WTM’s PLAYER PROFILE

2015
R:  0-1-0, 4.50 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 2.0 IP, 0.0 BB/9, 0.0 K/9
A:  0-4-0, 7.60 ERA, 1.63 WHIP, 34.1 IP, 2.1 BB/9, 6.0 K/9

Hanhold made one brief appearance in rookie ball, then Milwaukee moved him up to Low A.  He pitched mostly as a starter there and got hammered, with opponents batting .338 against him.

2016
A+:  2-12-0, 4.81 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, 101.0 IP, 2.9 BB/9, 5.7 K/9

The Brewers sent Hanhold to High A, where he spent the season in the rotation.  Despite being in the extreme pitchers environs of the Florida State League, he continued to get hit hard.  Opponents hit 300/351/450 against him in a league that batted 250/321/356.

2017
A+:  8-3-2, 3.94 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 64.0 IP, 3.0 BB/9, 8.4 K/9

The Brewers sent Hanhold back to High A, this time in the Carolina League, where he mostly pitched in relief.  He was a little more effective, with a higher K rate.  After the minor league season was over, Hanhold was designated as the player to be named later in a trade that sent Neil Walker to Milwaukee from the Mets in August.

2018
R:  0-0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.00 WHIP, 1.0 IP, 0.0 BB/9, 27.0 K/9
A-:  0-0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.25 WHIP, 4.0 IP, 0.0 BB/9, 4.5 K/9
AA:  3-1-8, 2.84 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 25.1 IP, 3.2 BB/9, 11.4 K/9
AAA:  2-2-0, 7.11 ERA, 1.68 WHIP, 19.0 IP, 3.3 BB/9, 9.5 K/9
MLB:  0-0-0, 7.71 ERA, 2.14 WHIP, 2.1 IP, 3.9 BB/9, 7.7 K/9

Hanhold mainly split his time between AA and AAA, pitching solely in relief.  He missed time in July and August with an injury, which resulted in a rehab stint.  He was much more effective in AA than he had been at any time before, but struggled badly in AAA.  The Mets nevertheless called him up for September and he got into three games.  His season ended a week early due to a strained oblique.  After the season, BA rated Hanhold the Mets’ 18th best prospect.

2019
AA:  2-0-2, 1.23 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 14.2 IP, 3.1 BB/9, 11.0 K/9
AAA:  3-4-0, 4.62 ERA, 1.64 WHIP, 48.2 IP, 3.9 BB/9, 6.7 K/9

The Mets sent Hanhold back to AAA and he struggled there.  The team demoted him to AA in late June and he pitched much better.  He also pitched a little better after returning to AAA a month later.  After the season, the Mets designated Hanhold for assignment and Baltimore claimed him off waivers.

2020
DNP

The Orioles outrighted Hanhold to AAA in January, then he didn’t pitch during the pandemic season.

2021
AAA:  1-1-4, 5.19 ERA, 1.69 WHIP, 26.0 IP, 5.5 BB/9, 9.3 K/9
MLB:  0-0-0, 6.97 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, 10.1 IP, 2.6 BB/9, 5.2 K/9

Hanhold didn’t pitch until late May, when the Orioles sent him to AAA.  He didn’t pitch well there, with his walk rate spiking upward.  He also gave up a home run nearly every four innings.  The Orioles called him up in mid-September and he got into ten games for them.

With Hanhold, the Pirates’ front office began their off-season by continuing their pattern of acquiring late-20s relievers with no track record of success in the majors, or sometimes even in AAA.  Baltimore has had more pitching woes than any other team in baseball in recent years, so the fact that they saw no need to retain Hanhold bodes especially badly.  It’s fairly likely that the Pirates will try to outright Hanhold to AAA, but he doesn’t even look like a reasonable depth option.  It was not an auspicious way to start the off-season after a 101-loss season, especially with a fan base that’s grown tired of the Pirates’ failure to make any meaningful effort to improve in one winter after another.