In a somewhat surprising move, the San Francisco Giants just improved their farm talent on the pitching side by trading their speedy outfielder Billy Hamilton to the New York Mets for young prospect Jordan Humphreys. Humphreys has not pitched a full professional season since 2017 when he dominated Single A ball, going 10-1 in 11 starts with a 1.42 ERA and 80 Strikeouts in just over 60 innings.
With that type of performance, the Mets surely took notice. However, after he had to undergo Tommy John Surgery, Humphreys missed all over 2018 and most of 2019, only pitching sparingly in the Gulf Coast League and Arizona Fall League. Nevertheless, he continued to pitch well and show great promise.
With this move, the Giants have added a much needed arm to their system while giving up a player who hit .211 last season with the Royals. While Billy Hamilton has several tools including ridiculous speed and great defense, the Giants have a comparable player in Steven Duggar, who was recently promoted and can handle the bat as well if not better. He brings some pop and can fill in when needed, including as a pinch runner. The Giants have also witnessed great performances from outfielders such as Mike Yastrzemski, Alex Dickerson and Austin Slater.
The bottom line is, Hamilton won’t be missed (he never even appeared in a regular season game with the Giants) and Jordan Humphreys is a huge boost to the Giants system. I love this move and am surprised that the Mets gave up such a great looking young arm for a 30 year old veteran who doesn’t bring much other than speed and a great glove. Congratulations to Farhan Zaidi on another outstanding move, further bolstering the Giants farm system and preparing for an Orange & Black resurgence.
