3 surprising prospects who will shine at Red Sox spring training

David Hamilton

Red Sox fans may be slightly familiar with David Hamilton as he did appear briefly for Boston in 2023. He's only gotten a cup of coffee, but has a lot of promise and could surprise a lot of folks.

Hamilton was acquired by Boston back in 2021 in a trade that sent Hunter Renfroe to the Brewers. He's an infielder who can play shortstop and second base and is known for his speed on the basepaths. He also has a pretty good bat with (decent speed through the zone) and has shown an ability to hit home runs but has worked on hitting more line drives recently.

His 2023, unfortunately, ended a bit early in September to repair a torn UCL in his left thumb. He finished last season in Triple-A with a line of .247/.363/.438 with 17 HR, 54 RBI, 57 SB, and an .801 OPS in 103 games. The 19th-ranked prospect was named Minor League Defensive Player of the Year at the end of the season.

His brief stint in Boston wasn't as successful with a .121 average across 15 games, but he did record six stolen bases. He would have been a candidate to start the season at second for the Red Sox as he seems to have better range there than at shortstop. However, he now has to compete with Vaughn Grissom who was acquired from the Atlanta Braves.

Grissom has a bit more experience and success at the big league level, but that doesn't mean Hamilton can't make a case for himself. There's always a need for bench depth, and he especially has the right tools to be a weapon for Boston on the basepaths.