Prospect Watch: Mat Gamel

Mat Gamel, the top third basemen in the Brewers farm system is absolutely raking right now. Currently playing for Double-A Huntsville, Gamel is hitting .367 with a .436 on base percentage in 98 at bats. The 22 year-old has also hit 3 home runs and driven in 18 runs.

It's great to see Gamel off to a hot start. He is probably the Brewers' third basemen of the future but still needs a lot of work on his defense. He already has 8 errors this season. Still, his bat is awfully impressive. With the way he's going he could see Triple-A this season.

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Bush Sent Down

Dave Bush has been optioned to Triple-A Nashville. The move opens up room for Mike Cameron who will be joining the team after serving a 25 game suspension.

Bush is off to a shaky start this season and is not getting it done. He currently has a 6.75 ERA. Going into last season many picked Bush as a breakout player but he regressed and hasn't shown signs of improvement this season. Lets hope he can get it together down in Nashville because right now it doesn't seem like his future in Milwaukee will last much longer.

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Gross Traded

Just after scoring the winning run in today's game against the Cardinals, Gabe Gross was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays. In exchange the Brewers get a minor league pitcher, Josh Butler.

I always liked Gross. He wasn't off to a great start this season but he has always played hard and shown good plate discipline. He provided some good pop with the bat off the bench and I always thought he'd do pretty well if he got a decent amount of playing time. Unfortunately for Gross that playing time wasn't available. The Brewers have just called up Tony Gwynn from Triple-A and Mike Cameron will be returning soon after serving his suspension.

Josh Butler, the pitcher the Brewers received in the trade will head to High-A Brevard County. Butler was the Rays 2nd round pick in the 2006 draft. Here are his stats.

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Thoughts on Mets Series

First off, Ben Sheets is the man. He is continuing to perform. He got the better of Johan Santana and retired 18 straight batters at one point on Saturday. Well done Ben Sheets.

Gabe Kapler is a pleasant surprise to say the least. I didn't expect much out of him coming into the season and didn't see him getting much playing time. Now it'll be tough to take him out of the lineup when Gwynn and Cameron return. He already has 4 homers and leads the team with 11 RBI's.

I'm glad Prince has been moved back to cleanup and Braun is batting third. Braun hasn't been walking at all and Prince just hasn't looked very good batting third. The lineup wasn't broke last year so it didn't need to be fixed.

Eric Gagne picked up the save in both wins this series. Nice to see Gagne do well after the slow start. I expect more of the same in the future.

Taking 2 out of 3 against the Mets on the road is definitely considered a success. The Mets are a tough team and to beat them 2 out of 3, including getting a win over Johan Santana is nice. Lets hope the crew keeps it going against the Cards this week, who are a surprising 9-4.

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Which Newcomer Will Have the Greatest Impact?

We've had a poll on here for a while asking the question, "Which newcomer will have the greatest impact?" The choices were Eric Gagne, Mike Cameron, David Riske, and Jason Kendall. The top choice, with 68% of the vote (11 votes) was Eric Gagne. Jason Kendall finished second with 25% (4 votes) while David Riske had 6% (1 vote) and Mike Cameron received no votes.

Before the season started I would have said Eric Gagne would have the greatest impact. Now I don't necessarily think that is the case. After the first week of the season Kendall is doing great and Gagne not so much. Still, it's very early but I think Kendall will have the greatest impact of the newcomers.

Going into tonight's game against the Reds, Kendall is batting .526 with a .565 on base percentage and 5 RBI's. Obviously he won't hit that well the entire season but his quick start is encouraging. His hitting is not the thing that gives him the edge over Gagne for making the greatest impact however. His ability behind the plate calling a game is where he is making the greatest impact. Last year Johnny Estrada was horrible in pretty much every aspect. Kendall is clicking with all the pitchers already, especially Ben Sheets. He is a veteran with experience and one of the best game callers in baseball. Most media outlets criticized the Kendall signing but it could end up being one of the most important signings of the off-season in all of baseball.

Gagne came over to Milwaukee signing a 1 year, $10 million dollar contract. After only 3 innings of work he's already blown 2 saves and has an ERA of 12.00. Many think Gagne has lost a step but I believe he will still turn in a solid season. Why do I think that? Two words, Jason Kendall. The closer is an important role but Kendall is playing nearly every day and will impact the way Gagne performs so he will have the greatest impact of all the newcomers this season.

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Prospect Watch: Matt LaPorta

Matt LaPorta, the Brewers' top prospect had a solid first week at Double-A Huntsville. The 23 year-old left fielder hit .273 with a .429 on base percentage, 1 home run and 4 RBI's in 11 at bats.

LaPorta is far and away the Brewers' top slugger in the minors right now. He probably will not see the big leagues until September but likely will move up to Triple-A later in the year.

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Sheets Proving his Worth

Ben Sheets is flat out dealing right now. Sheets pitched a complete game shutout today in the Brewers' 7-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants. The right-hander fanned 8 batters allowing only 5 hits and walking none.

When Sheets is healthy there is no denying that he is a legit ace. He hasn't allowed a run in either start so far and his curveball is looking as good as it ever has. If he remains healthy there's no doubt in my mind the Brewers will win the division. He has been pitching like a man on a mission in his first two starts.

In his post game interview on FSN, Sheets attributed his success to Jason Kendall. Many people questioned the Kendall signing and thought he was over the hill, but Kendall has been very impressive. He has good plate discipline but his ability behind the plate is what sticks out. He calls a great game and is really clicking with the pitchers. Kendall is a guy that won't get all the publicity or be on all the highlight reels but he's going to be one of the MVP's of this team when it's all said and done.

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Crew Takes Home Opener

The Brewers dominated the Giants in the home opener in front of a raucous crowd at Miller Park 13 to 4. Billy Hall led the Brewers hitting two home runs and driving in six runs. It's great to see Hall have a big game like this. Hopefully he can have a rebound year after a disappointing 2007 campaign.

Today's crowd of over 45,000 was the third highest attended game ever at Miller Park. The atmosphere was electric, as it always is on Opening Day. With the win the Brewers are now 3-1. They will look to keep it going Saturday against the Giants when Manny Parra takes the mound.

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Predictions

Since it's the beginning of the season it's time to make predictions.

MVP - Ryan Braun

Braun is coming off a great season last year and now that he'll have the entire season to show what he can do expect his numbers to be huge. Since he's batting cleanup Braun will probably get more RBI's than Fielder because Prince will get walked so much. Braun will make teams pay for walking Fielder.

Pitcher of the Year - Ben Sheets

Sheets is in a contract year and will be motivated to perform well. Not only that but I think Sheets wants to prove his critics wrong and turn in a great season. When healthy he's an ace for any team.

Rookie of the Year - Manny Parra

Parra earned a spot in the starting rotation and for the most part pitched very well in Spring Training. He gave us a nice glimpse of what to look forward to this season posting a 3.76 ERA last year in 26.1 innings with the Brewers.

Most Improved Player - Rickie Weeks

Weeks is finally healthy and this is the season he will put everything together. He showed very good power in the second half last season and has always drawn a lot of the walks. This year he'll hit for average, have a high on base percentage and will hit for some power.

Utility Man of the Year - Tony Gwynn

Gwynn will most likely see the most playing time of the role players. With Mike Cameron out the first 25 games Gwynn will get a chance to prove his worth. He's already a great defender and if he can put things together on offense he should prove to be very valuable.

Minor League Player of the Year - Matt Laporta

Laporta's bat is probably ready for the majors but like Ryan Braun last year he needs to work on his defense before he comes up to the show. Laporta probably won't see Milwaukee until September so he'll have the entire minor league season to put up big numbers. He should have a big season for Huntsville.

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