Gamel's Playing Time- 250 ABs?

[Crash2303]

Again Gamel's smashing at AAA, and I think it would be horrible if they don't bring him up for Kotsay or Almonte come May or June. However, let's assume he makes it up to Milwaukee by May and hits well there. Barring injury and playing solely as a reserve, how many ABs do you think Roenicke could get him? 250 ABs does not seem out of the question, and this seems necessary to me to get him ready to possibly take over full-time next year. here's my breakdown:

Batting mainly against righty's:

3B- a little over once/week (30 games)

RF- about once/week (25 games)

1B- once/month (5 games)

LF- once/month (5 games)

If he averaged 4 AB per start, he'd get 260AB and this doesn't include PH ABs.

[logan82]

At this point I think the team is better off long term leaving Gamel in the minors to work at 1B most of the year. Bring him up as a DH for interleague.

[Warning Track Power]

At this point I think the team is better off long term leaving Gamel in the minors to work at 1B most of the year. Bring him up as a DH for interleague.

I 100% agree with this Gamel Plan.

 

 

[owbc]

Yep, he's too risky as a defensive liability. Let him light up AAA this year and give him the starting 1B job for Opening Day 2012.

[JohnBriggs12]

He hasn't had a full, healthy, productive season since 2008. He made some strides in AAA last year cutting down his K's and posting good if not eye popping numbers. Let him have a full year at Nashville, with maybe a brief call up to DH in AL parks, let him post a plus .900 OPS, then recall him in September, all while he learns to play 1B.

[The Truth]

At this point I think the team is better off long term leaving Gamel in the minors to work at 1B most of the year. Bring him up as a DH for interleague.

Generally speaking that is the best plan. He certainly needs all the work he can get at 1B. But at the same time it depends on how much Kotsay hurts the Brewers. If Kotsay is even just OK, then fine, but there have been times when it has appeared that Kotsay is done as a MLB player. If Kotsay is batting under .220 in late June or something horrific like that. you've got to make a move. Now whether Gamel is the right move I don't know, in terms of being mostly a pinch-hitter

 

And it also depends on other injuries too... but yeah generally I would keep Gamel in AAA bring him up for interleague games, we're gonna need all the hitting we can get vs the Yankees Twins and Red Sox

 

 

[PrinceEatMeat]

Yeah, I'm with everyone else on this one. I think Gamel should be in AAA all year to work on playing 1B. I don't think that will hurt him one bit. We can bring him up for the 2 week stretch of interleague play to DH, and then in September. He should get some key AB's for us as a DH, and as a pinch-hitter in September. I think that will be enough for him. The important thing is to keep in AAA to get a full season in at 1B. Then we can give him the job at 1B for 2012.

[Ennder]

I think he comes up to play a mix of 1B and DH to give Fielder some days off from the field and then gets a late season call up to help out for the playoff run. So I'd guess more like 100-150 PA tops.

[monty57]

In addition to needing to work on 1B defense, keeping him in AAA for most of the year allows us to have him for five seasons as a starter. We've already wasted one of his pre-arby years for little return, so I don't want to waste another one for some pinch hit ABs. Once Hart's back, Kotsay will not get much PT. The difference between a good player and a bad player over this limited PT will be negligible. In other words, I doubt having Gamel get the PHs instead of Kotsay will make a meaningful difference for this year's team. At least the difference won't be worth losing him a year earlier to FA.

 

Gamel was a top prospect. He's had a few injuries, but when healthy has shown that he should be a good hitter. I want him to be a Brewers starter from 2012-2016. I don't like that we signed Kotsay and gave him a job over seemingly better players, but with Morgan, Counsell and Kottaras as other LH options on the bench, I don't think Kotsay will do much to hurt us going forward. Of course, future injuries can change things, but for now I want Gamel in AAA.

[Roscoe Chill]

Dude is going to be 26 in about 100 days...has been mentioned for years as some top flight prospect...is mentioned as the heir apparent at 1B when Prince leaves. Yet, nobody wants to strengthen the bench over guys like Kotsay, Almonte, three catchers etc. for some reason....a season where the playoffs are realistically talked about. Erick Almonte and Mark Kotsay people! How about some Major League experience for a guy that is supposedly going to be a major cog in the Brewers' lineup 2012 and beyond, and improve the 2011 team at the same time. Seems simple.

[TwinsBrewersWorldSeries]

Can he play shortstop? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[Raw Biz]

Dude is going to be 26 in about 100 days...has been mentioned for years as some top flight prospect...is mentioned as the heir apparent at 1B when Prince leaves. Yet, nobody wants to strengthen the bench over guys like Kotsay, Almonte, three catchers etc. for some reason....a season where the playoffs are realistically talked about. Erick Almonte and Mark Kotsay people! How about some Major League experience for a guy that is supposedly going to be a major cog in the Brewers' lineup 2012 and beyond, and improve the 2011 team at the same time. Seems simple.

It's not so simple because the plan is for him to play 1B next year when Prince leaves. 1B might not be as difficult to learn as SS but there is still some learning that goes with it. If he is on the major league roster, when will he get experience playing first? At this point in the season, I'd rather have him learning first in the minors this year than learning on the job in the majors next year. Now if our bench continues to be a big problem come July or August and no other moves are made, then I may consider bringing him up. At this point, I just don't think bringing him up to be a pinch hitter is worth him not learning to play 1B in the minors.

[derflotr]

let's assume he makes it up to Milwaukee by May and hits well there

But there really isn't any reason to assume this.

[dadofandrew]

Hart and McGehee are not going to only start 135 games (well, Corey might, but not pro-rated), if healthy. Prince has barely missed 5 games in 5+ years. Barring injury, those numbers are inaccurate. If injury occurs, he's a plane ride away.

[BrewCrewForever]

At this point I think the team is better off long term leaving Gamel in the minors to work at 1B most of the year. Bring him up as a DH for interleague.

Yes. Get him as much work as possible at 1B so he can be comfortable being the starting 1B in the big leagues in 2012. Also he is much better off getting 4 AB's every night in AAA than playing here and there in Milwaukee. I do remember hearing Melvin say he would be brought up for inter-league for sure to DH. I like that move. Nice to get another left handed bat with pop in the lineup when we head to New York, Boston and Minnesota.

[Roscoe Chill]

I think you guys are overestimating the difficulty of playing the 1B position when you're a Major League baseball player. He's also played some games in the OF. I understand that Fielder, McGhee, Hart, and Braun are not going to get many days off. But Hart hasn't played yet. Gamel could have received regular playing time up to this point.

 

I guess if you're of the thinking that Gamel in RF, or Gamel at 1B is going to be some really difficult transition, you guys are probably right. But I don't buy that. It's just baseball. You can look around baseball and find guys that would seem far less qualified playing OF than Gamel...doing exactly that.

[JohnBriggs12]

Can he play shortstop? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

Does every thread have to include shot at Betancourt? In case you are unaware, Brewers have committed 4 errors (3 by Weeks) all season, the lowest total in the NL with Betancourt as the SS.

[monkeyman343434]

Can he play shortstop? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

Does every thread have to include shot at Betancourt? In case you are unaware, Brewers have committed 4 errors (3 by Weeks) all season, the lowest total in the NL with Betancourt as the SS.

It's easy to not commit an error when you never get to a ball that's hit anywhere close to you.

 

 

[Crash2303]

It is important that Gamel gets more experience at 1B, but it is also important that he gets more experience against Major League pitching. The latter, I see, is far more valuable and difficult to adjust to than learning 1B for someone who has already been trained as a 3B. As has been mentioned by many before, his fielding was never thought to be his defenisve issues- it was more the inconsistent arm. So, would he really need a full season to learn how to receive throws from the infield?

[monty57]

Ndog, my big problem with bringing Gamel up is that the difference between him getting 3 or 4 PAs per week vs. Kotsay or Morgan getting 3 or 4 PAs per week is not going to be that big. With that limited amount of PAs, any of the players could get hot or cold, so it's entirely possible that Kotsay/Morgan would outperform Gamel as a LH pinch hitter. Why waste an entire year of Gamel as a starter for a minimal difference this season? If he pinch hits for us this year, he will be a FA in four seasons. If he sits in AAA most of the season, we get him for his age 31 season, when he should still be very productive.

 

Throw in that he's not a naturally great defender, so his learning curve at a new position is probably steeper than that for a naturally good defender, and I think it would be a crime to bring him up to be one of three LH bats off the bench. It wouldn't make much difference this season (may be a slight positive or may be a slight negative value vs. what we have), it would hurt us next year, as he would learn 1B on the fly at the MLB level, and it would mean losing him a season early.

 

If we are going to replace Kotsay, I'd prefer adding Boggs back to the 40 man and bringing him up. The only reason I want Gamel up is if he's going to get regular playing time. He'll be up as a DH when needed, and would probably be called up if Fielder or McGehee were to get injured.

[TooLiveBrew]

I think you guys are overestimating the difficulty of playing the 1B position when you're a Major League baseball player.

 

Even though Gamel has stated he's felt uncomfortable/challenged by 1B, you'd have to think that Gamel learning on the job would at worst be = Fielder's defense. I like monty's angle on the service time, ultimately. Aside from Kotsay or Boggs, if Melvin wants to add some LH thunder to the bench, guys like Branyan should be out there on the trade market.

[PrinceEatMeat]

I think Gamel with be good for us at 1B next year. To make sure that happens, I would definitely keep him playing there all year in AAA. It's a given to call him up to DH, and in September, but he really needs the playing time in the field and the regular AB's in AAA. Like people have said, we have other options if the bench continues to struggle.

[TexasAggieBrewer]

Like everyone, I agree, 1B AAA best route.

BUT, I am really disappointed that circumstances have prevented us from utilizing the bat of of Gamel earlier. I know we will have him in his prime for a good 5 years, but I wish he was an everyday bat for us earlier on. He's too talented of a kid to have been in the minors for half a decade.

[PrinceEatMeat]

It really was just dumb luck that kept him out of the majors. He'd be our starting 3B right now most likely, if he hadn't gotten hurt, and McGehee hadn't broken out. He also might be our RF right now if Hart didn't go off last year. Stuff happens I guess. I think he'll be a good 1B for us, and it is probably better that way because he sucked at 3B. We are better off this way, and it is better for the team, so I'm not worried about it.

[PlayerHader]

I really like that we have Gamel to fall back on at 1B next year. He won't fill Prince's shoes offensively, but he has the potential to be a major upgrade on defense.

 

Keep him in AAA playing first base every day. Bring him up to DH when needed.