| Douglas Benton. 6th August, 2007 - 9:27 pm
 The baseball season gives fans every year surprisingly good teams and unexpected bad teams and in 2007, the Milwaukee Brewers are near the top of the surprisingly good teams list. With a 60-52 record and a one game lead over the Chicago Cubs through Sunday’s games, the Brewers find themselves in the thick of a playoff race, thanks in large part to their two young corner infielders.
The old adage is that a good baseball team is strong defensively up the middle and strong offensively on the corners. The Brewers appear ready to live by that for the next decade with first baseman Prince Fielder and third baseman Ryan Braun.
In Fielder, the Brewers have a 23 year old left-handed power hitter who is already a bona fide MVP candidate. On the season, he has hit 32 home runs, drove in 83 runners and is hitting a respectable .287 while slugging .596. He ranks first in home runs and slugging percentage and home runs and third in RBI amongst first basemen.
For being a true power hitter, Fielder has good command of the strike zone and it is his patience that allows him to have see many quality pitches. He does have a wild swing compared to other first baseman like St. Louis’ Albert Pujols and Philadelphia’s Ryan Howard, but his bat control allows him to at least limit his swings and misses.
Weight appears to be a career long issue with Fielder, who is currently listed at 262 pounds. However, he is an above average base runner and is surprisingly athletic for a man his size, leading to some nice plays over at first base.
Braun, also 23, has been lights out ever since his mid-season call-up and appears headed for the NL Rookie of the Year award. In 64 games this season, he is hitting .347 with 20 home runs and 53 RBI to go with 10 stolen bases.
Braun has an excellent line-drive swing for power and can work the ball to all parts of the ballpark. From the right-side of the plate, Braun can be a little too aggressive with his swings, leading to high strikeout and low walk totals in 2007. Still, he has the mechanics and approach to harness his aggressiveness as he matures.
His fielding has been subpar this season though, but it is natural to make errors in bunches when you first are called up. However, mechanically and athletically, he looks more than capable of being a serviceable defensive third baseman, but not gold glove caliber.
Will the Brewers hold onto the NL Central or will the Cubs overtake them soon? That is too close to call, but with Braun and Fielder manning the corners of the infield and the franchise, one thing is for certain.
This won’t be the last NL Central race that Braun, Fielder and the Brewers will be leading come August.
Think Braun and Fielder will be the top corner combos in three years? You have a better one? Email your thoughts to Douglas.Benton@realgm.com |
