Tag Archives: Prospects

Billy Hamilton is the fastest man alive

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Watching the Futures Game out of the corner of my eye a few weeks ago, a guy named Billy Hamilton (Reds Organization) hit a triple. A very, very, fast triple. A triple that, if the outfielders had been slower or the outfield walls has been deeper, he could easily have attempted to make into an inside-the-park home run.

A few days ago, he did hit a inside-the-park home run. Not only that, but he did it in 13.8 seconds… while not even going full-speed near the end. Oh, and he has 109 stolen bases between A and AA this season. The all-time pro record for a season is 145, which Vince Coleman pulled off in A-ball during the 1983 season.

(more after jump)

And Hamilton isn’t exactly a one-trick pony, he hit .323 in a half-season of A-Ball. Barring injury, he could end up as a runner-off-the-bench for the Reds come September. After all, he’s way too fast to just be left in the minors once crunch-time comes, especially for a National League team.

By the way, Hamilton’s dash around the bases in 13.8 seconds- roughly 360 feet- is in itself a impressive athletic feat. It means he was averaging about 17.79 MPH during the run. If Hamilton were to hold that speed for just 100 meters, he’d finish in about 12.57 seconds. That isn’t exactly Usain Bolt, but then again it wasn’t exactly a straight sprint and Hamilton was running on dirt and grass instead of smooth pavement, so the comparison doesn’t really work… does it?

Interestingly, Billy Hamilton was also the name of a Hall of Famer from the late 19th century. “Sliding Billy” Hamilton also was quite the base stealer: he had 914 in his career, which was the most of all time until Lou Brock broke his record in 1978. He still is third overall.

So keep an eye out for Sliding Billy 2.0, he’s running his way through the minors, and it is probably only a matter of time before he is testing the arms of MLB catchers.

Who is Dylan Bundy?

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This is a baseball public service announcement.

You may have been hearing about somebody named Dylan Bundy on ESPN. And perhaps you are wondering: “Who is this Dylan Bundy?”

The answer: Only one of the best pitchers in the minors. Maybe even in all of baseball. He’s 19, in the Orioles organization, and yesterday, in his first start in High-A Frederick and ninth start overall, he gave up his first professional earned runs. Ever. This brought his total ERA to date to… 0.51 in 35 innings. The six hits he gave up yesterday doubled his career minor league total to an astounding… 11. And his opponents’ batting average for his career has skyrocketed to… .097.

Oh, and he’s walked a grand total of two people. That means that, given how many hits he has given up, his WHIP (Walks/Hits Innings Pitched) is 0.371. In other words, he allows less than half a man to reach base per innings.

Oh, and he’s struck out 46.

It is too early to think about how Bundy will do as he makes his way up the ranks, and, of course, every pitcher is a ticking injury time bomb, but should he be able to move up the ranks, it won’t surprise me if he ends up in Baltimore near the end of the year if they are still in the race. And he could be a regular starter in just a year or two.

This has been a baseball public service announcement.