Billy Hamilton will bat eighth Wednesday against the Royals.

Hamilton will bat eighth Wednesday against the Royals.

Analysis:

Hamilton, who made 171 of his first 172 career starts atop the order, was demoted from the leadoff spot Sunday after batting just .212/.264/.336 in his first 33 games of the season. It's sounding like Hamilton will remain near the bottom of the order for a while, with manager Bryan Price telling MLB.com that he's "just trying to get some guys on base for the middle of the order guys and take a little bit of the load off," and that he thinks "it'd be really nice to have [Hamilton] doing some things down at the bottom, maybe helping set the table for the top of the order." Zack Cozart is now leading off for the Reds, though Price stressed that he believes Hamilton's long-term future is in the leadoff spot.