Ben Gamel's Got a Brand New Swing

The 2020 baseball season has been filled with change. While some have been uncomfortable but necessary, some have been an offering of hope for future seasons to come. Like Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ben Gamel, who has recently changed his batting stance and has shown the production to prove it.

Ben Gamel has been a hopeful bright spot for the Milwaukee Brewers. He’s been catching eyes within the Milwaukee clubhouse since last season, when suddenly every moment that Gamel was at the plate felt like must watch TV. Night after night last season, Gamel delivered inkey, game changing spots—a few of themeven leading tosensational walk-offs. You know, the baseball moments fans live for.

But clutch darlings like Gamel often don’t show a ton of resiliance at the plate to warrant a serious “Is this guy the real deal?” reaction. For whatever reason, some players just come in hot and then fade out, sometimes simply serving as clutch hitters off the bench that are a managers proverbial rubbing of the lucky rabbits foot. You don’t know why it works, but heck, it has been, so send that kid up there.

That was the hesitation that many baseball fans, not just Brewers fans, felt when they tried to gauge whether Gamel was going to simply be a flash in the pan for Milwaukee or if he had the staying power to become the newest Brewers threat at the plate.

With two seasons of 134 games under his belt and batting lines that showed consistent hitting and good on-base percentages (.275/.322/.413 and .272/.358/.413 in 2017 and ‘18, respectively), Gamel looks like he’s ready to be regularly slotted into the batting order — at least on paper. On the field, the translation still needed some tinkering. While I’m not focusing on Gamel’s defense here, that’s a story for another day, it’s worth noting that his arm is his biggest weakness and isn’t likely to bring him home any hardware for time spent in the outfield.

This simply means that Gamel has to show really good production at the plate to merit himself a permanent lineup spot in Milwaukee going forward. With the absence of Lorenzo Cain for the rest of the season, a starting outfield role has Gamel’s name all over it. Centerfield will pose a challenge for Gamel, and it’s hard for anyone to fill the shoes of Cain at the position, but with the Brewers options being Gamel or Avisail Garcia to cover the outfield this season alongside Christian Yelich, it’s safe to say that Gamel will get some reps in this short season to perhaps improve upon his defensive skills around the outfield.

This is all shaping up well for Gamel, who could likely use to be slotted into an everyday role for routine and confidence purposes. It will give him the reps he needs both in the field and at the plate, and …a chance to show off that brand new batting stance he’s adopted over the offseason.

Gamel was always a solid player, and a great bench addition for the Brewers. But since Gamel has retooled his swing, he’s unlocked a new level of production at the plate — he’s now Ben Gamel 2.0, if you will.

First let’s take a look at the difference in his stance from 2019 to 2020, which is notable even by the most casual of baseball fans (I checked):

Gamel has changed a few things about his plate approach. He’s standing more upright at the plate, placing his back leg differently and has dropped his bat positioning, leading to his hands being farther away from his body.

This has given Gamel the ability to make more solid contact on the pitches he hits. Gamel is barrelling up the ball at a higher rate than he was in 2019 — though it is a small sample size (and will continue to be in 2020). Gamel has barreled up three of the 72 pitches he’s seen this season as compared to the eight he barrelled up over 1,512 pitches seen in 2019. (For more on barrels, please refer here.) This has also improved Gamel’s exit velocity and launch angle, which might be the missing link to tapping into the power that Gamel has often lacked in the past. Gamel’s exit velocity is up to a career high of nearly 92mph. During his previous three seasons in the majors (100+ games) his EV was never above 88.7. Gamel has also improved his launch angle from 10.1 to 17.4. Again, small sample sizes, but telling none the less.

Take a look at the progression in his swing from 2019 to 2020:

Notice how his swing feels less “behind the ball” here, despite this pitch being registered as 9mph faster than the Cishek pitch above:

By removing the back leg kick, Gamel has simplified his swing and stopped doing “too much” at the plate. He’s able to put more of his body into the swing, which felt like a move that had been staggered in the past by his back leg positioning. This in turn, has improved Gamel’s timing and ability to barrel up the ball resulting in a better launch angle and higher exit velocity. Oh, and better, more quality contact as a result.

Ben Gamel may not have been a household name outside of the NL Central last season, but with the production that Gamel’s retooling has yielded and the absence of Lorenzo Cain, it doesn’t seem like it will be very long until Gamel is viewed as an important piece on future Brewers teams. Gamel is arbitration eligible this offseason, and won’t reach free agency until 2023. If he can continue to tinker with what works and doesn’t for him at the plate and improve upon his defensive skill set — a payday for a very unique player could be in order.