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Last season was a great year for Josh Hamilton. Sure, he missed a lot of the season due to injury, but when he was healthy he was able to hit 19 home runs and drive in 47 runs in only 90 games. The greatest part for Josh, though, was that he was able to play at all.

Hamilton was one of my favorite stories last spring, after four years away from the game thanks to a drug suspension, the former first pick of the Devil Rays hit over .400 in the spring to make the Reds roster when camp broke. Then during the offseason the Reds traded Hamilton to the Rangers, and in his first spring with Texas, he has been out of his mind.

When Josh struck out in his final at bat against the Athletics on Sunday, it ended a streak of 13 consecutive plate appearances in which he reached base. He's hitting .600 on the spring. .600! There's also the OBP of .647 and the OPS of 1.747 for those of you more modern stat geeks.

When the Rangers made the trade for Hamilton, sending one of their best pitching prospects, Edinson Volquez, to Cincinnati for him, I was somewhat skeptical. I liked Hamilton, but as far as the Rangers are concerned I didn't understand why a team desperate for pitching would give up one of it's best minor league pitchers for yet another power hitter.

Needless to say, if Josh keeps hitting like this during the regular season, it was a great move. After all, last season was Hamilton's first real season of baseball, as he never played over single-A level in the minors, so if he stays healthy we have no idea how good he can be.