Unheralded Red Sox Prospect Leads Organization In Home Runs Amid Breakout Season

Boston may have a diamond in the rough

Scott Neville | May 19, 2023

Unheralded Red Sox Prospect Leads Organization In Home Runs Amid Breakout Season /

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox have an enticing prospect with a rare combination of speed and power that has led to a breakout season with Triple-A Worcester.

Boston's No. 27 prospect according to MLB Pipeline does not have much fanfare outside of New England but has come on strong to start the season, providing some pop he previously had not possessed.

The player worthy of recognition is middle infielder David Hamilton, who leads Red Sox minor leaguers with nine home runs despite being listed at just 5-foot-10, 175 pounds.

Hamilton is hitting .271 with 18 extra-base hits including the aforementioned nine homers, 21 RBIs and a .893 OPS in 37 games. The 25-year-old also already has 21 steals in 25 attempts for the WooSox.

Last season the speedster recorded a franchise-record 70 stolen bases for Double-A Portland.

While speed has always been a key component of Hamilton's game, the encouraging signs of power are brand new. He entered this season with 20 home runs in 220 career at-bats (a home run every 11 games).

Hamilton logged eight home runs in his rookie season in 101 games and 12 home runs last season in 119 games. He's on pace to shatter those numbers while hitting for a higher average and stealing just as many bags as he's accustomed to -- all in his first season at Triple-A.

Hamilton would be a valuable asset for the Red Sox -- who could use an upgrade at shortstop -- but has one issue that he cannot change, he's a left-handed hitter.

Boston already has eight left-handed hitters on the big-league roster and cannot afford to add another. It would likely take an injury to a left-handed hitter before Hamilton could even be considered for a call-up.

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Published May 19, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu