Kansas City Royals: Bubba Starling has pushed Billy Hamilton aside

With the call-up of former first round pick Bubba Starling, the Kansas City Royals no longer have a need for Billy Hamilton.

When the Kansas City Royals signed Billy Hamilton to a one-year deal prior to the 2019 season, a lot of fans were perplexed by the move. With 2019 being a rebuilding year and Hamilton only having hit .236 in 2018, what was the point of bringing him in?

Well, after a dreadful first half of the season that saw Hamilton slash a mere .217/.284/.271 with zero home runs and only nine RBI, the Royals had finally seen enough. Bubba Starling, the former fifth overall pick in 2011, was finally called up to kick off the second half of the season, and that should be all she wrote for Hamilton as far as being an every day player.

While Starling is still new to the majors, he’s going to be the starting center fielder on most days. Center field is where he spent most of his time in Triple-A and with Hamilton hitting free agency after the season is over, why have him taking at bats away from Starling, who could at least spend a few years with the organization?

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Royals fans shouldn’t have high expectations for Bubba Starling, but he’s definitely a better option than Hamilton and could help this team win over the next few years. We’ve all heard about how good defensively he is, so if the bat can be better than .217 this year, that will be a win for the Royals and for most fans.

Bringing Hamilton in was always a strange move, but it’s not like Dayton Moore hasn’t made these type of signings before. He also re-signed Lucas Duda to a one-year deal prior to the season commencing and that one was even more of a head scratcher.

Hamilton’s ability to play solid defense and steal bases was very Royals-esque, but in rebuilding years, teams need to give their prospects a chance to prove their worth. Having someone like Hamilton, who isn’t going to be a part of the future, a chance to steal at bats from those prospects is frustrating. Throw in the fact that he’s only batting .217 and it’s even more irritating.

To make matters worse – Hamilton’s trade value isn’t exactly high right now. Teams might be seeking a pinch runner for their tight games this fall, but that’s about the only purpose he’d serve.

Bubba Starling might not provide the value that the other guys in his draft class provided for their respective teams, but one thing’s for sure – He’ll be a more important piece to the Kansas City Royals rebuild than Billy Hamilton.