Why I’m Staying Away from Josh Hamilton

Is the injury risk reason to stay away from Hamilton? Photo courtesy of Aggie.

A friend of mine was prepping for a draft of his own and asked me, “What is the thinking on taking multiple guys from the same team? I ask because I see Josh Hamilton is a Free Agent.”* I did not bother to answer that question (which probably deserves a post of its own), instead I gave him a reason why I would stay away from Hamilton.

Anaheim is a pretty tough place to hit, and with Hamilton’s history of injuries, you will need to not only watch your lineup everyday because he will get a lot of off days, but you will need to have a pretty decent replacement player for him that is going to get one-sixth of Jamilton’s starts. Risky for a guy that’s going in the high rounds of most drafts.

Now, if you are going to watch your lineup closely, and you think you can find someone to get value in those once a week spots, then he is worth taking because he will provide a ton of value while he is on the field, and the extra value you gain by swapping in the other player once a week essentially increases the value of your roster spot. But I figure I usually have enough to worry about that I do not want to try and predict and find his off days every week, so I avoid that kind of stuff.

Plus when games start at noon there are days I have not even thought about lineups and then you just lose plate appearances because you did not pay enough attention to your roster. Sometimes those off days are surprises, so unless you are checking rosters an hour before first pitch, you are out of luck.

What is more, if Hamilton goes down with a big injury or misses extended time, now you have drafted a guy with a top pick and are getting only mid-round returns.

Hamilton is all talent, but a ton of risk and a lot of work for a fantasy owner.

*He already has Albert Pujols has one of his keepers, and was a little leery of having two players from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.