Ryan Hankins

[habibharu]

i just noticed that he has been moved to C and is hitting very well is charlotte. good avg, good OBP. what is is ETA?

[Daver]

Originally Posted by habibharu

i just noticed that he has been moved to C and is hitting very well is charlotte. good avg, good OBP. what is is ETA?

He was moved from infield to behind the plate late last season, I doubt he has learned the position very well yet.

[Chisoxfn]

Hankins is doing a very good job behind home plate, especially for someone new to the position.

He has very good footwork and a strong arm. He's throwing out guys at a 35% clip. Offensively he isn't a huge power hitter or anything, but he handles the bat well and uses all parts of the field.

He has a chance to be a good backup catcher and could even be a decent starting catcher.

[Rex Hudler]

Originally Posted by Daver

He was moved from infield to behind the plate late last season, I doubt he has learned the position very well yet.

From what I have heard, you are right. He is decent for a AAA catcher at best right now. Of course, that could change over time as it has to be tough learning a new position (esp. catcher) at AAA.

I have always liked his bat. He would definitely be considered a grinder. A lack of power and size hurts his chances.

[maurice]

I assume they're grooming him to become the C/1B/3B/OF that Sox managers love to have at the end of the bench.

At the risk of understatement, it's not easy to turn a 28-year-old corner IF into a good MLB catcher, but Lord knows we're getting pretty desperate.

[Mohoney]

Originally Posted by maurice

I assume they're grooming him to become the C/1B/3B/OF that Sox managers love to have at the end of the bench.

At the risk of understatement, it's not easy to turn a 28-year-old corner IF into a good MLB catcher, but Lord knows we're getting pretty desperate.

You're right about the fact that we seem to love the "25th man that can catch" concept. You're also right about us getting pretty desperate for catching.

Maybe this kid will leapfrog Burke on our depth chart next year? Maybe Sandy will hang 'em up?

[poorme]

Originally Posted by Mohoney

Maybe Sandy will hang 'em up?

i wish...

[Chisoxfn]

Here's a Q&A me and Cerbaho did with Ryan Hankins a few weeks ago when we were in Charlotte: LINK