Billy Hamilton

Billy Hamilton

33-Year-Old OutfielderOF
Tampa Bay Rays
2023 Fantasy Outlook
If you're playing in a very deep league where you're desperate for steals and Hamilton has just earned a call-up, he's not a bad option for a temporary boost. For anyone else, it's likely not worth your time even reading to the end of this paragraph. When he plays, he's going to run, as seen from the fact that he stole 10 bases while coming to the plate just 23 times last season. But there's no reason to draft a player for whom 23 plate appearances is a reasonable projection, and there's no reason to alter that projection by much. Across the last four seasons, Hamilton has hit just .206/.263/.289 with three homers. He struck out 12 times last season while grabbing just one hit at the big-league level, and he hit a miserable .188/.264/.229 across 25 Triple-A contests. He's a true specialist in the Terrance Gore mold at this point in his career and, like Gore, may not even crack a big-league roster until rosters expand in September. Read Past Outlooks
RANKSFrom Preseason
#601
ADP
$Signed a minor-league contract with the Rays in August of 2023.
Latches on with Rays
OFTampa Bay Rays  AAA
August 30, 2023
Hamilton signed a minor-league contract with the Rays on Wednesday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
ANALYSIS
Hamilton was cut loose by the White Sox a week ago, but a right shoulder injury has kept him out of action in Triple-A since July 7. When healthy, the 32-year-old outfielder hasn't been very impressive with a .147/.261/.253 slash line across 89 plate appearances. Hamilton will be an option to fill a pinch-running role down the stretch.
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Batting Stats
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2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2023 MLB Game Log
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2022 MLB Game Log
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2021 MLB Game Log
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2020 MLB Game Log
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2019 MLB Game Log
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2018 MLB Game Log
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Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2021
 
 
+37%
OPS vs LHP
2023
No Stats
2022
 
 
+114%
OPS vs RHP
2021
 
 
+42%
OPS vs LHP
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2021vs Left .666 61 13 2 5 4 .196 .237 .429
Since 2021vs Right .485 99 25 0 6 17 .194 .216 .269
2023vs Left .000 0 2 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
2023vs Right .000 2 0 0 0 2 .000 .000 .000
2022vs Left .111 10 3 0 0 2 .000 .111 .000
2022vs Right .237 13 10 0 0 8 .083 .154 .083
2021vs Left .760 51 8 2 5 2 .229 .260 .500
2021vs Right .536 84 15 0 6 7 .215 .232 .304
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Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2021
 
 
+8%
OPS at Home
2023
No Stats
2022
 
 
+454%
OPS at Home
2021
 
 
+1%
OPS on Road
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2021Home .576 71 22 2 6 14 .194 .217 .358
Since 2021Away .535 89 16 0 5 7 .195 .230 .305
2023Home .000 2 2 0 0 2 .000 .000 .000
2023Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022Home .393 8 7 0 0 7 .143 .250 .143
2022Away .071 15 6 0 0 3 .000 .071 .000
2021Home .617 61 13 2 6 5 .207 .220 .397
2021Away .623 74 10 0 5 4 .232 .260 .362
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Stat Review
How does Billy Hamilton compare to other hitters?
This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • BB/K
    Walk to strikeout ratio
  • BB Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
  • K Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
  • ISO
    Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
  • AVG
    Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
  • OBP
    On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
  • SLG
    Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
  • OPS
    On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
  • wOBA
    Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Hard Hit Rate
    A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
  • Barrels/PA
    The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Expected BA
    Expected Batting Average.
  • Expected SLG
    Expected Slugging Percentage.
  • Sprint Speed
    The speed of a runner from home to first, in feet per second.
  • Ground Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are on the ground.
  • Line Drive %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are line drives.
  • Fly Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are fly balls.
BB/K
0.00
 
BB Rate
0.0%
 
K Rate
50.0%
 
BABIP
.000
 
ISO
.000
 
AVG
.000
 
OBP
.000
 
SLG
.000
 
OPS
.000
 
wOBA
.000
 
Exit Velocity
0.0 mph
 
Hard Hit Rate
0.0%
 
Barrels/PA
0.0%
 
Expected BA
.004
 
Expected SLG
.004
 
Sprint Speed
14.0 ft/sec
 
Ground Ball %
0.0%
 
Line Drive %
0.0%
 
Fly Ball %
0.0%
 
Advanced Batting Stats
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Additional Stats
Games By Position
Defensive Stats
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Batted Ball Stats
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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Billy Hamilton See More
Collette Calls: The Homestretch
August 8, 2022
Jason Collette examines everything that's possible down the stretch by taking a look at some of the best stretch runs of the past few seasons.
AL FAAB Factor: Waiver Pickups of the Week
August 7, 2022
Erik Siegrist checks out the post-trade deadline free agent pool as Baltimore's Felix Bautista is just one of a few new potential closers in the American League.
National League Trade Deadline Reactions
August 6, 2022
Juan Soto was the headline trade in the National League, but Jeff Erickson breaks down all of the NL trades at the deadline.
NL FAAB Factor: Waiver Pickups of the Week
July 3, 2022
Jan Levine has identified a few relief pitching options, including one leading the way in Atlanta.
Collette Calls: The Need For Speed
February 25, 2022
Jason Collette notes that over one-third of the projected steals in baseball are gone by pick 100 in fantasy drafts. Should we build our roto draft plans around this one particular category?
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
Billy Hamilton. His name in Billy Hamilton. And there is a million things he hasn't done, but just you wait, just you wait. Actually, don't wait because the most important thing he hasn't done is hit. Hamilton's offensive game has been in decline for some time, but 2020 was the bottom of the barrel as he posted a 3 wRC+ with a .125/.171/.219 slash line. His entire season was essentially the final game of the season when he walked, stole two bases and hit a home run, winning someone some DFS cash that day. Otherwise, he is the emptiest of steals who will hang around as a defensive replacement and pinch-running specialist. He's closer to Terrance Gore than Jarrod Dyson or Rajai Davis, and is only rosterable in the deepest of single-league formats which utilize a bench. You must have the surplus on your roster to carry this anemic bat.
Unsurprisingly, Hamilton struggled to hit for average throughout the 2019 campaign, and his stolen base total took a hit as a result. He slashed .218/.289/.275 with 15 RBI and 22 stolen bases, splitting time with the Royals and Braves. Kansas City DFA'd Hamilton in mid-August, and he managed to improve at the dish over his last 26 games of the season after being scooped up by Atlanta, hitting .268 with four stolen bases. Strikeouts continue to be a concern for the speedster, as he ended the year with a 24.6 K%. His 50 wRC+ was also the worst of his seven-year big-league career. Hamilton is a talented athlete, but it's been a struggle for teams to keep his bat in the lineup, even with his unmatched speed on the basepaths. He's likely headed for a bench role in 2020.
Last season was a poor one on the whole for pure stolen-base artists, highlighted by disappointing seasons from Hamilton and Dee Gordon. When you pay full price for someone like Hamilton, you need him to get 50-plus steals to be worth the cost, as he's already going to cost you standings points in homers and RBI, and likely won't help you in batting average. When he hits just .236 and steals 34 bags, it's an unmitigated disaster for your team. Hamilton dropped to the bottom of the order early in the season and ended up there for 111 games, as opposed to just 31 games in the leadoff spot. After being non-tendered by the Reds, Hamilton signed with the Royals -- a perfect destination for someone who otherwise might have been ticketed for a bench role. He should have regular playing time and the green light to run. While there's little reason to think he will suddenly start hitting, he could find himself leading off with Ned Yost pulling the strings.
Last year Hamilton gave back most of the small gains he made at the plate in 2016. After hitting .260 in 2016, that mark dropped back to .247 in 2017, his walk rate dropped from 7.8 percent to 7.0 percent, and he slugged a mere .335, down from .345 the previous year. He still is a major contributor in stolen bases, notching 59 last season while spending all but four games in the leadoff spot. With Jesse Winker knocking on the door, there's a chance that the Reds might start playing Hamilton less frequently, moving him down in the order or maybe even trading him to another organization. Should any of these options come into play, his stolen-base opportunities will decline, stripping Hamilton of his one true offensive contribution. If you draft Hamilton, you may not get the full complement of bags that you expected, all while getting substandard production in the other four categories.
Hamilton pushed his OBP to a career-best .321 last season -- a 47-point jump from 2015 -- and that improvement was fueled by his second straight season with an increased walk rate (7.8 percent). He also maintained his improved efficiency as a basestealer, going 58-for-66 on the heels of his 57-for-65 mark in 2015. Finally, Hamilton hit the ball on the ground more frequently last season (47.7 percent groundball rate), which allowed him to use his speed to push his batting average to a career-high .260. Health is a major issue for Hamilton, as he returned from offseason shoulder surgery to begin 2016, and proceeded to lose time due to a concussion, thumb contusion, minor knee injury and an oblique injury that eventually shut him down for good. Hamilton declared himself to be healthy in December, and the skills growth he showed last season points to a potential spike in the stolen-base department if he can avoid the injury bug.
Hamilton improved on the basepaths but regressed at the plate in 2015, and it's that latter quality that has us worried about his long-term prospects. But first, the good news: he was 57-for-65 in stolen base attempts in 114 games after getting caught 23 times in 2014. Those gains were canceled out by his performance at the plate, as his ISO dropped to a paltry .063 in 2015, giving opposing pitchers little reason to avoid challenging him in the strike zone. Thus, it's going to be extraordinarily difficult for him to raise his walk rate above 10 percent and make him an acceptable leadoff hitter. He spent more time batting ninth (226 plate appearances) than leading off (208) in 2015, and that's unlikely to change in the future. His season ended early with a shoulder injury, and that same injury has kept him out of spring games early in camp, so his status for Opening Day is in question.
If the season ended on August 31, Hamilton's rookie season would have been a rousing success. He hit for more power than expected and was hitting .267/.302/.382 with 54 stolen bases. But he collapsed in September, hitting just .123 with 19 strikeouts in 65 at-bats and had just two more stolen bases before missing the final four games with a concussion. He fell short of his projected stolen base total in part because of that September slump, but also because he was caught a whopping 23 times on the season (seven of those coming on pickoffs). As he plays more at the major league level, his success rate should improve as he learns how to read opposing pitchers better, but he also has to get on base more frequently, having walked a mere 34 times in 611 plate appearances in 2014. While we don't ever expect him to be Tim Raines, we do suspect there will be some improvement in 2015, both in his ability to get on base and being able to run more without getting caught.
True speed demons like Hamilton have among the biggest fantasy swing potentials among all players. Is he going to be like Vince Coleman and dominate a category, or is he going to be more like Dee Gordon and lose playing time and struggle to keep a major league job? Much of Hamilton's value rests in the format of your league. If you play in the NFBC or any other no-trade league, Hamilton is especially tricky to value. A full season of him in the lineup gets you half of the way there in the stolen-base category, if not more. But if you draft him, chances are you are avoiding other elite stolen base guys, as a surplus in the category gets you nowhere, plus you have to draft power-heavy hitters to make up for Hamilton's shortfall there. If Hamilton scuffles and subsequently gets demoted, your team goes from likely winning the category to falling to the back of the pack. Hamilton struck out nearly 20 percent of the time at Triple-A without being a power threat (.343 slugging percentage) - there's a good chance that strikeout rate hits 25 percent or higher at the major league level, which will make it difficult for him to hit for a decent batting average. Be very cautious with Hamilton - the burn potential is high.
After Hamilton set the minor league single-season record for stolen bases in 2012, the Reds resisted the urge to call him up for the September stretch run, instead preserving their ability to keep him off the 40-man roster for another offseason. And in fairness, Hamilton probably isn't ready to face major league pitching, nor was there a place for him to play. Those things might change by midseason 2013, especially if the Reds don't reach outside the organization to find a leadoff hitter. Hamilton did more than steal bases last year - he also learned to master the strike zone, improving his walk rate as he climbed the organizational ladder. He still has no palpable power, so that ability to get on-base will need to translate at Triple-A and then the majors to allow him to cash in on his world-class speed. He played center field in the Arizona Fall League, so that could be his ultimate position once he hits the majors, especially if the Reds are locked in on Zack Cozart at shortstop.
Two numbers stand out when looking at Hamilton's 2011 stats: 103 and 39. That's 103 stolen bases (in 123 attempts) and 39 errors. Hamilton stayed at shortstop all season after playing much of 2010 at second base, so growing pains had to be expected. But while Hamilton has great range, he hasn't received good marks for his arm or his hands, so he might not stick at shortstop. He's a very raw prospect, so even with an organizational problem at shortstop, Hamilton is not a candidate for a quick promotion. However, it's worth noting that he really came on strong at Low-A Dayton after hitting .195 through May - he just needs plenty of time at each level to develop.
Hamilton was drafted out of a Mississippi high school in the second round of the 2009 draft and started to hit his stride last year in the Pioneer League, where he hit .318/.383/.456 with a whopping 48 stolen bases in 69 games. So far he hasn't hit for power, and this production came at a pretty low level, but Hamilton's raw tools should put him on your long-term radar.
More Fantasy News
Cut loose by Pale Hose
OFFree Agent  AAA
August 23, 2023
The White Sox released Hamilton on Tuesday.
ANALYSIS
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Outrighted to Triple-A
OFChicago White Sox  AAA
June 15, 2023
The White Sox sent Hamilton (hamstring) outright to Triple-A Charlotte on Thursday, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
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Starting rehab assignment
OFChicago White Sox  AAA
Hamstring
June 6, 2023
Hamilton (hamstring) has been sent to Triple-A Charlotte to begin a rehab assignment, Vinnie Duber of AllCHGO.com reports.
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Close to starting rehab assignment
OFChicago White Sox  AAA
Hamstring
May 30, 2023
White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said Monday that Hamilton (hamstring) could begin a minor-league rehab assignment in a week to 10 days, Jay Cohen of the Associated Press reports.
ANALYSIS
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Placed on injured list
OFChicago White Sox  AAA
Hamstring
May 10, 2023
The White Sox placed Hamilton on the 15-day injured list Wednesday with a left hamstring strain, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
ANALYSIS
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