First impressions of Mat Gamel?

[jeffy]

My impression is that there continues to be an awful lot of hype on here for a guy who has yet to show he can hit in the major leagues. I'll continue to wait and see how he actually performs. I hope that no hits in his last 14 ABs does not mean that they have quickly figured out how to pitch to him.

[Ennder]

So two little seeing eye singles makes a difference to you? What a guy does over 14 AB is pretty much useless for judging anything about a player. Ryan Theriot had a 14 AB stint where he hit like 4 HR this year, he probably won't hit 4 more HR all season just as an example.

[JJHardy7]

Money did say on a pre-game interview that Mat's issue early this season had to do with his pre-pitch stance, which lead to a number of fielding errors. I donj't think it was addressed last year at all, you should re-check your timeline, then re-read my post. The issue Macha and Randolph are addressing is after he fields the ball he comes up too upright when setting to throw. This has nothing to do with his pre-pitch stance.

 

I know the timeline. I've talked to Money about it. Money and Co. (which includes coaches in spring training) found more 'flaws' in spring training. He's still a work in progress with the coaches and such. It also does have a lot to do with his pre-pitch stance since his footwork was all messed up when he received the ball which let to poor setting position. I'll see if I can find the Nashville links that reported this a few months back. It is believed that his 'ready' position wasn't right and thus put him in bad spots to set up his throw because he had to rush it a bit more due to his 'ready' position. I hope I'm making that make sense. I don't know if that will fix everything, but once Money worked with him on this he had his 'streak' of error free games in Nashville. I still think with him it's footwork, which is more mental than anything.

 

You need to fact checker. Gamel has started 5 of the last 6, there was only 2 games he didn't appear in.

 

X, you need to relax. Being a PH isn't the same as playing everyday. It's just not IMO. I also think it's different for a player to go from starting everyday to riding the bench to being the DH...all this in his first true taste of the majors. IMO it's just not the same as starting everyday and knowing you'll get your 4 at-bats and play 3B everyday. Over time sure it can be adjusted, but it's probably been a few years since Mat's been on the bench or had this type of role.

[lcbj68c]

Gamel has been ok. I think at the plate, he tries to go the other way too much and cheats himself. Too many F7's in my opinion. I hope he stays up despite the short time at AAA. He was raking there for 6 weeks, not sure what else could be accomplished other than regular playing time.

[Invader3K]

My impression is that there continues to be an awful lot of hype on here for a guy who has yet to show he can hit in the major leagues. I'll continue to wait and see how he actually performs. I hope that no hits in his last 14 ABs does not mean that they have quickly figured out how to pitch to him.

 

I think he'll eventually be a good MLB hitter based on everything I've read about him, and the little I've seen of him on TV. However, I think it's asking a lot for him to be a major offensive contributor right away. We've been spoiled as fans seeing a lot of young guys come up and mash right away, and Gamel isn't necessarily going to be in that category.

[sargennm]

First impressions of Mat Gamel? Appreciate that he's on our team. I can't wait for him to go on a crazy streak. He's healthy which is a plus. He's aware of his role and never takes any AB's for granted (Counsell-ian). And you can't ignore his numbers. Over/under...Wade Boggs.

I appreciate the amount of love Gamel gets on this board, but I fear the expectations for him are way too high. Over/under on a hall of fame third baseman and five time batting champ? That's just too much. If that's what people really expect, there's no way he can win with Brewer fans. If he ends up with a better career than Robin Ventura, I'll be very, very happy.

[Invader3K]

Yeah, I agree. We might want to see what we actually have in this guy for a season or so before making comparisons like that.

[jeffy]

What a guy does over 14 AB is pretty much useless for judging anything about a player.

As is what he has done in his other 11 major league at bats, which is why I said I'll continue to wait and see how he actually performs.

[TooLiveBrew]

As is what he has done in his other 11 major league at bats, which is why I said I'll continue to wait and see how he actually performs

 

Would you have said/Did you say, 'We need to wait & see with this Braun/Fielder guy'? Gamel is legit... there's a reason people are giving such high praise. I don't mean to just gloss over your wise tempering of expectations, but Mat is a rare hitting talent.

 

As for the Boggs comparisons, I don't think people necessarily mean, 'Gamel is also going to win multiple batting titles & get himself into the HoF'. I just think it's a decent physical comparison, & gives fans an idea of the type of production (though perhaps not down to the last digit) to expect. It's an interesting comparison when it comes to defense too... iirc Boggs was a shaky fielder when he came up, but developed his tools & became a good one (which is what I think Mat will do, a la Weeks).

[rotoherb]

Wade Boggs struck out about once every 14 plate appearances. Between last season and this season, Gamel has struck out once every 4.7 plate appearances. It's going to be really, really hard for Gamel to hit for a high average with his strikeout rate. Jason Bay and Matt Kemp have been able to do it consistently, but that's about it, and if his offense is comparable to one of those guys then we should all be happy. As long as he still walks and hits 20+ home runs a year then I don't really care about his batting average.

 

I think Mat will be a very good major league hitter. The hype that I keep reading about him here seems to be over the top, though. He could hit .270/.340/.460 this year and some people would be disappointed, which is too bad.