Reds prospect Billy Hamilton leaves AFL championship with injury
Reds top prospect Billy Hamilton left the championship of the Arizona Fall League with a back injury. He had to be helped off the field, but was on the field to celebrate the Peoria Javelinas' 4-3 victory over the Salt River Rafters.
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| Billy Hamilton stole 155 bases at Pensacola and Bakersfield this season. (Getty Images) |
Reds top prospect Billy Hamilton was hurt in Saturday's championship game of the Arizona Fall League, leaving the game in the eighth inning with what the MLB Network announcers called "lower-back spasms."
Hamilton, who stole a record 155 bases in the minors last season, crashed into the center field fence after a leaping attempt at Anthony Rendon's leadoff triple in the bottom of the eighth inning. After five minutes or so on the ground, Hamilton was helped off the field. However, Hamilton was on the field at the end of the game to celebrate with his Peoria teammates after the Javelinas defeated the Salt River Rafters 4-3 to take the Arizona Fall League championship.
Hamilton, 22, was 2 for 5 with a run scored for the victorious Javelinas. Hamilton led off the game with a triple and was singled home by Mariners catcher Mike Zunino, who finished 3 for 5 with two RBI for Peoria.
Hamilton moved to the outfield during the Arizona Fall League. He has played shortstop since the Reds took him in the second round of the 2009 draft.
Surprise Saguaros first baseman Chris McGuiness of the Rangers was named the league's Most Valuable Player. A 24-year-old left-handed hitter, McGuiness hit .283/.370/.467 with four home runs in 25 games. He had six three-RBI games and seven multi-hit games.
McGuiness was drafted by the Red Sox in the 13th round of the 2009 draft and sent to Texas in 2010 as part of the deal that sent Jarrod Saltalamacchia to Boston.
At Double-A Frisco this season, he hit .268/.366/.474 with 23 home runs and 77 RBI in 123 games. He's a career .260/.373/.442 hitter in parts of four minor-league seasons.
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