Is Hamilton as good as gold in center field?

Billy Hamilton obviously makes spectacular catches. His play to rob Jason Heyward of extra bases in the eighth inning of the Reds' 3-2 victory over the Cardinals Tuesday night was the case in point.

But is Hamilton's daily defense good enough to win a Gold Glove?

"I see him every day," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "We all have that great benefit of seeing all his great plays, the distance he covers in the outfield, his throwing arm, how quickly he gets to a base hit and gets the ball on the way to the cutoff man."

Hamilton was a finalist for the Gold Glove last year.

"You're tainted as a manager, a coach or teammate when you're so used to seeing him (play center field) or Brandon (Phillips) play second base because you see the excellence every day," Price said. "I have a hard time believing anyone covers more ground and saves more from a defensive perspective. The defensive metrics may suggest otherwise."

The defensive metrics actually favor Hamilton. Fangraphs.com rates him as the second best center fielder in Major League Baseball behind Kevin Kiermaier of Tampa Bay. Kiermaier has a defensive rating of 19.0. Hamilton is at 16.3. The next best National League center fielder is A.J. Pollock of Arizona at 11.7.

Juan Lagares of the New York Mets, who won the Gold Glove last year, is at 5.9.

The play against Heyward was probably a game-saver or at least a lead-preserver, as the hit led off the inning.

"If Billy doesn't catch that ball, it's probably a triple," Price said. "There's a million ways to score from third with no outs."