Major Minnesotans: Brad Hand

Miami Marlins pitcher, Brad Hand, was born on March 20th, 1990. The Marlins drafted Hand in 2008 in the 2nd round (52nd overall) out of Chaska High School. In his senior season at Chaska, the lefty went 8-2 with 2 saves, allowing only 6 earned runs in 68 innings for an 0.61 ERA. At the plate, Hand hit .352 with 8 HRs and 24 RBI.

Brad Hand made his Major League debut on June 27th, 2011 in Miami vs. the Atlanta Braves. He walked the first big league batter he faced, Jordan Schafer, who would play for the Minnesota Twins in 2014 and ‘15. The second batter he faced was Adrian Gonzalez, who struck out swinging. Hand would allow only 1 hit over 6 innings. That one hit, unfortunately, was a solo home run by Adrian Gonzalez to lead off the fourth in a 1-0 Braves win.

Hand’s first Major League win came in his 5th start, on July 7th at home vs. Houston as he held the Astros scoreless, giving up 2 hits and 3 walks over 7 innings in a 5-0 Marlins victory.

Hand only pitched in 1 game in 2012, starting the first game of a doubleheader in Washington on August 3rd. He allowed 7 runs on 6 hits and 6 walks over 3 ⅔ innings in a 7-4 loss.

He appeared in only 7 games in 2013. Between 2014 and ‘15, Hand pitched in a combined 70 Major League games, starting 28, compiling a 7-15 record. He is 9-25 over parts of five big league seasons. As a batter, Hand has 5 Major League hits, one each off of Johnny Cueto and Stephen Strasburg. He hit 3 HRs as a minor leaguer. Brad Hand, who is out of options, is competing for a spot on the Marlins’ 2016 opening day roster.

(This article also appears on Twins Daily and Major Minnesotans )

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