The Case for Hanrahan



Joel Hanrahan

All right sports fans, its officially time to buck up and get Joel Hanrahan to this year's all-star game.  The guy has been the best closer in the National League this season, and it's time he get the recognition he deserves. 

Take a look a the numbers- 20 saves in 20 chances (the only other regular closer to boast a 100% conversion rate is Valverde from the Tigers) with a 1.31 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 34.1 IP.  He's only given up 25 hits the entire year, with a WHIP of 0.96.  You could keep going- just 5 earned runs all season, and only 1 HR...opponents are hitting a meager .205 against him.  Only Huston Street of the Rockies has more saves than Hanrahan (22), and no one boasts better overall numbers. 

The first (and maybe only) knock on the Norwalk native is that he plays for the Pirates, but take a closer look at the standings before you throw out the Pittsburgh hatred- the Pirates are 37-37 as of today, only 3.0 games out of first place in the NL Central.  We're deep enough into the season to start thinking it's not a fluke, and that Hanrahan has something to do with the Pirates no longer being the cellar-dwellers in their division.

Barring a major meltdown in the next week or so, there's no reason why the central Iowa native shouldn't be playing over the break.