John Fay is impressed with Billy Hamilton.
I’m no scout. But I’ve watched a ton of baseball over the years. And, after seeing about four innings of Billy Hamilton at shortstop, I’m ready to declare this kid as the player to watch in the Reds system. His range is unbelievable. He got to a line drive about 15 feet behind second base Tuesday and threw out the runner trying to go from first to third.
Billy Hamilton is an incredibly impressive athlete. The concern that is out there with Hamilton though is something that Fay hasn’t had a chance to really see yet, and that is his bat and its projectability. I can’t wait to see Hamilton all season in Dayton and see how he progresses at the plate. I have full faith in his defensive abilities. The guy can glove it, he has tons of range and his arm is good despite what you may have heard at a few other places. I want to see how his bat holds up against more advanced pitching over a full season and I will be honest, if I were the Reds he would be in Dayton all season long unless he shows he is absolutely better than the level.
Mark Sheldon over at Reds.com has a short article up on Zack Cozart.
“I’m here to show Dusty [Baker] and show Walt [Jocketty] that they’ve got somebody they can trust out there,” Cozart said. “I think I’ve done that, so far. I’ve played pretty well. I’m just looking forward to getting that opportunity.
Have to love the outlook on it. I think that Zack Cozart winds up on the big league roster at some point in the next 15 months. He probably has a tough climb for at least the first half of this season. If Janish struggles, he still probably gets 6 weeks as a starter before Dusty will go to Renteria. Then if he struggles for a while, I imagine Cozart would then get a chance but probably not before then. He has the highest upside at this point in their careers of the three though, as he could be a 15-20 HR guy at shortstop with good defense. He could work a little more on being a tad more patient at the plate though, so hopefully he can get back to his walk rate he showed in AA.
Here is how the prospects performed in yesterdays win over the Mariners:
- Dave Sappelt went 1-3 with an RBI.
- Ryan LaMarre went 0-2.
- Zack Cozart went 2-3.
- Billy Hamilton went 0-2.
- Yonder Alonso went 2-3.
- Neftali Soto went 0-1.
- Juan Francisco went 0-3.
- Devin Lohman went 0-1.
- Todd Frazier went 0-2.
- Yasmani Grandal went 0-1.
- Devin Mesoraco went 0-1.
- Juan Duran went 2-2. It is early and a really small sample size of a handful of at bats, but given his “rawness”, Duran has been a pleasant surprise.
- Danny Dorn went 0-1.
- Kris Negron went 1-1 with an RBI and a run.
- Michael Griffin went 1-2.
- Jerry Gil threw a perfect inning of work.
- Philippe Valiquette threw a perfect inning of work with a strikeout.
Scott Carroll and Jeremy Horst are scheduled to pitch in the game today for the Reds.