It’s Almost Gamel-Time

by
January 30, 2009

It’s safe to say that Bill Hall does not have a firm grip on the Brewers’ third base job. In fact, after hitting .225/.293/.396 in 2008, he’s lucky to have a Major League job. But that’s what happens when a club has $15.7 million committed to a player.

Thankfully for the Brewers, Hall has the ability to play a number of other positions, including shortstop, second base and the outfield. It’s fortunate because it allows the club the freedom to promote third base prospect Mat Gamel to the Majors, as soon as he’s ready. Gamel, 23, was originally selected in the fourth round out of junior college in 2005. He has been a hitting machine in the minors and has a career line of .305/.375/.489 in 1,710 at-bats. In 2008, he hit .329/.395/.537 in 508 Double-A at-bats. He also appeared in five Triple-A games and two big league games.

Offensively at the Major League level, Gamel has the potential to hit .300 and hit 20 home runs, although the in-game power is still developing. His defense is another story. He made an astonishing 53 errors at third base in 2007 but “improved” in 2008 and made just 30. The club does not have the luxury of hiding him at designated hitter or first base (thanks to Prince Fielder). Left field is not an option thanks to displaced third baseman Ryan Braun. Corey Hart, another promising young hitter, is in right field.

Thankfully, Gamel’s defensive woes will not hurt Fantasy Baseball owners – aside from possibly limiting his playing time and causing him to be removed late in games for defensive purposes. He’s certainly not someone you’ll want to draft to begin the season, but he could become a force in the second half of the year.





 

Marc Hulet has been writing at FanGraphs since 2008. His work focuses on prospects and fantasy. Follow him on Twitter @marchulet.

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Josh S
15 years ago

The third paragraph is the kicker though isn’t it? Teams are getting smarter these days and I can’t foresee the Brewers putting someone that bad defensively at the hot corner. How could they? They left Braun there for a year, but quickly moved him off when it was apparent that he couldn’t handle it. I would argue that Braun was a better defender than Gamel is, therefore they won’t keep him at 3rd and repeat what happened with Braun.

I don’t know if improved is also fair. Without minor league play by play data do we really know if he improved? While JJ Hardy is a great defender who could cover up Gamel’s woes, I’m not sure that he can make him THAT much better (i.e. How bad Braun was with Hardy next to him)

If I was the Brewers GM I would keep Gamel in the minors until May/June, see if Corey Hart regained some of his stock after a poor 2008, and trade Hart to a team who needed an OFer. He is arbitration eligible after this season and should bring back a good number of prospects if he regains 2007 form.

If Hart doesn’t, I would keep Gamel in the minors for the season working on his defense at 3rd. Now that Prince is signed to a 2 year deal there isn’t the same option for trading him and placing Gamel there. Without the Hart option there isn’t a spot for Gamel. Maybe they could trade with the Giants for a young pitcher.

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