David Hamilton is Showing Signs of Life

[Jack Stern]

Image courtesy of © Michael McLoone-Imagn Images

Pat Murphy has spoken highly of David Hamilton all season, even though he’s been far from the Brewers’ most productive position player. His OPS has hovered beneath .600 for most of the year, and he’s been inconsistent in the field. Still, Murphy and the Brewers have repeatedly pointed to his upside and how he’s impacted the game in smaller ways, such as bunting for hits and taking extra bases with his speed.

Murphy could offer new compliments on Monday night, as Hamilton went 3-for-5 in a blowout win over the San Francisco Giants. Since May 20, he’s hitting .276/.290/.483 for a strong .773 OPS while flashing more of that upside the club has insisted is in the tank. Hamilton’s hard-hit rate during this stretch on non-bunts is 50%, and his average exit velocity is 90.2 mph. Before, those marks were 28.2% and 84.3 mph, respectively.

That’s a small sample of just 24 batted balls, but it might be more than a blip on the radar. Hamilton is swinging the bat harder than he was before. His average bat speed has increased from 69.1 mph before his hot streak to 70.8 during it. He added three more hard-hit balls on Monday, including a double he pulled to the right-field wall in his last at-bat. His bat speed was at least 72.5 mph on each of those three hard hits. Only eight players with at least 100 batted balls this year have a greater separation between their maximum exit velocity and their average than Hamilton, and most of the players with whom he shares that leaderboard are sluggers. He can hit the ball much harder than the waterbug types to whom people tend to compare him; that has always been in there.

“He’s made some adjustments,” Murphy said. “No one has been tinkered with more than Hamilton, and to see him handle it all and do what he’s doing, he knows he’s found a home back where he started.”

Hamilton still isn’t fully calibrated. Five of his hard-hit balls during this stretch have had an expected batting average below .200, because he got under the pitch and hit it too high for an easy flyout. Improving what Murphy refers to as his “flight plan”—effectively, the launch angle of his batted balls—remains a work in progress. Hamilton will fare better on hard line drives than hard fly balls, but hitting more balls hard in general by cutting his ‘A’ swing loose is a step forward.

Furthermore, that swing has looked more well-rounded than it did earlier in the year. A point of emphasis has been keeping Hamilton’s front side from flying open on most swings, which had confined his productive contact to pitches low and inside. Here’s a hard 97.9-mph lineout against the Los Angeles Dodgers last week that saw Hamilton stay on a splitter away.

Hamilton’s first home run of the season in Houston was an undeniable Crawford Box Special; it was hit 94.1 mph, traveled just 343 feet, and had a .140 xBA. But it was another example of staying closed on a pitch slightly away.

“He had a whole front side get out of there type thing going on, and he only handled one pitch,” Murphy said. “Now he’s starting to handle more pitches and more areas.”

Hamilton has also flashed more of his upside in the field. He made a rangy play in the hole against the St. Louis Cardinals last week, along with a diving stop toward second base and an acrobatic leaping catch in shallow left-center.

On Monday night, Hamilton converted a fielder's choice that was more impressive than it looks on video. With the pull-heavy Willy Adames hitting, he was shaded toward third base. By the time the camera cut, he had already taken several steps toward second. Hamilton quickly covered a good deal of distance to reach Adames's hard grounder, gobbling it up with a slide before flipping to Brice Turang for an inning-ending forceout.

He again showcased his range a few innings later at second base, sprinting into center field for a challenging over-the-shoulder catch.

Hamilton must maintain and build on the swing improvements he's flashed lately. His defense still isn't consistent enough, as he made a routine throwing error against the Cardinals before those Web Gems. But within the last two weeks, the seeds the Brewers planted have noticeably sprouted.

“He knows we believe in him, and it’s showing up,” Murphy said.

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[JimmyC]

Could he become the Ortiz replacement for the rest of 2026?

[PBTank]

I think when Jett finally comes up to play 3rd, Hamilton and Ortiz can simply be a platoon at SS.

[liveforoctober]

I appreciate the article and your effort but Hamilton has been everything he was supposed to be from the start of the season. Your very first sentence is inaccurate -> "even though he’s been far from the Brewers’ most productive position player" ... Hamilton has the 4th highest bWAR of any Brewers position player. Besides our two MVP candidates in Brice and Bill and the semi surprise run from Bauers ... he actually has been THE most productive position player.

As a backup. As a light hitting backup. As a bottom of the order light hitting backup.

He isn't a power hitter so his OPS numbers are always going to have a ceiling. It isn't his fault he has had to play 25% more than he is supposed to because our 3B and SS have struggled so much offensively. His BA, OBP, and OPS would all look better if Rengifo and Ortiz didn't both slump out of the gate and he could be protected more often like half of the roster.

He gives up at bats too! Selflessly, almost to a fault, he is advancing runners every chance he gets for the top of the order to drive in. He causes absolute chaos on the basepaths... more so than anyone we have had since probably Gomez. 

If anyone is expecting .300/.400/.500 from David Hamilton you are mistaken on what he is built to do. He was brought in to be an upgrade to Monasterio and he has been that and so much more. An absolute asset to the team... just need to allow him to play his role and not force him into the lineup 4-5 times a week because of deficiencies ahead of him.

[Matthew Trueblood]

43 minutes ago, liveforoctober said:

I appreciate the article and your effort but Hamilton has been everything he was supposed to be from the start of the season. Your very first sentence is inaccurate -> "even though he’s been far from the Brewers’ most productive position player" ... Hamilton has the 4th highest bWAR of any Brewers position player. Besides our two MVP candidates in Brice and Bill and the semi surprise run from Bauers ... he actually has been THE most productive position player.

As a backup. As a light hitting backup. As a bottom of the order light hitting backup.

He isn't a power hitter so his OPS numbers are always going to have a ceiling. It isn't his fault he has had to play 25% more than he is supposed to because our 3B and SS have struggled so much offensively. His BA, OBP, and OPS would all look better if Rengifo and Ortiz didn't both slump out of the gate and he could be protected more often like half of the roster.

He gives up at bats too! Selflessly, almost to a fault, he is advancing runners every chance he gets for the top of the order to drive in. He causes absolute chaos on the basepaths... more so than anyone we have had since probably Gomez. 

If anyone is expecting .300/.400/.500 from David Hamilton you are mistaken on what he is built to do. He was brought in to be an upgrade to Monasterio and he has been that and so much more. An absolute asset to the team... just need to allow him to play his role and not force him into the lineup 4-5 times a week because of deficiencies ahead of him.

I hear you on that, to an extent, and have been making the case that he's materially better than Ortiz and should be playing every day (against righty starters) all year. But I will say, your characterization of what the Brewers expected from him doesn't match what the Brewers have said they expect from him at every single juncture since they brought him in. Over and over, from spring training through now, Pat Murphy has said he expects a big step forward and a major offensive impact from Hamilton. .300/.400/.500? Of course not, and not nearly. But they do think he can be a .270/.330/.390 guy. They see a LOT there; it's an important part of why they made that deal. He was meant more to replace Durbin than to replace Monasterio, if we want to boil it down to that level.

[Snoebird]

Hamilton is set up to showcase his ability this week with four games against aging Willy Adames and sketchy Giants pitching and three at spacious Coors Field, where defenders have to cover a lot of ground. 

[Matthew Trueblood]

1 hour ago, PBTank said:

I think when Jett finally comes up to play 3rd, Hamilton and Ortiz can simply be a platoon at SS.

Agreed, though from a 26-man roster perspective and a maintenance of depth perspective (and, heck, from a developmental perspective!), the ideal move might be to retain Rengifo when Williams comes up and option Ortiz to Nashville, at which point Hamilton is pretty much the everyday SS for a while.

[liveforoctober]

17 minutes ago, Matthew Trueblood said:

I hear you on that, to an extent, and have been making the case that he's materially better than Ortiz and should be playing every day (against righty starters) all year. But I will say, your characterization of what the Brewers expected from him doesn't match what the Brewers have said they expect from him at every single juncture since they brought him in. Over and over, from spring training through now, Pat Murphy has said he expects a big step forward and a major offensive impact from Hamilton. .300/.400/.500? Of course not, and not nearly. But they do think he can be a .270/.330/.390 guy. They see a LOT there; it's an important part of why they made that deal. He was meant more to replace Durbin than to replace Monasterio, if we want to boil it down to that level.

This part can't be true because then signing Rengifo doesn't makes sense. Rengifo has played 11 total innings at SS now over the last 2+ seasons so he wasn't brought in the be a realistic utility guy. If the Brewers thought of Hamilton as their everyday 3B they wouldn't sign Rengifo to be the backup and then only play him at 3B. If they brought in Rengifo to split time with Hamilton at 3rd then they didn't get Hamilton to replace our everyday 3B.

[Matthew Trueblood]

12 minutes ago, liveforoctober said:

This part can't be true because then signing Rengifo doesn't makes sense. Rengifo has played 11 total innings at SS now over the last 2+ seasons so he wasn't brought in the be a realistic utility guy. If the Brewers thought of Hamilton as their everyday 3B they wouldn't sign Rengifo to be the backup and then only play him at 3B. If they brought in Rengifo to split time with Hamilton at 3rd then they didn't get Hamilton to replace our everyday 3B.

First, they only signed Rengifo for $4 million; it's not like they plunged a ton into him. But second, go back to when they announced that deal. They were VERY focused on what he offered from the right side, specifically, against lefties. That wasn't an accident. They were always open to Hamilton being the long side of a pretty straightforward platoon (though the front office was more on board with that than Murphy, who doesn't like standard platoons much). If Ortiz had been better and claimed something closer to everyday duty at short, I think you'd have seen fewer PAs for Rengifo, not for Hamilton.

[BarremlensTSSC]

1 hour ago, PBTank said:

I think when Jett finally comes up to play 3rd, Hamilton and Ortiz can simply be a platoon at SS.

I'd be on board with that... unless Pratt comes up too obviously.

[liveforoctober]

8 minutes ago, Matthew Trueblood said:

First, they only signed Rengifo for $4 million; it's not like they plunged a ton into him. But second, go back to when they announced that deal. They were VERY focused on what he offered from the right side, specifically, against lefties. That wasn't an accident. They were always open to Hamilton being the long side of a pretty straightforward platoon (though the front office was more on board with that than Murphy, who doesn't like standard platoons much). If Ortiz had been better and claimed something closer to everyday duty at short, I think you'd have seen fewer PAs for Rengifo, not for Hamilton.

Ironically the best hitter this year against LHP between Ortiz, Hamilton, and Rengifo has been Hamilton (albeit less than 30 at bats thus far).

We don't need to continue to go back and forth .. a lot of posters here have been lumping Hamilton into the same convo a Rengifo/Frelick/Ortiz/Perkins as far as disappointments go and it has really confused me so I trigger on it. Like I said I appreciate your contributions to the board. I would just offer if we are very open to someone being the long part of a straight platoon at a season's start as implied then we are not asking him to replace an everyday player.

I'll let you respond and have the last word and then we can both watch Bunty go 2-4 tonight w/ 2 runs scored without having the ball leave the infield.

[Matthew Trueblood]

5 minutes ago, liveforoctober said:

Ironically the best hitter this year against LHP between Ortiz, Hamilton, and Rengifo has been Hamilton (albeit less than 30 at bats thus far).

We don't need to continue to go back and forth .. a lot of posters here have been lumping Hamilton into the same convo a Rengifo/Frelick/Ortiz/Perkins as far as disappointments go and it has really confused me so I trigger on it. Like I said I appreciate your contributions to the board. I would just offer if we are very open to someone being the long part of a straight platoon at a season's start as implied then we are not asking him to replace an everyday player.

I'll let you respond and have the last word and then we can both watch Bunty go 2-4 tonight w/ 2 runs scored without having the ball leave the infield.

No, I agree. Same page: he has been and should not be considered as in the same boat as those other flailers. Maybe the last distinction I would draw is that, as implied by the fact that they were willing to trade him, they weren't necessarily thinking of Durbin as their *everyday* 3B anyway. So when I'm saying he was expected to replace everything they were set to ask of Durbin, part of that is because I think they only ever envisioned giving Durbin 500 PAs this year, not 630 or something. Anyway.

[endaround]

Hamilton is fine for a utility infielder who is incredibly fast.  I doubt he can maintain his walk rate with his lack of power which will cause his hitting to continue to shrink. He has a higher bWAR because the DRS scorer loves him. OAA says he's a bad middle infielder and an OK 3B giving him the same fWAR as Ortiz. Is he the worst thing happening with the Brewers' offense? No, that is Frelick, Rengifo, or still giving this current version of Perkins any plate appearances. But hoping a 29 year old suddenly becomes a starting caliber player is usually a bad bet.  But given that neither Pratt nor Williams is doing enough in AAA to really push the issue in the infield I expect they'll muddle through.