But his future remains uncertain.
2024 In One Sentence
Hey, we might actually have something here!
The Positives
We’re grading on a curve here, obviously. But hot damn, after a rough start it was almost all positive, wasn’t it?
David Hamilton broke into the big leagues as someone who appeared to have very little going for him aside from his legs — and, even so, he frequently demonstrated a frustrating inability to plant those legs on the right base at the right time. He didn’t look like much of a hitter. He didn’t look like much of a fielder. What he looked like was a quad-A player who, if he got lucky, might get to have a memorable pinch-running appearance or two at some point in his career.
But Hamilton managed to quietly get just a little bit better at everything in 2024. At the plate he learned to hit the ball with more authority, and a swing-and-miss rate that begin the year at 35.6% plunged all the way down to 25.2% by September. He finished the season as close to a league-average offensive performer, highlighted by a blistering May in which he put up an OBP of .393.
In the field he became a steady if unspectacular glove man on the right side of the second base bag. He made just three errors as a second baseman and finished with 3 Outs Above Average at the position in 39 games.
And, of course, he ran. His 33 stolen bases were the second-most tallied by a Red Sox player in one season over the last 10 years — and he pulled that off while starting just 78 games.
As a part-time depth piece, Hamilton did his job.
The Negatives
I said he finished 2024 as close to a league-average offensive performer. But close to league-average isn’t league-average, and league-average doesn’t mean what it used to.
A .303 OBP is simply not good enough for Hamilton to be an everyday presence in the lineup. And while he showed that he can handle second defensively, he was extremely shaky at shortstop, which really limits his utility and value as a backup infielder.
Given his speed, he can turn himself into a big league regular if he can manage to get on base a bit more and cut down on a strikeout rate that, at 25%, doesn’t really behoove a hitter with as limited power as he has. He took some positive steps in 2024, but he still needs to take a few more.
Best Moment
On June 16, the Red Sox set a new club record by stealing nine bases in a single game (a game that was against the Yankees, which is just delightful). Hamilton had four of those steals, along with two hits, three runs, a walk, and an RBI.
The Big Question
Did he force his way into Boston’s crowded middle infield picture?
Coming into the season, Hamilton was little more than an afterthought. The middle infield picture looked pretty clear when Spring Training started: Vaughn Grissom would start at second and hopefully stay there for the foreseeable future; Trevor Story would man shortstop; Ceddanne Rafaela would back-up both positions when not winning gold gloves in center; and Marcelo Mayer would force his way onto the field in due time. Kristian Campbell and David Hamilton both muddied up that picture in different ways. Hamilton clearly has the lowest ceiling of any of these names, but he’s also demonstrated a pretty adequate floor and, should Jarren Duran be traded, he’d be the only real burner left on the Sox.
2025 And Beyond
Despite his improvement this year, it’s still highly unlikely that David Hamilton ever becomes the regular second baseman for the Red Sox; but that’s at least somewhat plausible now. Even if he never improves enough to become an everyday player, he has plenty of value to survive as a backup infielder/depth piece. But he also has legitimate trade value right now, and it’s possible that his trade value never gets any higher. We’ll see where he stands after the offseason dust has settled.