Turning Singles Into Triples

By: Mike Wagenman

It is not often that a story from the single-A ranks of Minor League Baseball gets many reads.  However, this story is something different.  Billy Hamilton, shortstop of the Cincinnati Reds single-A affiliate Bakersfield Blaze, has gotten national attention recently for his torrid base stealing pace.  He is a former second-round pick of the Reds in the 2009 Draft out of Taylorsville High School in Taylorsville, Mississippi. 

Through 77 games, Hamilton has a total of 98 stolen bases.  That’s right, 98 stolen bases.  He has only been thrown out 21 times in his 119 attempts for an 82.3 percent success rate.  The fact that Hamilton has so many steals when opposing pitchers and catchers know he has the ability to steal on any pitch is astounding.  What may be even more astounding is the fact that he has had the opportunity to steal 119 bases in just 77 games.  That speaks volumes about his abilities as a hitter.

Hamilton is the leadoff hitter for the Blaze, and is hitting .327 (8^th in the California League) with one home run, 29 RBI, and 9 triples (1^st in the California League).  His on-base percentage is an incredible .416, good for 3^rd in the league.  Hamilton’s .448 slugging percentage speaks to the style of game he plays, that of a singles hitter.  The high amount of singles he collects allows him to potentially steal second and third base nearly every time he reaches safely.

Stealing bases is nothing new for Hamilton.  Last season he became the 12^th minor leaguer ever to steal over 100 bases in a season, as he finished with 103 for the Dayton Dragons of the Midwest League.  Hamilton’s speed changes games, and as they say, speed does not go into slumps.  Sam Miller of Baseball Prospectus pointed out two incredible statistics about Hamilton’s speed.  First, as of early May, Hamilton was hitting .364 (8-for-22) on ground balls fielded cleanly by infielders.  He had eight infield singles and was only thrown out 14 times.  Second, Hamilton scored the game winning run in a game played on April 20^th on a sacrifice fly to the second baseman.  Take a minute to absorb that.

Hamilton most likely will be promoted from A-ball sometime in the near future.  Scouts and Yahoo Sports have said that as the second-best prospect in Cincinnati’s organization and the 31^st best in all of baseball, he could have a real chance at contending for the leadoff spot in the Reds lineup in 2013.  However, he will have to improve defensively, as he has eight errors at shortstop.

Sources: MiLB.com, sports.yahoo.com, Baseball Prospectus

Nova Time

By: Mike Wagenman

Coming into the 2011 season, the Yankees most glaring weakness was their starting rotation.  Not knowing how free agent signings Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon would fair, much pressure was put squarely on the young shoulders of 24-year old Dominican right hander Ivan Nova.  As the season has progressed, the Yankees have held their own, owning the third-best record in the majors and sitting only 1 1/2 games behind the Boston Red Sox.  However, the Yankees have had as many injuries to their pitchers, both starters and relievers, as any team in baseball, putting more pressure on Nova to succeed.

After being called up last summer, Nova has been tagged as a young pitcher with a world of potential, but who is inconsistent in every sense of the word.  Some days his command is pin point, but on other days he has the control of Rick Ankiel.  Some days his fastball can touch 96 MPH, but on others it may only reach 91 MPH.  Nova may string together two or three straight quality starts, but has the potential to follow those up with starts where he can barely make it out of the third inning.  Monday in Cincinnati, Nova wowed and surprised everyone with a start unlike any other in his career.

The night didn't start out well for Nova, as Drew Stubbs and Brandon Phillips started the first inning with back-to-back singles.  After inducing reigning NL MVP Joey Votto to ground into a run scoring double play, Nova settled in for good.  He allowed just two hits over the next 7 2/3 innings, and did not allow a runner in scoring position.  His command of his fastball was masterful, pounding pitch after pitch into catcher Russell Martin's glove without forcing him to move it.  "He worked off his fastball all game.  He threw it where he wanted, when he wanted, and that made all of his other pitches really effective,"  Martin said of Nova.  Nova concurred with Martin.  "Today, I used my changeup a lot, because I know they have a lot of power hitters," Nova said. "You don't want to let them hit your fastball. I started mixing it in from the beginning, and we kept doing that all game."

Other than command, the key to Nova's success was throwing strikes early and often.  He threw first pitch strikes to 18 of 28 hitters and threw 70 of 105 pitches for strikes, leading to 23 of 26 Reds hitters being set down.  The Yankees are hoping for more of the same from Nova, and especially more consistency from him.  If he can give them more starts like the one last night, New York will be in good shape come September and October.