Fast Facts:
Ryan M. Hanigan, 32, was born on August 16th, 1980, in our nation's capital, Washington, D.C. Ryan attended high school in Andover, Massachusetts, at Andover High School, former high school of both Jay Leno and Michael Chiklis. While there, he started for his final three seasons, and after his Senior year he was named an Eagle-Tribune and Eastern Massachusetts All-Star after hitting .397.
Despite his high school success, Hanigan ended up at Division II Rollins College in Florida, and didn't even get the opportunity to play catcher while there due to upperclassmen ahead of him on the depth chart. He played 3B and LF instead, and during his Junior season hit .384 to help lead Rollins to a berth in the Division II Baseball Championship. Hanny went undrafted, but was eventually signed by Reds' scout John Brickley in 2002 while mowing Jessica Biel's yard after a standout performance in the Cape Cod League.
155 players were drafted as Catchers in the 2002 draft, including the Reds' own Joey Votto. Of those 155, only 20 have reached the Majors, 4 of them as pitchers. Only 3 have accumulated more bWAR than Hanigan: Votto, Brian McCann, and current Cubs' mediocre SP/RP Randy Wells. In other words, the Reds got a steal.
Hanigan has had more walks than strikeouts in every season since 2008, has exceeded the league average in caught stealing % in every season since 2008, and led the majors last season by throwing out 48% of all attempted thiefs. Contrary to what Chris Welsh would have you believe, Hanigan can score from second base on a single, and he does have a triple in his career.
Last December, Hanigan was interviewed by Fangraphs' David Laurila, and it's pretty much the greatest interview of all time.
Organizational History:
August 23, 2002: Signed by the Cincinnati Reds as an amateur free agent.
Contract Status:
During Spring Training in 2011 (before entering his last pre-arbitration season), Hanigan agreed to a 3 year, $4 million extension that bought out his first two seasons of arbitration eligibility. He earned $450K in 2011 and $1.2 million in 2012, and he's set to earn $2.05 million in 2013, his last season under contract. The Reds still have him under team control for 2014, but he'll be eligible for a raise in his last arbitration year. Under no circumstances do I expect the Reds to non-tender him after this season, but I do expect Devin Mesoraco's 2013 performance to dictate how many years are on Hanigan's next Reds contract.
Career Stats:
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Scouting:
Ratings via The Baseball Cube
Speed: 12
Contact: 90
Patience: 82
Batting: 77
Power: 22
None of this is truly surprising, I suppose. We know Hanny is slow, but we also know he has a masterful command of the strike zone (both while at bat and while behind the plate). If you were to gripe, you'd likely be griping about that 22 on the Power ranking, though. I know Hanigan's not a "power hitter," but that's absurdly low. Former Red Chris Dickerson, he of 11 career HR, has a 63 rating, Xavier Paul has a 61, and Jack Hannahan even has a 43. He's not that weak, folks.
2013 Projections:
No real surprises here, as most every projector sees Hanigan having a typical Hanigan season: low pop, low K's, and constantly on base. See here.
Defense:
Fan Scouting Report Ratings via FanGraphs (career rating)
Instincts: (65)
First step: (46)
Speed: (36)
Hands: (73)
Release: (80)
Arm strength: (71)
Arm accuracy: (82)
Overall: (65)
FSR: 24
It seems that the universal opinion of Hanigan is that he's a slow guy with an arm good enough to make up for his lack of quickness. I concur.
Pitch f/x Hitter Profile:
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