In this series, I look at one player per year from 1991-the present who came out of nowhere or had a great year that no one really noticed or expected.
David Hamilton was one of the prospects acquired when the Red Sox sent Hunter Renfroe to the Brewers for Jackie Bradley Jr. It was a widely criticized move at the time and it definitely seemed weird. But, the prospects were the major draw to the deal. Unfortunately, only Hamilton has developed into any sort of value.
Hamilton made his Major League debut in 2023, playing in 15 games and stealing a couple of bases, but his rookie season came in the 2024 season. He originally started playing shortstop after Trevor Story went down with an injury, but his defense was inadequate there. He eventually settled in at second base and started playing very well defensively. His bat also came around. Speed was never a problem for him. Hamilton was second on the team with 33 stolen bases, just one behind Jarren Duran. Had he not gone down with an injury late in the season, he likely could have challenged 40 stolen bases. For the season, Hamilton hit .248/.303/.395. He had a little bit of pop, knocking eight home runs with 17 doubles and a triple. He scored 47 runs and drove in 28. His 2.6 bWAR was seventh on the team, impressive for a player who only made it into 98 games.
I'm still not sure why exactly the Yankees made it known they were potentially looking to trade for him this year. Then again I have no real idea how they evaluate their infield anymore.
ReplyDeleteAnyone would be better than Volpe6.
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