Gamel Raking In AAA, Should Start 11' In Milwaukee

I know some Brewers fans out there are down on Mat Gamel. They think, because he did not come up last season and hit right away ala Braun or Fielder that he is not very good. Well, I never got that feeling. I still think Gamel will hit and hit quite well at the big league level. I still somewhat attribute his slow start for the Brewers in 2009 to Ken Macha not playing him often enough (we all know the "zim-zam" situation), he never got a chance to adjust to big league pitching with regular playing time. He got off to a slow start this year after missing the beginning of the season with an injury. He had a stint at A+ Brevard County and then AA Huntsville. Now with 65 games at AAA Nashville his numbers are starting to look more "Gamelesque". .312/.385/.494 with 9 HR and 51 RBI.

Of course it would be nice to see Mat hit a few more HR's and I think he can be a 20 to 25 guy in the bigs. But as long as he can hit around .300, carry a high OBP and mash doubles I would be very happy. Basically what I am saying is I am more than comfortable with Gamel being in the Brewers Opening Day roster in 2011, I don't care if it's at 1B or RF (with Hart moving to 1B). We all know Prince should be and needs to be moved for pitching, Gamel is the man to fill that spot as the left handed power bat in the Brewers lineup.

Keith Law Chat ESPN.com 12/3/09

After the Thanksgiving break Keith Law was back with another chat on ESPN.com today. Here are the Brewers related questions/answers. Only two today, Manny Parra possible out of the bullpen? And Keith is not sure if McGehee or Gamel are the answer at 3B in Milwaukee. Ouch.

Dan (Milwaukee)

Do you think Manny Parra would benefit from starting the season in the minors or do you think he will finally put it all together out of Spring Training?

Klaw

(1:03 PM)

I think it's time to think about putting him in the pen.

Dan (Milwaukee)

What do you think of Casey Mcghee? Do you really think he is the Brewers future at third? Is it wise for the Brewers to shop Gamel? What kind of return could he get?

Klaw

(1:09 PM)

I don't think either guy is the future at 3rd. McGehee isn't going to hit enough, and Gamel can't play it.

I could see Parra being a good lefty out of the bullpen, but with his stuff I wouldn't give up on him as a starter and if I did I would trade him before I stuck him in the pen. As for the question on McGehee and Gamel, I like them both. I like Gamel more long term because of his potential with the bat but he has to improve his defense which he has shown signs of, but the jury is still out. It would be interesting to see what McGehee could do starting a full season with a healthy knee, see if 2009 was a fluke or if he is for real. His minor league numbers say it was a fluke. That doesn't mean it was. The Brewers have an interesting situation with those two players.

Reader Poll Results

"Who would you rather see starting at 3B in 2010?"

Mat Gamel: 58% (7 Votes)

Casey McGehee: 41% (5 Votes)

Reader Poll Results

"Which Brewers prospect will have the best MLB career?"

Mat Gamel: 14% (2 Votes)

Alcides Escobar: 57% (8 Votes)

Brett Lawrie: 28% (4 Votes)

Taylor Green: 0% (0 Votes)

Even Political Commentators Know How Awesome Mat Gamel Is

Saw this over at MSNBC's "Countdown" host Keith Olbermann's MLBlog (Olbermann is a huge baseball fanatic and Yankees fan he started an mlb.com blog this season, it's pretty good and interesting), even he knows that Gamel is good and needs to play more if he is up in Milwaukee.

"HOW ABOUT USING GAMEL IN A GAME?

Did the Brewers really call up one of the game's top two or three power prospects so he could sit behind the bench for a week, get some DH work during inter-league, and then send him back down?

Apparently.

Third Baseman Mat Gamel was summoned Wednesday from Nashville and entering play today had gotten exactly one at bat. Even when Rickie Weeks took himself out of this afternoon's game with soreness in his wrist, the Brewers simply moved Craig Counsell from third to second, and inserted Bill Hall at third.

Milwaukee started the day with the second best record in the NL, Counsell has been hot lately, and Ken Macha and Doug Melvin have done a lot more managing and general managing than I have, but the week's inactivity makes no sense, not in a division as competitive and seemingly as balanced as the Central. The Brewers say they want to treat him more like Prince Fielder in 2005 than Ryan Braun in 2007 but that may not be a luxury they can afford. Gamel is either a vital component (if he can improve to bare-minimum status defensively at third), or a wonderful trading chip (if he can't, and he has to become a corner outfielder, first baseman, or DH, none of which Milwaukee needs).

Why just have him sit around?

In short, play him (at Milwaukee or Nashville), or trade him!"

It's Official (If It Wasn't Already)

Bill Hall should never, ever play against RHP again. In what may have been his last chance at playing against RHP tonight he went 0-3 with 2 K's and a GIDP. Macha pulled him in a double switch in the bottom of the 6th. Like last night, Hall just looked awful not covering any part of the plate and swinging at bad pitches while letting good ones go. I have full faith in Ken Macha that he will do the right thing and now go to a straight left/right platoon with Hall and top prospect Mat "The Batt" Gamel. However, with the Brewers going to Minnesota this weekend for interleague play Gamel will most likely DH and Counsell will be at 2B so Hall may actually play against RHP. Unless Macha decides to give Casey McGehee a chance at 3B against RHP while Gamel DH's?

Emptying My Thoughts 5/21/09

Time for me to empty these thoughts on current Brewers news out of my head.....

It totally sucks that Rickie Weeks is out for the year with another wrist injury, this time left hand. Of course all of us in Brewer Nation know and feel that way. Rickie was really putting his total game together and then it gets taken from him because of injury. I have total confidence though that Rickie will work hard to get back and be ready to pickup in spring 2010 where he left off in May 2009.

With Weeks now gone, I like the fact the Brewers are looking internally to fill the 2B void. No need to go making a trade, at least not yet. While no one can really replace the skill set Weeks brings to the park everyday, a Counsell/McGehee platoon should do just fine. If it does not I'm sure Doug Melvin can swing a trade for a veteran 2B, I know DeRosa's name has come up but the Brewers don't have the pitching Cleveland wants for him. Of course they could even sign an unemployed 2B like Durham or Grudzielanek. Hopefully it does not come to that and Counsell and McGehee can get the job done. If they don't, before a trade happens you might see Alcides Escobar get a chacne since he will now play 2 out of every 3 games at 2B for AAA Nashville. I'm not a big fan of that idea since Escobar is a SS and would somewhat be wasted at 2B.

With Counsell now set to platoon at 2B, that opens up a perfect opportunity for top prospect Mat Gamel to actually stay up with the Brewers even after the interleague series. With how bad Bill Hall has been against RHP, and he has been brutal (especially last night in the 9th, that was ugly), Gamel should now go into a strict platoon with Hall at 3B. It just makes to much sense, and if this were the case Gamel would get most of the starts and it would be worth keeping him up. However, if Macha does not feel this way I hope they send Mat down to AAA to paly everyday instead of rotting on the bench with the big club. Gamel has already shown that great bat he has, of course he has also shown how bad his glove can be. But like they old saying goes, the bat plays. And Mat has a mighty good one.

I LOVE the trade of Tony Gwynn for Jody Gerut. Let me say that again, I LOVE THE TRADE. Gwynn was going nowhere fast in the Milwaukee organization. He couldn't even beat out Duffy or Nelson to make the team this year. To me he will always be a AAAA type player who always had hype around him simply because of the name on the back of his jersey. Now hes gone where the Brewers won't be tempted to give him more chances. The Brewers get in return a solid 4th OF in Gerut who can play all three OF spots and has some pop from the left side of the plate, he has struggled so far this year though after a solid year in 2008. With Gerut meeting the team in Minnesota for the weekend series it appears either Duffy or Iribarren are going down to AAA Nashville. Let me say as much as I have ripped him, I do wish Gwynn the best. Maybe he can find something playing for his hometown team. Good luck Jr!

Catching Up To Do

I just got back yesterday from my 7 night honeymoon in beautiful Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. Me and my bride had a fantastic time, it was sunny and in the 80's every day we were there. While the weather was hot in the DR it was not hot here in Wisconsin, but the baseball team sure was.

In my absence out of the country the Brewers won 5 of 6 games in home series over the Cubs and Marlins. This led the Brewers to now being tied for 1st place in the NL Central with the hated Cardinals. While I was able to text a friend to get final scores each day it seems I missed out on some happenings while I was gone. So I spent some of last night during that rain delay/postponement and this morning catching up on what happened in these 6 Brewers games I missed.

Nelson was DFA and then selected free agency. I wish Brad the best, I liked him a lot and thought it was cool he finally made an opening day roster. He just didn't do anything after spring training though and we need some production off the bench other then Craig Counsell. Hopefully Nelson catches on somewhere else, just not in the NL. I think he would come back to haunt us at some point.

With Nelson DFA the Brewers called up top prospect Mat Gamel. This kind of shocked me when I first heard the news. I thought the Brewers might trade Hall which I did not want to happen. But it does not seem likely and more likely Gamel was called up for much of the same reason Prince Fielder was in 2005. Spend some time with the big league club, maybe get a start or two and DH in some inter league series before going back down to AAA Nashville. I like the move and look forward to seeing Gamel hit and see if his defense has gotten better.

Weeks and Bush seemed to have continued their strong starts. It seems 2009 really will be the "breakout" season for both guys. Weeks is hitting well and has an over .880 OPS while Bush has been the Brewers 2nd best pitcher after Gallardo. At the beginning of the season I told a fellow Brewers fan at work that Bush would breakout this year and legitimize himself as a solid #3 and maybe even a #2. So far Dave is proving me correct, thanks Dave.

Braun has a RED HOT week and was the NL player of the week. But it seems the local and national media has a problem with his "attitude" or "cockiness". I say screw them both. Braun is no more cocky then any other star in MLB. He is good, he knows it and he is super confident in his ability. So he watches his HR's a little bit, so does A-Rod, Pujols, Manny and many other of the stars of the game do. Can you blame him for the one he hit off Dempster? I mean Dempster did hit him the freaking head in the at-bat before the HR. Bottom line, Braun is a superstar that is super confident. Just let him play the game and don't worry about what he does after he hits a HR. And he will hit A LOT of them before his career is up so get used to it uptight media members.

If Braun Goes To The DL

If Ryan ends up having to spend some time on the DL with this intercostal/back injury I think the best scenario for the team is to call up Mat Gamel to start at 3B and start Bill Hall in LF (which he is doing tonight in Pittsburgh). Yes Gamel makes errors at 3B and Hall has been stellar there. But with Braun's bat gone you need someone who also has a big stick. Neither of our backup OF's Nelson or Duffy do really and I shutter to think of Gwynn getting called up and getting a lot of regular playing time. So you have Gamel come up and play 3B with his electric left handed bat and you move Hall to LF to keep his bat in the lineup and he has played in the OF before all be it in CF. Obviously this is all speculation but with Braun sitting out his third consecutive games you have to wonder if a DL stint is imminent. Although he did have an MRI today that was negative, which is good news.

Hall Injured, Before Position Players Even Report?

Billy Hall who had the inside track to be the starting 3B this season or at least half of a platoon with Mike Lamb now will not. At least at the start of the season. Hall tore his left calf muscle yesterday while exercising on his own, position players don't even officially report until the 17th. Tough break for Hall who will now miss 4 to 6 weeks which could carry into the beginning of the regular season. I feel bad for Hall as I think he had a chance to put it together again like he did in 05' and 06' after having lasik eye surgery. Now Hall will have to make up for missed time to do that.

If there is anybody happy about this news it has to be Casey McGehee and Mat Gamel. Those two will now get more reps at 3B. McGehee is a right handed batter who may get the opportunity to platoon with Mike Lamb in Hall's place. Gamel is the Brewers 2nd best prospect who now has the chance to show everyone his glove has improved and if he blows everyone away with hist bat which is possible he could start at 3B opening day for the Crew. Everyone knows Gamel's bat can play in the bigs already, but his glove is considered worse then Braun's was in 2007. However, Gamel has improved each year with the glove so maybe he makes a big enough jump this year to make the opening day roster. Stay tuned.

In Case You Were Wondering, The Future Looks Bright In Milwaukee. Much Like The Present.

Check out the numbers are top prospects are putting up right now.

Matt Gamel - 3B, Huntsville Stars (AA)

.333/.400/.546 19 HR 94 RBI

Alcides Escobar - SS, Huntsville Stars (AA)

.335/.370/.440 8 HR 72 RBI

Angel Salome - C, Huntsville Stars (AA)

.364/.416/.560 11 HR 80 RBI

Gamel And/Or LaPorta For CC Sabathia? No Thanks

This has become a hot topic amongst Milwaukee sports talk radio show hosts this past week after ESPN's Buster Olney mentioned the Brewers as a top candidate to get last years AL Cy Young winner. The main reason that Onley feels the Brewers have perhaps the best chance is because of the large amount of talent in their minor league system, specifically in AA Huntsville. And even more specifically 3B Matt Gamel and LF Matt LaPorta. The Matt's are two of the biggest prospects in all of baseball. LaPorta was the Brewers first round pick a year ago and Gamel was the Brewers 4th round pick in 2005 (same year they drafted Braun in the 1st round, talk about a nice draft). Both guys have just been ripping the cover off the ball in AA Huntsville this season. Gamel is batting .371, 15 HR, 66 RBI and an OPS of 1.064. LaPorta is batting .294, 19 HR, 59 RBI and an OPS of 1.011. Here is the thing, the Indians if they even decide they want to deal Sabathia and if Melvin asks about him their is no doubt they will want one of these guys plus a guy like maybe Tony Gwynn, that would be a minimum deal. There is a chance they could ask for as high as both Gamel and LaPorta. Personally if they just wanted one of the Matt's, it would be hard not to really consider it. I mean an ace like CC joining Sheets in our rotation would be quite awesome. But Sabathia is a free agent after the season and their is no guarantee he would be more then a 2 month rental. Is that worth giving up one of our future studs on this team? I'm not sure it is and I know for a fact it wouldn't be worth it if we had to give up both players. I guess when it comes down to it I don't want to trade either player, but if it is just one and we did make the playoffs and won the whole fucking thing, I would have to approve and say well worth it. If we make a trade and we don't even get into the playoffs and CC walks, I would have steam coming out of my ears all off-season.