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David Hamilton is a speedster on the base paths. When he’s on, he’s likely going to steal the base in front of him. He’s always attempting to put himself in scoring position. The problem? David Hamilton is rarely on base.
He’s currently slashing .193/.221/301. In 2024, Alex Cora let Hamilton play his way through struggles, through necessity, and Hamilton was a contributing member of the team until an injury shut his season down in August. Last year, the team could afford to let Hamilton fight his way out of a struggle. This year, though? There are already guys in the lineup who are struggling, so Hamilton sits on the bench, hoping to come in as a pinch runner in a close game situation.
His slash line is abysmal, but his underlying numbers should give you even more pause for concern. He’s working with a 28.4% strikeout rate and a 2.3% walk rate. That’s not a typo — he’s walking less than three percent of the time while hitting below the Mendoza line. There’s no confidence when he’s in the starting line up at any position because he’s almost an automatic out right now. His only hope to show off that speed is as a pinch runner, but at this moment, there’s no need for a speedy base stealer who does nothing else on the roster. Hamilton seems to be someone that Cora is fond of, so a DFA is likely not happening until and unless a 40-man spot is needed, but a demotion to Worcester should be in the cards for him. That begs the question: who could replace him on the 26-man roster?
Enter Blaze Jordan.
I know what you’re thinking: Jordan has only been in Worcester for less than a week. That’s fine. He plays a position of need in Boston, and if the team is comfortable letting Kristian Campbell figure things out at the big league level, then they should let Jordan do the same. Jordan plays a solid first base, something the Red Sox are currently lacking, and allows for Romy Gonzalez to shift around the diamond more. Giving Gonzalez the ability to play second and third gives the Red Sox more depth, which will let the team give Campbell some days off to further figure things out on both offense and defense. Jordan provides more than just first base depth though. He seems to have grown quite a bit as a hitter entering the 2025 season and has started to tap into the power potential he showcased when he was drafted. He’s currently sitting at a 35.7% hard hit percentage and slugging an incredible .938. That slugging percentage won’t last forever, but it’s a very positive sign that he’s finally tapping into that power.
The other side of this is that the Red Sox drafted Jordan in the third round in 2020. You typically don’t think of a third-round pick that needs to prove his worth, but the team paid him a $1.75 million bonus, significantly above his slot value of $667,990. That bonus is what pushed Jordan to sign with the team over going to Mississippi State, the college team he had committed to during high school. Give him a shot on the main roster to see if that further unlocks something, or at least offers another first base option so the team isn’t counting on Gonzalez and Abraham Toro to shuffle between first and third.
David Hamilton could be a valuable piece to this team if his offense picked up, but it’s looking more and more likely that he’s just a one-dimensional player who should only be used in specific late-game circumstances. Sending him back to Worcester and calling up Blaze Jordan would allow the Red Sox to continue to focus on youth talent with upside, while giving Hamilton a place to figure out the offensive side of the game again.
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