Is Doug Melvin planning on building the future brewers around speed rather than power?

[wishicouldhit]

With the recent trade sending J.J. Hardy to the Twins for the young unproven CF Carlos Gomez begs the question, are the Brewers going to be a team that is built around speed and small ball? Excluding the catcher and Fielder it seems every position player will be able to snag 15 plus bases. Just for argument sake I am penciling in Gamel instead of McGehee at 3B. Leading the team in steals would be Escobar and Gomez which can easily have 30-40 SB if they were everyday players. Hart and Weeks probably would get 20 SB each assuming they both come off injury ridden seasons and Melvin forces Macha to forget his Oakland days. The reasons I put Gamel over McGehee in the lineup is because he has a more potential and is an asset due to his power combined with his ability to steal 15 bases. Braun falls into the same category of a player with similar power and speed. Not that I would ever dream of losing Fielder but would this be a way to cut cost while still having competitive team with a sustainable salary?

Projected line up
SS Escobar
RF Hart LF Braun
1B Feilder
2B Weeks
3B Gamel
C _____
P ______
CF Gomez

[jjfanec]

I would say that is still a pretty powerful lineup. Braun and Fielder are some of the best power bats in baseball. Weeks has very good power for a 2B. Gamel has good power. Hart has good power. Only SS and CF would lack power, and C is a question mark. Fielder, Braun, Weeks, Gamel, Hart (if it is good Corey) can all hit over 20-25 home runs which make for a good power team.

[dadofandrew]

Doug has always mentioned baserunning metrics and good defense. I think it's very likely he knew he needed a solid defensive CF to replace Cameron, as that difference would be very noticeable. Gomez is as good as it gets on D, and his offense should continue to improve, as he's several years from his mythical peak of 27.

[Flood Pants]

I don't get the "prototypical leadoff hitter" with no power but lots of speed.

 

To me, Weeks is the perfect leadoff hitter because his extra-base hits get him in scoring position even more often than his stolen bases do.

[nate82]

I don't get the "prototypical leadoff hitter" with no power but lots of speed.

 

To me, Weeks is the perfect leadoff hitter because his extra-base hits get him in scoring position even more often than his stolen bases do.

A real "prototypical lead off hitter" is someone who gets on base a lot. Someone who has an OBP of something around .360-.380 speed does help though. Dave Cameron over at fangraphs had an article up earlier in the year about the #2 hitter link.

 

If Gomez could increase his OBP and with his ability to steal bases Weeks would be a great #2 hitter but I would rather have Weeks bat 5th behind Fielder and have Gamel bat 2nd in the lineup.

 

If Gomez gets on and you have a power hitter in Gamel at the plate he will see more fastballs or at least the pitcher will have to decide who he is going to pitch to. Is he going to pitch to Gamel throw off speed or breaking balls to Gamel or is he going to pitch to the runner and use his fastball. Now the pitcher is not going to want to walk Gamel because Braun and Fielder will be batting behind him.

 

Gamel makes a lot of sense as the Brewers #2 hitter either it being Weeks at the top of the lineup or Gomez or Escobar up there. I believe the Brewers would have the best offense in MLB with Gamel batting 2nd if Weeks, Escobar, or Gomez can have a solid OBP year.

[PrinceFielderx1]

Doug Melvin is realizing that the Brewers are lacking speed. Not anymore though. The best line-ups have both power and speed. Not one or the other.

[Never Outhustled]

Doug Melvin is realizing that the Brewers are lacking speed. Not anymore though. The best line-ups have both power and speed. Not one or the other.

Care to show some proof of that? The teams that score the most runs are the teams with the highest OPS. Some of those teams don't steal at all. The Brewers were 3rd in the NL in Runs last season because they were 3rd in OPS. It didn't matter that they didn't steal and K'd alot. They weren't 1st or 2nd because those teams had a higher OPS. The team 2nd in Runs K'd even more than us.

[trwi7]

The Brewers weren't lacking speed before Gomez either. With Weeks and Escobar they had two potential 30 base stealers and Braun and Hart are potential 20 base stealers.

[sbrylski]

Doug Melvin is shifting towards valuing speed for defensive reasons, IMO, not offensive.

[PrinceFielderx1]

Doug Melvin is shifting towards valuing speed for defensive reasons, IMO, not offensive.

Good point. I listened to that Interview on the Big Show, and he even stated that.

[brewmann04]

he also said Macha on board with this very intresting.