Aaron Hill came over in a mid-season trade last year to help offset the loss of Stephen Drew and provide some veteran leadership. Hill hit .315 for the Diamondbacks but only hit two home runs in 124 at-bats to bring his season total to eight in 520 total at-bats.
2012 didn’t start as planned for Hill. He went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts against the Giants on Friday night. Game two of the season turned around for Hill as he hit home runs off Madison Bumgarner in both the first and second innings.
It took Hill just eight at-bats to match his home run total from 124 last year. Some might think it’s an aberration, but take a look at Hills’ career stats. It show that he’s been here before.
Hill hit a combined 62 home runs between the 2009 and 2010 seasons for the Toronto Blue Jays. Granted his batting average (.286 and .205) were not something to get too excited about, but if Hill can take direction from Arizona hitting coach Don Baylor and put pieces of those seasons together, he could really make something happen.
This is an even bigger deal with the impending free agency of Stephen Drew. If the Diamondbacks feel comfortable letting him go and allowing Hill to move to SS they could free up enough money to keep fan-favorite Miguel Montero in Phoenix.
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