Billy Hamilton is a fascinating athlete. According to Baseball Savant, Hamilton was just a hair slower than the second fastest player in all of baseball in 2018. The just turned 28-year old center fielder’s speed is well known, but so are his struggles at the plate. Hamilton slashed just .236/.299/.327 in 556 PA in 2018, good for an .091 ISO, fifth worst among qualified hitters last season. He can’t hit, but he does have some skills that the Royals may value during their rebuild and I think he’s worth a flier. Let’s talk about why.
One of the more ironic things that I found while researching Billy Hamilton’s career is this: Billy Hamilton’s best career seasons came in 2014 and 2016, in which he posted 2.