Mat Gamel - Fantasy News & Updates
Mat Gamel - Fantasy News & Updates
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Tough break for Weeks, who finally seemed poised for his coming-out year until the injury. He needed surgery to repair a sheath that surrounds a tendon in the joint, the same injury he suffered in the other wrist three years earlier. For a player who relies on his tremendously quick hands, it's a concern. That said, the Brewers appear committed to the heavy-hitting second baseman. If Weeks suffers any setbacks, the Brewers have the option to move Casey McGehee across the diamond to second and slot Mat Gamel in as the third baseman.
This hasn't been Gamel's year, as the rookie is fielding just a .236 batting average and a .415 slugging percentage. Still, he's been one of the more notable prospects in Milwaukee's farm system the last couple years, so the Brewers should be able to find a regular spot for him next year. He's an interesting keeper option for 2010.
Hart, who missed nearly seven weeks after undergoing an appendectomy, is expected to return to the Brewers lineup on Wednesday afternoon. Hart went 5-for-10 in his four-game rehabilitation stint with the Sounds, collecting all five of the hits in his final two games. He finished a triple shy of the cycle on Sept. 6, then collected two more hits and scored a pair of runs in Monday's 8-3 win.
According to SI.com, Milwaukee could put together a large package that includes 26-year-old lefty starter Manny Parra. "We're going to be aggressive," one Brewers person reportedly told SI.com, without mentioning any names. The question, however, is whether or not Milwaukee would be willing to ship out a couple of their top prospects -- namely, shortstop Alcides Escobar and third baseman Mat Gamel.
With newly acquired Felipe Lopez taking over at second base, Craig Counsell and Casey McGehee will share time at third. The Brewers would rather have Gamel, who hit .239 with four home runs and 16 RBIs in 113 at-bats, playing every day in Triple-A than riding the bench in the big leagues
Hall has started just one game in July as he's been largely eclipsed in the Brewers infield by youngsters Mat Gamel and the hot-hitting Casey McGehee. It would take an injury or a Minor League demotion in order for Hall to reassert himself in any format.
Though doctors have cleared McGehee, who has been battling patellar tendonitis since June 15, manager Ken Macha decided to limit the rookie to pinch-hitting duty for the weekend series. "From my observation, Casey is having a hard time moving around," Macha said. McGehee is hitting .329 with six home runs and 27 RBIs in 143 at-bats. Gamel went 2-for-3 with a home run on Friday and is now hitting .257 with four home runs and 16 RBIs.
Gamel has been shifted all over the lineup in his starts, but the Brewers might be onto something by having Gamel hit fifth, as he did Friday. He'll receive plenty of good looks at pitches hitting behind Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder, and his own prodigious power could help form a 3-4-5 trio that would leave pitchers feeling helpless. His value will be lifted immensely if he sticks to the No. 5 role.
Brewers manager Ken Macha believed McGehee, who went 0-for-1 in a pinch-hit appearance, would be back in the lineup on Thursday at third base, with Mat Gamel heading back to the bench.
Gamel, who went 20 games since his last round-tripper, has struggled when called upon lately, going 4-for-18 since June 21. He has worked seven walks in that stretch and 15 overall, but with a .247 average, little pop and sporadic playing time, the young third baseman should be on the waiver wire in all formats.
With those two pieces off the table, it will be extremely difficult for the Brewers to cobble together a package to land an impact pitcher.
The salami marked McGehee's fifth homer and lifted his average to .336, as the rookie infielder continues to make a name for himself in Milwaukee. Don't expect this scorching-hot pace to last, but keep riding McGehee until he cools off for good. He qualifies at both second and third base, cutting into the playing time of Bill Hall, Mat Gamel and Craig Counsell.
Gamel now has back to back multi-hit games, and has hit in four of his last five. He owns a .350 average (7-for-20) over that five-game stretch, and appears to be catching up to Big League pitching. As he does so, Gamel will likely begin to assume more and more responsibility in the Brewers' third-base platoon, with the still-struggling Bill Hall seeing less and less time. This is good news for Gamel owners, and probably for Brewers fans.
Gamel has yet to seize hold of Milwaukee's third-base job, but Monday at least marks a step in the right directiong. With a strong Minor League resume and a powerful left-handed bat, Gamel remains the frontrunner at the hot corner, ahead of Bill Hall and Casey McGehee.
Hall got the start at third against lefty Clayton Richard on Friday, but the veteran infielder might have some trouble working himself into the everyday lineup against right-handers going forward, as Brewers skipper Ken Macha recently announced that uber-prospect Mat Gamel would begin to receive more at-bats vs. righties. A further reduction in playing time would prove a damaging blow to Hall's already dim fantasy prospects.
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