[Doug Gray is returning from a trip to scout the Reds minor league teams in Florida. He will publish his usual Tuesday column on Friday.]
Billy Hamilton has had a rough sophomore season in the box. He slashing .223/.265/283 on the year partially due to a decline in both his power (ISO down 42% from last year) and his BABIP (a 14% decline). All in all, his wRC+ sits at 48, meaning the league is hitting 52% better than Hamilton. Out of 158 qualified hitters, Hamilton’s on base percentage ranks 152nd. Due to his defensive range and speed on the base paths, however, Hamilton has created positive value for the Reds both this year (1.