mlb.com article saying Hamilton may be up sooner than later, and Chapman to rotation?

[Vottomatic]

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=...Id=rss_cin

Welcome to Walt Jocketty's winter fun.

He has an offseason to-do list that includes re-signing Ryan Ludwick and finding a closer that would allow him to move Aroldis Chapman to the rotation.

.....

Now comes the really interesting decision.

In the traditional view of player development, Hamilton would spend the entire 2013 season -- or most of the season -- at Triple-A. Even that would be pushing him, because he has played just 50 games above Class A.

There are two other factors playing into Jocketty's decision. One is the success that Mike Trout, Bryce Harper and Manny Machado had in 2012.

They were all rushed to the Major Leagues. They all succeeded, too. And they're all younger than Billy Hamilton.

Harper and Trout played 21 and 20 games, respectively, at Triple-A. Machado played 109 games at Double-A and made the jump to the Major Leagues without a stop in Triple-A.

What they all have in common is that they were fast-tracked to the Major Leagues, and they all held their own.

All of them struggled at times. But Harper and Machado helped their teams to the playoffs, and Trout will finish first or second in the American League Most Valuable Player Award balloting.

"Those guys are extremely good athletes and players," Jocketty said. "Certain guys can do it, and Billy might be one. He's a talented player with great instincts."

......

The Reds had very few weaknesses in 2012, but leadoff hitter was one of them.

Manager Dusty Baker used seven different players in the top spot, and Cincinnati's leadoff men were last in the Majors in batting average (.208) and on-base percentage (.254).

Just the thought of adding someone with Hamilton's dazzling skill set is enough to throw your average Reds fan into a tizzy. He has already made Cincinnati's 2013 Spring Training the most interesting in all of baseball.

Jocketty will spend this winter shopping for a leadoff hitter. But finding someone to play for only a year or two until Hamilton is ready will be a challenge.

Regardless, the Reds are going to bring Hamilton to Spring Training and get a good, long look at him. If he opens the season as Cincinnati's leadoff hitter, it should not shock anyone.

[RedEye]

Sign me up for both of these options, please.

[REDREAD]

Isn't it wonderful to have faith that the front office will at least attempt to address weaknesses.. that there's competence in there, and an owner commited to winning?

Great time to be a Reds fan.

I would bet money that Hamilton comes up at some point in the 2013 season..

[SirFelixCat]

Just a layman's opinion here:

While Slidin' Billy is uber-exciting and could help in the leadoff spot, I think this would be a bad move.

• He just switched positions. While his superior athleticism would cover/mask some of his mistakes from still having to learn the position, I would much rather him LEARN the position at a natural pace and not in the pressure cooker that will be the expectations of the Reds next season.
• While he has near Olympic world-class speed, he was able to take a ton of risks while in Single-A and Double-A on the base paths and depend on that speed to allow him to win most gambles. He still needs to hone his craft of being a base stealer and not just a 'super fast guy who can run and happens to steal a lot of bases'. I think major league catchers would eat him alive AT THIS POINT. Give him the season to really learn the little things that make a great basestealer just that.
• All those guys mentioned have legit power and pitchers couldn't just go right after them, for fear of the HR. Billy doesn't have that luxury. He needs to better learn the strike zone. Obivously, he's learning to take a BB, but his K rate is still high and doesn't have the power to offset that (and most likely never will). Allow him the time in the minors to develop that skill as well and not force it. The benefits, imo, will bear fruit, if given time to be learned w/o the pressure.

Again, I don't have the SABR background to back all of this up. Just a guy who has read and followed Billy this season, thanks to the great job of the minor league forum guys!

[cinreds21]

Start Billy back in Double-A playing center. Call him up as a September call-up or at the end of August.

I would almost bet he starts back in Pensacola. Ryan LaMarre, Josh Fellhauer, Denis Phipps, and Felix Perez are all likely to be in Louisville next year, so there really isn't a spot. I could see LaMarre going back to Double-A since he kinda struggled.

[Brutus]

Originally Posted by SirFelixCat

Just a layman's opinion here:

While Slidin' Billy is uber-exciting and could help in the leadoff spot, I think this would be a bad move.

• He just switched positions. While his superior athleticism would cover/mask some of his mistakes from still having to learn the position, I would much rather him LEARN the position at a natural pace and not in the pressure cooker that will be the expectations of the Reds next season.
• While he has near Olympic world-class speed, he was able to take a ton of risks while in Single-A and Double-A on the base paths and depend on that speed to allow him to win most gambles. He still needs to hone his craft of being a base stealer and not just a 'super fast guy who can run and happens to steal a lot of bases'. I think major league catchers would eat him alive AT THIS POINT. Give him the season to really learn the little things that make a great basestealer just that.
• All those guys mentioned have legit power and pitchers couldn't just go right after them, for fear of the HR. Billy doesn't have that luxury. He needs to better learn the strike zone. Obivously, he's learning to take a BB, but his K rate is still high and doesn't have the power to offset that (and most likely never will). Allow him the time in the minors to develop that skill as well and not force it. The benefits, imo, will bear fruit, if given time to be learned w/o the pressure.

Again, I don't have the SABR background to back all of this up. Just a guy who has read and followed Billy this season, thanks to the great job of the minor league forum guys!

There's not really much to learn about CF. It's mostly just instincts. Either you are able to see the ball off the bat or you aren't. And if he's unable to, I think that's something they'd learn very early on. With infielders, there is a lot of subtle footwork and mechanical issues to master. But I just think that's an overrated factor for a guy going to the outfield. It's a very simple game out there. See the ball. Catch the ball. Throw the ball to the cut-off man.

[Superdude]

Originally Posted by Brutus

There's not really much to learn about CF. It's mostly just instincts. Either you are able to see the ball off the bat or you aren't. And if he's unable to, I think that's something they'd learn very early on. With infielders, there is a lot of subtle footwork and mechanical issues to master. But I just think that's an overrated factor for a guy going to the outfield. It's a very simple game out there. See the ball. Catch the ball. Throw the ball to the cut-off man.

Yea I can't imagine this taking as long as people are projecting. Even though he's just now playing real games, it sounds like he's been working out there for a while. Unless he's just downright horrible at every fundamental aspect of the position, I would imagine the fastest player in recent memory should be able to make a fairly quick transition.

[Matt700wlw]

It's November, and we're talking baseball.

Color me excited!

[Matt700wlw]

The link is either bad, or it's been pulled

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=...Id=rss_cin

[membengal]

Hamilton's ability to go get the ball and catch it in CF is the least of my worries with him. Everything comes down to his ability to get on base. If the Reds think he can do that starting in April in the bigs, I hope they make it so.

[dunner13]

I would rather just give the job to hamilton on Opening Day and keep stubbs or heisey around as his backup then give Pagan or BJ Upton big money. Hamilton is exactly what this team needs, he played very well in AA and has looked good enough in the AFL so lets give him the job and see what happens.

[MikeS21]

Count me among those unwilling to rush Hamilton to the big leagues this year.

I'm not too worried about his defense. His instincts awill improve the longer he plays CF and his speed and athleticism can make up for bad jumps, misplays, and poor judgement.

I want to see him improve his bat control and strike zone judgement. Improve reading pitchers while on the basepaths. Do that at AA - not in the big leagues.

[Superdude]

Originally Posted by MikeS21

Count me among those unwilling to rush Hamilton to the big leagues this year.

I'm not too worried about his defense. His instincts awill improve the longer he plays CF and his speed and athleticism can make up for bad jumps, misplays, and poor judgement.

I want to see him improve his bat control and strike zone judgement. Improve reading pitchers while on the basepaths. Do that at AA - not in the big leagues.

I'd like to see him scale back his running game before we call him up too. It seems like the mantra's been, "Take as many bases as you can and learn from it" so far. Great experience, but now's the time to start picking his spots and be smart about it.

[BCubb2003]

I wonder, should he be learning from AA pitchers and catchers, or should he learn from the best? If he can handle being shot down a few times, maybe he should be studying major-league quality moves and arms.

[reds1869]

Originally Posted by BCubb2003

I wonder, should he be learning from AA pitchers and catchers, or should he learn from the best? If he can handle being shot down a few times, maybe he should be studying major-league quality moves and arms.

That is how I feel. Let him learn up here and expect some struggles. He will be more valuable offensively than Stubbs and what I have seen of his CF defense is impressive.