78 games, 100 stolen bases for Reds' prospect Billy Hamilton

[Frobby]

That is one of the most amazing stats I have read in a long time, even if he's doing it in the California League. 1.28 stolen bases a game? That's unreal.

Hamilton has 104 hits and 48 walks. Subtract out his 9 triples and 1 homer, and really he's had 142 times when he could have stolen a base. (OK, I'm excluding any time he reached on an error or a fielder's choice.) He has attempted 121 stolen bases! So basically, he is running about 85% of the time he is on 1st or 2nd base. That is astounding.

[NewMarketSean]

Whats crazy is that the player who is 3rd all time in steals is also named Billy Hamilton. He played in the late 1800's so I am sure Drungo knows everything about him.

[Frobby]

Whats crazy is that the player who is 3rd all time in steals is also named Billy Hamilton. He played in the late 1800's so I am sure Drungo knows everything about him.

All I know about that Billy Hamilton is that he is always referred to as "Sliding Billy Hamilton."

[Don Quixote]

Last year he had 103 steals in 135 games for Dayton of the Midwest League (A). His minor league career SB/CS is 265/53 (83.333...%) in 325 games. He can get on base, and obviously has speed, but his fielding at SS leaves something to be desired. In 132 games last year at SS, he had 39 errors in 574 chances (.932), and this year in 74 games at SS he has 24 errors in 368 chances (.935). Interestingly, he logged 55 games at 2B in 2010 with Billings of the Pioneer League (Rookie), and only had 6 errors in 287 chances (.979). He's just cracked the top 50 in the BA preseason prospect rankings the last two years (2011 #50, 2012 #48). I wonder if the Reds org will give him another turn at 2B sometime soon.

[wingman123]

Makes me wish the O's drafted him in the second round instead of Givens.

[Slappy]

These kind of players drive me absolutely insane to play against. Always a threat to bunt, every single or walk is a double, 1st to 3rd on any single. I've always wondered if WAR properly accounts for that kind of offense.

[paulcoates]

Anyone following this kid right now? Plays for the High A Bakersfield Blaze (Reds). through 81 games, he has 103 SB's and has some other nice peripherals.

He even has an .859 OPS

http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=SS&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=571740

[Go_Os]

If you're in a keeper fantasy baseball league you want to get this kid on your team ASAP.

In real baseball he's going to be a very disruptive player.

[Tony-OH]

Anyone following this kid right now? Plays for the High A Bakersfield Blaze (Reds). through 81 games, he has 103 SB's and has some other nice peripherals.

He even has an .859 OPS

http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=SS&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=571740

That's a crazy amount of steals for early July, but let's remember that OPS is hitter friendly California League.

[Go_Os]

That's a crazy amount of steals for early July, but let's remember that OPS is hitter friendly California League.

He has 108 Hits and 49 walks in 81 games. He's so fast he can often bunt for base hits.

[Lucky Jim]

That's a crazy amount of steals for early July, but let's remember that OPS is hitter friendly California League.

His bat lagged as an amateur, though - and it's catching up quickly. He has gap-power only, but check out his BA/OBP delta, which is pretty impressive for a guy with his profile.

[Barnaby Graves]

but check out his BA/OBP delta

I wish there was a snappy abbreviation for that. I like using it to find guys who walk a lot.

[paulcoates]

I am very surprised he is in High A with those numbers.

[Orioles0615]

Wish the O's had someone like this. It's players like him that make the game extremely fun to watch.

[Can_of_corn]

If I was the Reds I would curtail his stealing. He has obviously demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt that he can steal at will at his current level. I think he would be better served staying healthy and concentrating on the other aspects of his game. Putting up those types of SB numbers puts a toll on the body.