When scouts evaluate players, they use the 20-80 scale, in which 20 is the lowest grade and 80 is the highest. An 80 tool is truly elite and they are rare. Giancarlo Stanton's power. Aroldis Chapman's fastball. Those are 80 tools.
Reds center fielder Billy Hamilton has 80 speed, and if the scale went any higher, he'd have 90 speed. On Saturday night, Hamilton managed to score all the way from first base on a routine ground ball single to left field by Joey Votto. To the action footage:
That is remarkable. Yes, Hamilton was running on the pitch, but that was a dinky little single to left and he managed to score without a throw. That's incredible. Hamilton's speed is one of those tools that leaves you breathless. Humans aren't supposed to move that fast.
Hamilton, 25, came into Saturday's game hitting .205/.256/.342 (58 OPS+) with five stolen bases on the season. The kid can run. The jury is still out on whether he can hit.
