We've all heard about Billy Hamilton. He has "generational" speed. Game changing speed. In the 9th inning of a 1-1 tie game this year, he singled, stole 2nd, stole 3rd, and tagged up on a pop-up to the second baseman to win the game. He's stolen 92 bases in 72 games, and June was his best month to date at 33 steals so far. Hey folks that's faster than FAST....dare I say that's even faster than the great Eric Davis.

He's also hitting 0.324/0.424/0.442 in A+ Bakersfield, which generally means a prospect is ready for a promotion.

After reading JJ Cooper's articles here:

http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/2012/06/reds-billy-hamilton-gives-minors-first-record-chase-in-decades/

and here:

http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/2012/06/reds-billy-hamilton-ups-his-already-frenetic-stolen-base-pace/

I have come to the conclusion that Billy Hamilton should not be promoted to AA this year. Keep him in A+, refine his skills, and break Vince Coleman's record. The opportunity to break a record is well worth a potential few month acceleration in his development. Also I think that the worst mistake management could make is to promote him to AA, and him not break the record. It's very possible that Hamilton may struggle at AA and not reach base as often, or he may have trouble stealing against better catchers. Regardless breaking the record at AA will be tougher, and the pressure of a record chase plus struggling at AA could mess with his confidence having a negative effect on development.

So to all you Red Reporters, I say go forth, be patient, and let's watch some history!

Kind Regards,

Dave

PS: Do you like apples? I fucking told you so. How do you like those apples? About 70% of you jerks wanted to trade him for this trendy pitcher or that high OBP #4 hitter after his 103 steal performance last year. HAHAHA