Josh Hamilton willing to talk to Astros' Singleton about substance abuse demons

Angels outfielder Josh Hamilton, who famously overcame substance abuse problems to become one of the game's elite players, said Friday that he'd happily sit down to chat with Jon Singleton, the Astros prospect who confessed on Monday to battling marijuana and alcohol addictions, MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez reports.

"I look at it as a privilege," said Hamilton, who inked a five-year, $125-million contract with the Angels prior to the 2013 campaign.

Once regarded among the top first-base prospects in baseball, Singleton's ascent to the majors was stalled by substance abuse trouble that culminated in a 50-game suspension last season. The 22-year-old Californian, selected in the eighth round of the 2009 draft, hit just .230/.351/.401 with 11 home runs over 90 games in 2013.

"I'd love to," Hamilton added, "but I don't get in people's business on those things unless it's prompted."

Singleton told reporters earlier this week that he hasn't smoked marijuana in "about a year" and he only has the occasional drink these days.

"There are times in my mind where I think about certain scenarios and if I were to go back and do the things I was doing," Singleton said recently, "but I think about the consequences I had to deal with after the fact, and that's always a deterrent for me not to go back to that lifestyle."