Billy Hamilton

Hamilton, like many Mississippi prep products, remains raw, as he's never played baseball full-time and needs to face better competition. Hamilton ranks among the fastest players in the draft, a true 70 runner on the 20-80 scale. Hamilton also is among the lightest players, if not the lightest being considered in the first five rounds, checking in at around 150 pounds. One evaluator said he resembles Brewers utilityman Bill Hall at a similar stage of development. Hamilton lacks present strength in his wispy frame, and some teams will walk away from a player whose present bat is short. Hamilton's swing is fairly sound, though, and he's learning to bat lefthanded as well to take advantage of his speed. He has outstanding arm strength, reaching 94 mph off the mound, and might be able to remain a shortstop; if not he'll stay in the middle of the diamond in center field. He's a Mississippi State football recruit, but scouts still consider him signable.