An interview with Mat Gamel

[Pudster13]

Below is a link to an interview with Brewers 3B Prospect Mat Gamel, conducted in May 2008 in Huntsville, Alabama.

 

 

He seems to have a laid back, surfer dude type mentality.

 

The Brewers desperately need his lefthanded bat in the lineup once ready, but he had a pretty bad second half of the season once LaPorta was traded and he no longer was hitting in front of him. My guess is that he spends most of 2009 at AAA Nashville, working on his 3B defense.

 

What type of player do you guys think Gamel will become in the majors? Will he stick at 3B? Will he have the bat to move to 1B or OF? What major league players do you think he most compares to?

 

Personally, I think he could be a solid regular if he sticks at thirdbase, but not an all-star type player.

 

Thoughts?

[JJHardy7]

The Brewers desperately need his lefthanded bat in the lineup once ready, but he had a pretty bad second half of the season once LaPorta was traded and he no longer was hitting in front of him. My guess is that he spends most of 2009 at AAA Nashville, working on his 3B defense.

 

There is also some debate as to how long he was playing with an injury in the second half of the season that may have been part of the reason why he struggled.

[PrimeTime955]

I love the Gamel interview and all the other ones on there that they do with other players, but I do have a little constructive criticism. Every single time he asks a question, he ends up asking 2, 3, sometimes 4 questions, all during one question. Most of the time it confuses the player and he only answers one question. Sometimes the questions aren't even related. So again, I appreciate the interviews, but they could be worked on a little bit.

[3Putt]

I only saw a small sampling but he does have a sweet swing. For those of you who are Minor League experts, how much defensive work does a guy like Gamel get during the offseason? Seems like if someone worked on their defense daily and year round he could improve in a hurry. It certainly would solve allot of problems for us if he could play 3B this year but most posters indicate his defense is still too much of a liability. Last year Hall was leading the league in errors before being relegated to a platoon. If Gamel can post similar numbers to Hall his upside would be worth it. If Escobar is ready we'd have the option of moving JJ to 2nd. Trade Prince for some AL pitching and our defense should be better all around. Lastly, I saw Rivera play one game at 1B last year and he handled several tough chances very well. Was that an anomoly or could he be an option? Of course his lower power numbers might make it a bad move.

[Cracked Bat Collector]

I love the Gamel interview and all the other ones on there that they do with other players, but I do have a little constructive criticism. Every single time he asks a question, he ends up asking 2, 3, sometimes 4 questions, all during one question. Most of the time it confuses the player and he only answers one question. Sometimes the questions aren't even related. So again, I appreciate the interviews, but they could be worked on a little bit.

 

My thoughts exactly. Great interviews, I love them, but asking multiple questions at once could use improvement.

[Pudster13]

Thanks for the feedback fellas. You're right, the interview skills need a little work. I always like to ask about the player's experience on draft day. I am curious to know how if feels to them, to be drafted by a major league baseball team.

I'm really hoping Gamel can figure out his defense enough to stay at third. The Brewers really would benefit from him staying at the hot corner. I don't think his bat would play as well at 1B or a corner OF. When we visited Huntsville last May, Stars manager Don Money was working individually with Gamel at 3B during warm ups. I like the fact that Money has been promoted to manager of AAA Nashville in 2009, so he can continue to work with Mat.

I wonder if the Brewers draft philosophy will change a little now that Jack Z is gone. I think focusing on drafting good hitters and finding a position for them in the minors has worked pretty well for the Brew Crew. However, I think it may be starting to be too much, having many players in the majors who have been moved to play out of position. I'm hoping the organization starts to emphasize defense a little bit more while drafting.

[PrimeTime955]

I don't know that it will change that drastically since we replaced out top guys by in house guys. I'm sure they all have their own philosophies but I doubt we'll see to much of a drastic change in draft strategy.