pegler League’s All-Star Game

For the season, Hang is slashing .376/.419/703, with 17 home runs, 58 RBIs and an OPS of 1.122. He has compiled 4.8 WAR so far.

“This is a dream come true,” said Hang, a native of St. Catherine’s, Ontario, Canada. “Of course, the best thing is the team is winning, and the guys are really clicking.”

Grand Junction currently has a record of 48-27, good for first place in the PL West Central Division, which they lead by 4 games over second place Aspen.

Fans and some coaches within the organization believe the Sox should put Hang on a faster development track.

Sox General Manager Vic Caleca, however, said that’s not currently in the plans.

“We want to be patient and give Hao every opportunity to develop his considerable skills to their maximum before we promote him,” Caleca said. “Hao is thriving where he is, and we want that to continue. He may be able to go directly to AAA next season, but that’s not a given.

“If it takes a couple of years to make it to the big league roster, then that’s what it takes. The key is to make certain that he can make an impact once he arrives.”

Hang currently leads the entire Pegler League in batting average, OBP, Runs, and WAR. He’s third in Slugging Percentage, second in OPS, and fourth in RBIs.

It should come as no surprise, then, that scouts say Hang is making steady progress in his development: he’s currently rated 6/8 for contact; 9/9 for gap power; 6/8 for home run power; 5/6 for eye; and 4/5 for avoiding Ks. He’s about half-way to reaching his overall potential, according to development reports: he’s rated at 35/70.

“Hao has come a long, long way,” said Grand Junction Hitting Coach Nicolaas Alberts, “but he still has plenty of room for improvement. Once he gets there, though, look out!”

Hang was Chicago’s first round pick in the 2039 amateur draft.

“Look, things are going great, but I know I’m not ready for the BBA or anything like that yet,” Hang said. “But I’ll get there. Believe me, I’ll get there.”

[usnspecialist]

This one will be interesting to monitor for me because Hang looks a lot like his draft classmate Reggie Vargas that I have in my system, and yet we are handling them very differently.

[HoosierVic]

Interesting! They do look very similar, don't they? My thought was to let him spend the season at A and maybe skip AA ... I kind of rushed Cochran, and I think it set him back a season. He's blossomed this year, but I was afraid I'd permanently screwed him up, so I'm a little wary of fast-tracking prospects at this point (says the guy who just fast-tracked two relievers out of desperation ...)

[jleddy]

Hey nogman...