First base down the road?

[mancl]

There has been a lot of speculation that the Brewers would trade Prince in the next couple of seasons and put La Porta at 1st. Obviously the second part of this scenario isn't going to happen. What options do they have at 1st besides Gamel when/if Fielder is traded?

 

Thanks.

 

 

(clearer thread title --1992)

[sbrylski]

Brad Nelson is finally mashing in AAA, he could very well be at least a good stop gap option if Fielder were to be traded. Chris Errecart gets overlooked down at AA, being overshadowed by a lot of his teammates. He won't be an All-Star, but he's got a very good chance of having a big league career at 1B, with an ETA of probably 2010.

 

We could also move Cole Gillespie to 1B if we had to, considering the reports of a weak arm. Michael Brantley has some struggles out in center field and would be the least powerful first baseman in the league, but if he can somehow keep his OBP as high as .390-.400 as he's been doing in the minors, he should be in a lineup.

 

There's nothing stellar sitting in our system, but there is options.

[kramnoj]

Probably the next in line is Chris Errecart. He is 23 and has an 887 OPS in AA right now and is their main 1B.

 

The speculation about Prince being traded seems to be messageboard material, as far as I can tell. I'm not aware of the club even hinting that they have a desire to trade Prince in the next year or two.

[dadofandrew]

I doubt if Prince goes anywhere for a couple years.

 

There are always plenty of stopgap 1B available though, as it's so far over to the right on the defensive spectrum. Often, they are low power, good OBP guys, ala Hatteberg and the like, but a platoon of two guys like that isn't much below league average.

[bullox]

Don't forget that Corey Hart was drafted as a 1st baseman. His huge wingspan would be a big asset, and his athleticism might allow him to become a pretty good defender at the position. That said, his progression as an outfielder can't be overlooked. A weaker outfielder might be better suited to play 1st.

[istanbultaye]

Prince isn't going anywhere until after 2011 unless the Brewers choose for him to go somewhere else. I think the whole 'Prince not signing an extension' thing got overblown a month ago or so (whenever it happened), and that has caused all sorts of talk show hosts and whatnot to say wierd things like that Prince will be gone at the end of this year. I'm not too worried personally, as when we had to trade Sexson, we managed to get a quite acceptable firstbaseman to tide us over for two years until Prince was ready to take on the full time job. On the other hand, I do understand wanting to find out more about some of the young guys we haven't heard as much about.

[igor67]

Of the options listed only Gamel would project to have a bat close in value to Prince, the others are acceptable alternatives depending on defensive alignments and such. Keep in mind that at this point even an average defender at first would make up a little og the ground on Prince's bat.

[bjkrautk]

I'm not too worried personally, as when we had to trade Sexson, we managed to get a quite acceptable firstbaseman to tide us over for two years until Prince was ready to take on the full time job.

 

That's an important point to keep in mind. If the team does decide to trade Fielder in the off season, there's a decent chance that the acquiring team will have a 1b that they would no longer have use for.

 

(That said, long-term, I'm still expecting it to be Gamel at 1b; the last two prospects the Brewers have tried to fit into the 3b position - Hart and Braun - couldn't stick there, so I don't see why Gamel is going to be the one to prove the scouting consensus wrong.)

[Oldcity]

I expected Prince to be gone after this season, but now I'm thinking he'll be around at least another year.

[Postseason2006]

What is Nelson's value at this point? With Hafner hurting, I honestly thought the Indians would go for him.

[Diggr14]

what about Brett Lawrie. He's years away... but Prince is 3 years away from being gone if the Brewers stretch it out... like they probably will.

 

[Chio151]

Personally, I still think we'll sign Prince to an extension and he'll be here until at least 2013. No need to worry, especially this early.

[bullox]

what about Brett Lawrie. He's years away... but Prince is 3 years away from being gone if the Brewers stretch it out... like they probably will.

You typically want to take advantage of a player's defensive abilities as best as you can. Lawrie was drafted as a catcher, and if he doesn't stick there he could very possibly slide over to 3B or the OF. First base would be a last option type of thing for Lawrie.

 

[brewerguy71]

The Brewers will still have Prince Fielder's services for at least one more full season. I dont see the Brewers allowing his arbitration wins to go past the 2nd time. He will become too expensive to hold onto. He'll be gone after 2009.

I wouldnt count on Brad Nelson being the teams next first baseman. I see Errecart as a Lyle Overbay type hitter, which isnt all that bad. But I would keep an eye on Gamel winding up being the 1B of the future for when Prince is gone.

Maybe there is a chance that when Prince Fielder does get traded after next year, that they pick up one of the big time first base prospects that went in this year's draft.

[kramnoj]

I dont see the Brewers allowing his arbitration wins to go past the 2nd time. He will become too expensive to hold onto. He'll be gone after 2009.

 

The Brewers spent $10 million to take a chance on Gagne and will be paying Suppan over $12 million the next couple of years. I can't see them trading away Fielder because they think they can't afford him. In 2010 the Brewers should have a cheap guy at catcher, they should have at least one cheap guy in the rotation and hopefully they'll have a cheap guy in CF as well.

[bcf5575]

trading laporta pretty much proves that Fielder is going to be around for a while yet. I think there is no way he gets traded before his last year of arbitration.

[endaround]

When Corey Hart makes the All Star team and his arby award becomes bigger than Prince's do we have to trade him right away too?

[Brian the Automator]

When Corey Hart makes the All Star team and his arby award becomes bigger than Prince's do we have to trade him right away too?

Did someone here lead you to believe that the Brewers won't keep any expensive arbitration-eligible players?

 

[zzzmanwitz]

Prince's Agent is Boras. Corey's is not.

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

There's still a good chance that we will trade Prince in the offseason because we are going to need pitching when Sheets and Sabathia leave town. I think the best option would be to have Gamel as our Opening Day 2009 1B because his bat is too good to leave in the minors another year to commit 40 errors at 3B. Then you can get the top shelf pitching by trading Prince and have him replaced by a darn good bat. Gamel is a lot more athletic than Prince too so I'd assume he'd play a better defensive 1B.

 

The only problem with that is that it creates a hole at 3B then if we move Gamel over. But, we do have Hall for 2 more years as a stop gap, and Hall is not as bad as he's played in the first half. If Hall continues to not hit righties, we'll just have to find a Lefty Platoon guy. I think 3B is going to be our position of need in next year's draft.

 

I'd love Gamel to be our future 3B, but I think that our 2009 team would be better with him playing 1B for the Brewers.

[jazzytrav]

It would be interesting to see what Hart could do at 1B. At first I thought that might be a waste of his speed, but in all honesty he doesn't seem to use his speed very well in the OF anyways.

 

As for Gamel, if he shows himself to be at least decent defensively at 3B, it would be dumb to move him to 1B where you can usually stick anyone.

 

I tend to agree with those that think it will be someone in our farm right now that will be used as a stopgap, like Nelson or Errecart.

[nate82]

It would be interesting to see what Hart could do at 1B. At first I thought that might be a waste of his speed, but in all honesty he doesn't seem to use his speed very well in the OF anyways.

You also have to take into account that Hart is a taller player. Taller players normally don't age very well. Look at Sexson he has a lot of knee and back problems. I expect Corey to become the 1B if he stays with the team long term if Prince is going to be traded.

 

[kramnoj]

You also have to take into account that Hart is a taller player. Taller players normally don't age very well.

 

Is this based on something you've read, or just an observation? Because baseball players as a group don't age well.

[Postseason2006]

Did Randy Johnson just lie about his age then?

[bcf5575]

Did Randy Johnson just lie about his age then?

no - he lied about his height. he is really 5'-8"