Tom Nichols has out his next positional preview over at DaytonDragons.com. This time he looks at the shortstop position. Billy Hamilton is his main focus, but he also mentions Devin Lohman as a possibility if the Reds choose to get Hamilton some more time at second base.
The key to Hamilton’s game is his blazing speed. Some have called him the fastest player in professional baseball, and others have gone so far as to say that he could be the fastest baseball player since Deion Sanders. In 2010, Hamilton led the entire Reds organization in stolen bases, a noteworthy accomplishment on its own merit without qualifying the statement by adding that Hamilton’s season with Billings did not begin until late June, after the top four clubs in the Reds farm system had already completed half their schedules. Hamilton led the system in steals with 48 despite playing in a “short-season” league.
Go read the entire article, there is some real cool stuff about Billy Hamilton in the article.
EthanEthan:
Was Yorman Rodriguez in big league camp this year?johnfay:
No. He didn’t arrive until March 8 or so. TheReds really worked him in Instructional League and he needed a break. Saw him take BP the other day. He hit one over the light pole in left.
I have not been to Goodyear Ballpark, but by looking at this picture, that is an absolute blast.
JaredJared:
How did Juan Duran look this spring?johnfay:
He looked decent in his brief time. I was talking to Billy Doran about him Duran the other day. He says the kid has scary BP power and he’s starting to hit some shots in games as well.
Juan Duran has some crazy type of power. If he really starts showing it more often in games, it will be a joy to watch him run into a few. I hope to see him in Dayton this season.
Here is how the prospects performed in yesterdays loss to the Athletics:
- Chris Valaika went 0-1 with an RBI.
- Dave Sappelt went 1-1 with a run. He is hitting .545 this spring. Silly.
- Nick Christiani allowed 2 runs in 1.2 innings.
- Aroldis Chapman thew a hitless inning with a walk and two strikeouts.
- Joseph Krebs threw a hitless inning with a walk and a strikeout.
- Scott Gaffney allowed a run in an inning of work.