Jake Fox is a one bagger in the Chicago Cubs farm system.  Fox is currently leading the Minors with 14 homeruns, helped out by the two he slugged yesterday.  He is already sitting in AAA Iowa, so there is no where else for dude to go but Chicago.  The problem is that the Cubs already have a pretty good one bagger in the Majors already, some guy named Derek Lee.  It is a shame that Fox is handcuffed, because dude is straight up crushing the minors.  Through 28 games, he has a .402 AVG and a massive 1.425 OPS.  Yes, you read that correctly, his OPS is 1.425.  Why is it so high?  His 14 homers are certainly helping his .941 SLG%, and his 41 hits in 102 at-bats are helping out his .483 OBP.  He has nine doubles and two triples to add to his tally, with 24 strikeouts going against it.  Did I mention that he has 14 homers in 28 games yet?

If something were to happen to Lee, Fox would be the guy to get the call.  If said call were made, Fox would be a must add from the get go.  Do not be fooled by MiLB.com tagging him a left fielder, Fox is a one bagger all the way.  If he did play in the outfield, he would have a hard time supplanting either Alfonso Soriano or Milton Bradley in the corners, and he obviously does not have the speed to play center.  So keep your eyes on Lee, because in injury to him looks like the only chance Fox has at seeing time in the bigs this year.

Mat Gamel is in a funk of sorts, as over his last ten games he has hit a mere .294.  Throw in 11 strikeouts and you have yourself a full blown slump, right?  Not exactly.  Gamel has belted two homers, ripped four doubles and drawn seven walks over those same ten games.  Forget about all of that, however, because what excites me about Gamel right now is the fact that he has not made an error since April 23rd.

It is no secret that Gamel is not expected to ever even sniff a Gold Glove, and those struggles on defense are keeping him out of the Major Leagues.  So Mat has been putting in extra time with Nashville Sounds Manager Don Money, and his defense seems to be getting better.  Gamel’s two errors on the 23rd put him on top of the Pacific Coast League’s standings in a stat he wants no part of.  If Gamel can continue to show this kind of work ethic, and break out of this “slump”, he could be in Milwaukee sooner rather than later.

His numbers so far this season:

Another issue for Gamel is current Milwaukee Brewer three bagger Bill Hall.  While his numbers are not outstanding this season, he is getting on base with a .293 average and a .844 OPS.  Not great, but good enough when you have only made one error on the season.

The bad news/good news is that Hall seems to have injured his right hammie while making a diving catch in left field Monday night.  It does not look like he will miss an extended amount of time, but if he tweaks it again and has to hit the Prior List you can count on Mat Gamel getting the call.

In the case that Bill Hall is not bothered by it any more, there is another way to get Gamel up to the show.  Hall can play pretty much any position on the field, so there is always the chance that if any position players go down to injury we could see a double switch.  Hall to said players spot, and Gamel to third.  Right now it is just sit and wait time, but with Interleague play looming, Gamel could also be called up to serve as DH.  Stay tuned.

It’s been 16 days since we last discussed Mat Gamel’s progress.  Gamel quickly became one of our favorite prospects last season, and he is not disappointing in 2009.  Dude is raking for a .392 average, and a paltry 1.256 OPS.  Mat has knocked home 26 runs and crossed the plate 18 times himself.  Through 20 games and 74 at-bats, seven times he has taken a pitch and placed it in the outfield seats.  The only thing missing from Gamel’s offensive game is speed, as he has not attempted a stolen base all year.  That is fine, because no one is looking at Gamel as a base stealer, just has a complete beast at the plate.

The biggest knock on Gamel is his work with the glove.  He will not win any gold gloves, that is for sure, but it is not like Bill Hall is either.  Hall, the guy blocking Gamel from the Majors, is hitting well himself right now, with a .304 average.  Average is all he hits for these days, while Gamel brings more to the table each and every at-bat.  Do not look for Gamel to be brought up in the next couple of weeks, unless something happens to Hall.  Do expect Gamel to be brought up at some point, most likely near the end of June (just my hunch).

Yovani Gallardo struck out 11 Pirates on his way to a 1 – 0 win today.  Gallardo also provided all of the run production for the Brewers as he jacked a solo shot over the left field wall in the bottom of the seventh inning.  Gallardo wound up going eight innings, and only surrendering two hits and one walk to the Pirates.  Carlos Villanueva pitched the ninth for his second save of the season.

That’s right.  I got through the headline without some cheesy line about Blaine Boyer being dealt a new hand of Cards.  Stop it already.  That being said, the Braves did indeed move Boyer in exchange for Brian Barton, an outfielder in AAA.  How is he doing in AAA this year?  I’m sorry that you asked.  Dude is batting .107 through 28 at-bats.  There is room for hope, however, as Barton did log 82 games with the Cards last year, though he didn’t really light it up.  This move is just strange to me, especially since he will be tying up a spot on the 40-Man Roster.  Which could be the whole point.  Give Barton until June 1 to tear it up, and if he does not, then the decision on who to part ways with for Tommy Hanson will be easy.

This obviously has no impact whatsoever on anyone’s fantasy baseball team, regardless of whatever the settings your moronic commissioner decided to implement.  Carry on.

Several people were placed on the Prior List yesterday, so here is a quick rundown of a few and the fantasy impact for you:

Daisuke Matsuzaka.  The Red Sox put him on the 15 Day Prior List due to what is being labeled as “arm fatigue”.  This could mean a few spot starts for Clay Buchholz, the top pitching prospect in the Boston system, or it could mean it’s Justin Masterson time as well.  Do not be fooled by them calling up Hunter Jones, and proceed with caution until you know who will get the nod.  Depending on the matchup, either Buchholz or Masterson could be good plays.  It should be noted that Masterson is already in the Majors.

Last season we brought one Mat Gamel to our reader’s attention.  Well, Gamel is back, and he is back to killing the ball.  Six games into the season, Gamel is batting .500 with two bombs, eight runs scored and 10 RBI’s already.  He has worked his way to four walks and only has three K’s in his 22 at-bats.  This is a good sign as Gamel struggled after being promoted to AAA in 2008.  He’s still playing thirdbase, but he is no longer blocked by Russell Branyan who is now with the Mariners.  Gamel could be one Bill Hall injury away from making his debut.  As per usual, we will keep our eye on Gamel and let you know how he is doing.

In a move that is not a huge surprise given his performance in ST, Kevin Gregg was named the closer for the Cubs last night.  Everyone who drafted Carlos Marmol should calm down, even if Marmol does not become the closer (which I think he will, it is just a matter of when) he has value in on your team.  According to PECOTA rankings, he should get 75 Ks in his 60 innings of work this season, while posting a 3.40 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP.  While those numbers are not jaw dropping, they will serve as nice filler while you await Gregg’s removal from closing.