Gamel broke out in 2011, hitting .310 with 28 home
runs and 96 runs batted in. With the
departure of Prince Fielder, Gamel had an excellent chance to show his stuff at
the major league level.
Unfortunately for Gamel, he started slowly. Over 75 plate appearances, he hit .246 with
only one home run and a .293 on-base percentage. Yesterday, however, he hit the wall. Literally. When Gamel’s right knee hit that wall, his
season came to an end and the Brewers suddenly confronted a lack of depth at
the position. (As an aside, I am pretty
familiar with ACL injuries – this was an odd mechanism for an ACL injury, and
the fact Gamel stayed in the game for the remainder of the game is a testament
to his pain tolerance).
The Brewers are 11-13 and floundering in the
National League Central. Where do they
look for help?
Travis Ishikawa is probably the short term
solution. Ishikawa strikes me as a AAAA
player with limited upside and limited power production. The best we can expect from him is likely the
9 home run, 39 runs batted in season with the Giants in 2009. His horrific K/BB rate, however, will likely
keep him from achieving even this limited standard of success. For what it is worth, Ishikawa started today.
Brooks Conrad is a utility man by any other
name. I like him better than Ishikawa,
however, and I think he could get a long look with the Brewers now. Keep in mind Conrad posted years of 24, 22
and 28 home runs back in the late 2000s in the minor leagues, and hit 8 home
runs in 177 plate appearances with the Braves in 2010. He is currently sporting a .390 average in
AAA.
Corey Hart is a potential option to play first
base. With Carlos Gomez, Nyjer Morgan
and Norichika Aoki in the outfield, the Brewers could move Hart to first base
and look for help in the outfield.
Of course, it is also likely the Brewers look
outside the organization for a platoon partner at the very least.
For purposes of your free agent bids, Tom
Haudricourt believes Conrad and Ishikawa will platoon at first base, and I find
it hard to argue with him. It makes
sense in the long term, and both players are worth bids in NL-only formats.
2 comments:
With this changed situation and more possible PT in the outfield, who do you like better for the rest of the season, Morgan or Aoki?
Any ideas for a replacement for Mat Gamel in an NL only league? Conor Gillaspie would be the best add now with Pablo Sandoval out for a stretch, but who do you like among part-timers? I think I'm down to Yamaico Navarro, Joe Mather, Jonathan Herrera, or Jason Giambi. It's an ugly choice, but it's all I've got in a deep league.
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