New Studs on the Block takes a look at players ready to make the leap from "possibly productive fantasy player" to "must-have fantasy stud." This is not a "you've never heard of this dude, but ... " series -- these should be names you already know.When I say Josh Hamilton is a superstar, I mean just that. It's not, "he could be a superstar eventually," or "he's a really damn good player." I'm saying he's on level with Carlos Beltran, Carl Crawford, and Carlos Lee ... to name a few Carls. For all the run that he got last year for his story (you know, loved the white stuff and other items dispersed by Dr. Feelgood until he cleaned up his act and became a baseball player again), he's actually underrated this season.
He started that way, as evidenced by his average draft position on several major fantasy carriers. On one -- probably the biggest out there -- he was selected 113th on average. On another, he was selected 150th on average. The latter site actually lists the highest and lowest a player was selected, and someone actually landed Hamilton with the 218th pick in one draft. Whoever you are: BRAVO!
Mock Draft Central had him taken on average 129th.
Why so low?
Coming off a year when he basically played only a half season due to injuries, I can understand some level of skepticism. In that half year, though, he did hit 19 bombs. As far as I can speculate, owners were weary of Hamilton for three reasons:
1. His personal history. People like reading about it, but fantasy owners were scared off.
2. He was moving from the NL to the AL. Players switching leagues sometimes suffer through an adjustment period (Miguel Cabrera this year, for example) ... and while he was moving to a hitter's park, he came from a better one.
3. Lack of proven track record. He had only played 90 games in the majors and 26 in the minors after a four year hiatus.
The upside was the aforementioned home run power shown last year and the massive amount of talent he possesses. Back in the 1999 draft, when he was selected first overall, he was the most hyped pick since ARod and only Justin Upton since then has received as much. Scouts hailed Hammy as a can't-miss hall-of-famer.
Well, now his talent is finally getting a chance to come to fruition. He leads the majors in RBI with 43 through 39 games. He's tied for second in the AL with eight jacks, and he's hitting .306. Considering that he turns 27 later this month, he's smack dab in the middle of his athletic prime and should stay there for the next 4-6 years.
To give you an idea of where he should rank ... I'd rather have him than Beltran. I'd take him over Travis Hafner in a heartbeat. Manny Ramirez? They are neck and neck, which should give you an idea how you should be thinking about Hamilton. That's a far cry from a guy that was getting drafted 50-75 picks after the likes of Nick Swisher, Carlos Pena, Andruw Jones, and Dontrelle Willis ... among many, many others that are all kinds of worse than Hammy.
If you own him, recognize the superstardom and enjoy it. If you don't own him, wait on a slump and pounce. He'll be worth it.
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