The Royals announced on Wednesday that they signed Utilityman Garrett Hampson to a Major League contract. The deal, as reported by Jeff Passan of ESPN, is a one-year pact worth $2 million. Hampson is a 29-year-old former third round pick by the Rockies in 2016. Much like other recent additions such as Bubba Thompson and Cole Ragans, this marks another transaction in which the Royals have targetted (extremely) post-hype former top prospects in hopes of capitalizing on that potential.
As recently as 2019, FanGraphs ranked Hampson as the Rockies number two overall prospect. That same year, MLB Pipeline ranked him the third best prospect in Colorado’s organization.
“Hampson’s best tool is his speed, and he is well-aware his wheels serve as his carrying card. He led all Rockies Minor Leaguers in stolen bases in 2018 and swiped 123 bags on his way to the big leagues while being caught just 23 times. He makes a ton of contact and willingly puts the ball on the ground to use his speed to his advantage. He’s not a big power guy, but he does impact the baseball well and will run into a few homers over the course of the season. “
That lofty prospect status never translated to MLB success for Hampson, as he slashed just .235/.296/.370 over five seasons with the Rockies. A 2023 non-tender paved the way for Hampson to play with Miami last season, where the results were much better. Over 98 games for the Marlins in 2023, he slashed .276/.349/.380 with a 9.1% walk rate. He also struck out 26.6% of the time. Although he was worth 0.7 fWAR and had a 101 wRC+, the advanced metrics from Baseball Savant point to coming regression.
Hampson graded below average in nearly every major hitters metric last season, although he didn’t quite have enough plate appearances to truly qualify. He doesn’t barrel up the baseball and rarely makes hard contact at all. His best trait is clearly his speed, which he uses to his advantage often. That comes in the way of ground balls, as Hampson’s 33.3% fly ball rate last season was a career low. Defensively, he is a true Utilityman, able to play all three outfield positions as well as all over the infield.
is A domino trade on the way?
In a vacuum, this signing doesn’t make a whole lot of sense for the Royals. Nick Loftin and Samad Taylor can already pretty well cover the Utilityman role that Hampson should inherit. They would also do so at a cheaper cost and with more upside. For this reason, it makes it seem as if a domino trade is on the way for Kansas City.
Who might be on the move? Of course, if Taylor and Loftin could both fill the Utility role, they are prime candidates to be on the move following this signing. Others, such as center fielders Drew Waters and Kyle Isbel, could also be names to watch that should interest opposing teams on the trade market. The organization’s 40-man roster is now full with the addition of Hampson, and they’ll be unable to make a selection in next week’s Rule 5 draft if a coming trade doesn’t clear a 40-man spot prior to Wednesday.
Maybe that’s okay for Kansas City, however. Afterall, the Rule 5 Draft isn’t going to build a winner on its own and there’s a clear reason all of those players weren’t protected by their respective clubs. Still, for an organization in as rough shape as the Royals, the casted net for improvement should include all outlets, especially the Rule 5 draft.