Remember what Keith Law said when Billy Hamilton was drafted?

[Todd Gack]

Maybe it is because we are Reds fans, but for a while now he seems to always have bad things to say about the Reds. As for his comment on Billy Hamilton.... he was right at the time. The year he was drafted he hit .205 in the GCL and struck out in 26% of his plate appearances. Of course things have since changed some, but there are still PLENTY of people out there who question his bat and while I don't fully agree with them, I am far from sold on it either. You can see that there are things there that could be very good, but he has some bad going on in his swing too.

thanks for the info doug. You're, by far, the best poster on the board. I always enjoy reading your posts more than anyone else.

[Homer Bailey]

Soon after the Reds picked Billy Hamilton in the second round in 2009, ESPN.com's Keith Law hosted a chat and was taking questions about various picks. I remember this verbatim: A Reds fan sent in a question that read: "What do you think of the Reds grabbing SS Billy Hamilton in the second round?"

Law, in full smug mode, said: "He can run. He can't hit. Good luck."

And now we know why Keith Law -- who is about as much of a talent scout as the local drunk at the corner bar -- is no longer working for a MLB team, but is spouting off BS for ESPN.

.197/.288/.274 for a .562 OPS.

[Tony Cloninger]

They need to stop this switch hitting experiment and let him hit from his natural side.

[Caveat Emperor]

.197/.288/.274 for a .562 OPS.

He's a toolsy prospect. If history tells us anything, it's that the light switch often clicks suddenly for guys like him and they rocket through the system after that.

Too early to sing his praises, too early to condemn him

[Homer Bailey]

He's a toolsy prospect. If history tells us anything, it's that the light switch often clicks suddenly for guys like him and they rocket through the system after that.

Too early to sing his praises, too early to condemn him

I agree with all points.

I just don't see how Keith Law has even been slightly wrong to this point.

[Plus Plus]

Billy Hamilton hit .318/.383/.456/.839 last season in Billings. His struggles this year have been pretty obvious, but it's kind of silly to label him as a no-stick player, as Law effectively did.

[Benihana]

It is too early for anything with Hamilton, Yorman and Duran. They are teenagers in A ball. If they hit in Dayton, great. It's not until they repeat Dayton next year and still do nothing that I'll start to be very concerned.

[mth123]

Billy Hamilton hit .318/.383/.456/.839 last season in Billings. His struggles this year have been pretty obvious, but it's kind of silly to label him as a no-stick player, as Law effectively did.

Everybody hits in Billings.

[Caveat Emperor]

Everybody hits in Billings.

Except Drew Stubbs, who posted a very pedestrian .252 / .368 / .400 line as a 21 y/o college product in his time at Billings.

Which directs me back to my original point -- toolsy prospects frequently look miserable until, seemingly overnight, they just "get it" and all the potential starts to come pouring out at once.

Now, they sometimes never reach that point and end up being piles of nothing with mountains of potential (looking your way Ruben Mateo & Wily Mo Pena), so there's always that concern -- but frankly, making a judgment either way about anything is just asking for trouble.

[jojo]

Except Drew Stubbs, who posted a very pedestrian .252 / .368 / .400 line as a 21 y/o college product in his time at Billings.

Which directs me back to my original point -- toolsy prospects frequently look miserable until, seemingly overnight, they just "get it" and all the potential starts to come pouring out at once.

Now, they sometimes never reach that point and end up being piles of nothing with mountains of potential (looking your way Ruben Mateo & Wily Mo Pena), so there's always that concern -- but frankly, making a judgment either way about anything is just asking for trouble.

So how does one value an unknown quantity?

[bubbachunk]

So how does one value an unknown quantity?

Carefully

[TOBTTReds]

Billy Hamilton hit .318/.383/.456/.839 last season in Billings. His struggles this year have been pretty obvious, but it's kind of silly to label him as a no-stick player, as Law effectively did.

I'd bet if you asked 50 talent evaluators that have scouted him, 40 or more would say he is a no-stick player. If he was a 60 runner, he'd be darn near worthless. Thankfully he is a 85 runner (yeah, I just graded a tool higher than possible), so he still effective. I'm a huge fan of the guy and Dayton is the first box score I check because of him, so I'm not trying to bash.

He has some major fundamental flaws in his swing that will change after this year I'm sure. Be prepared to see a Juan Pierre style hitter up there next year (I hope).

[dougdirt]

I'd bet if you asked 50 talent evaluators that have scouted him, 40 or more would say he is a no-stick player. If he was a 60 runner, he'd be darn near worthless. Thankfully he is a 85 runner (yeah, I just graded a tool higher than possible), so he still effective. I'm a huge fan of the guy and Dayton is the first box score I check because of him, so I'm not trying to bash.

He has some major fundamental flaws in his swing that will change after this year I'm sure. Be prepared to see a Juan Pierre style hitter up there next year (I hope).

I wouldn't try to turn him into a Juan Pierre type hitter just yet. The guy does have some gap power from both sides when things are working right with his swing and he keeps his weight back. Unfortunately right now he simply doesn't keep his weight back often at all and is often out on his front foot.

I would rather the Reds take him back to a RHH only before they tried to turn him into a slap hitter.

[bellhead]

Wish we Mr. Miyagi in Dayton who had a wax on/wax off drill to keep his weight back.

[powersackers]

He's on the front page of www.minorleaguebaseball.com with a video of him stealing his "minor league leading 38th base". Of course he somehow managed to get on base again Thursday night and got #39. He was sliding into second and on the bag for #38 before the IFer even caught the ball.

I like the idea of him repeating low A next year. He's got time on his side, and plenty to learn.