Buster Olney on Josh Hamilton

[Matt700wlw]

ESPN chat session with baseball writer Buster Olney


Jack (Cincinnati): What are your thoughts on Josh Hamilton's play thus far? Will he be Starting soon?

Buster Olney: Jack: He's going to play, if he hits. Had a scout tell me that right now, he believes Josh Hamilton is the best position player the Reds have -- and it's not even close, in his eyes.

[OesterPoster]

Originally Posted by Matt700wlw

...he believes Josh Hamilton is the best position player the Reds have -- and it's not even close, in his eyes.

Does this say more about Josh Hamilton or the Reds' current starting 8 position players?

[HumnHilghtFreel]

I'll take the redefined hitter of thus far in Adam Dunn over Josh Hamilton every time. For now. But it's great to continue hearing nothing but good things about Josh.

[Highlifeman21]

Originally Posted by OesterPoster

Does this say more about Josh Hamilton or the Reds' current starting 8 position players?

Hamilton probably is the best complete position player right now. Offensively, Dunn is still ahead of everyone else, but it's no secret he's not the best defender. Hamilton trumps him defensively, and that margin probably makes up for the offensive margin behind Dunn.

Unfortunately, we will never see the 8 best Reds out on the field at any point in time.

[FutureRedsGM]

Originally Posted by Highlifeman21

Unfortunately, we will never see the 8 best Reds out on the field at any point in time.

Would that be:

1. Freel - LF
2. Dunn - 1B
3. EE - 3B
4. Jr - RF
5. Hamilton - CF
6. BPhil - 2B
7. AGon - SS
8. Who cares of the available 3 - C

[lollipopcurve]

Big Hamilton booster, but there is no way he's the Reds best position player right now. He may become that in the next year or two, but I think he's got a lot of learning on the job to do. Don't expect too much out of him too soon. He'll flash, but he will struggle along the way, too.

[Highlifeman21]

Originally Posted by FutureRedsGM

Would that be:

1. Freel - LF
2. Dunn - 1B
3. EE - 3B
4. Jr - RF
5. Hamilton - CF
6. BPhil - 2B
7. AGon - SS
8. Who cares of the available 3 - C

Of those healthy, yes.

If everyone in the organization was healthy, it would look something like...

Griffey - LF
Denorfia - CF
Hamilton - RF
Encarnacion - 3B
Gonzalez - SS
Phillips - 2B
Dunn - 1B
Catcher du Jour - C

Maybe as early as 2008, it could look something like this...

Bruce - LF
Denorfia - CF
Hamilton - RF
Encarnacion - 3B
Gonzalez - SS
Phillips - 2B
Dunn - 1B
Catcher du Jour - C

[EddieMilner]

Originally Posted by Highlifeman21

Maybe as early as 2008, it could look something like this...

Bruce - LF
Denorfia - CF
Hamilton - RF
Encarnacion - 3B
Gonzalez - SS
Phillips - 2B
Dunn - 1B
Catcher du Jour - C

Isn't Bruce in Sarasota right now? Thats a pretty healthy jump from one spring to the next.

[Matt700wlw]

Dunn is not going to play first.

[BRM]

Originally Posted by Matt700wlw

Dunn is not going to play first.

Not for the Reds at least.

[Tom Servo]

Originally Posted by Highlifeman21

Maybe as early as 2008, it could look something like this...

Bruce - LF
Denorfia - CF
Hamilton - RF
Encarnacion - 3B
Gonzalez - SS
Phillips - 2B
Dunn - 1B
Catcher du Jour - C

Not a Joey Votto fan?

[Highlifeman21]

Originally Posted by Tom Servo

Not a Joey Votto fan?

If we could ever convince Adam Dunn that he will prolong his career by playing 1B, then Joey Votto has no spot on this team.

I think Votto is a nice player, but I think any one of Denorfia/Hamilton/Bruce are better OF options than Votto is a 1B option.

If we can't convince Dunn to play 1B, then Votto's clearly our best 1B option and we'll be wasting probably Denorfia's time as a 4th OF, and he should be traded for pitching. I think long term, if Dunn won't play 1B, then we have an OF of Dunn/Bruce/Hamilton, leaving Denorfia as the 4th man. Denorfia's not a 4th OF, he should be a starter.

In a roundabout way, this is a good problem to have.

[redssouth]

Denorfia - CF????? Really, you could pick from everyone in the org. and you picked him to play CF? Not calling you crazy or anything, I just found that to be an interesting choice. I would probably slide Hamilton into CF, and put Griffey in right. What would Denorfia max out OPS'ing??? .700, .800 I dont really know. Good list though.

[Benihana]

If I had my drothers, Opening Day 2009 (when Bruce arrives) would look like this:

2B Phillips
CF Hamilton
LF Dunn
3B Encarnacion
1B Votto
RF Bruce
SS Gonzalez
C du Jour

with Freel and Denorfia coming off the bench. In other words, I think Hamilton is the CF of the future.

[RedEye]

Originally Posted by OesterPoster

Does this say more about Josh Hamilton or the Reds' current starting 8 position players?

I think it says something about both. For Josh to already be clearly better than Dunn, EE, Phillips and Griffey is really saying something. They aren't the best, but they aren't complete slouches either.