While Ryan Braun attained instant fan approval and franchise after signing one of the best contracts in the history of baseball for a player of his service time, Prince Fielder fell into disfavor due to ill-perceived comments about his contract situation and a surprisingly persistent criticism of his off-season diet changes. The status of Prince's season was instantly judged a failure as soon as he stumbled out of the gates, posting a .250/.368/.446 line going into May, and a .274/.362/.448 line entering June.

There was never any doubt in 2008 that the big man was an OBP force for a team that needed OBP, and Prince maintained a relatively solid level of patience at the plate even through his roughest stretches of the early season slump. But, the fans clamored, we don't pay the big man to hit singles and draw walks. Given the gaudy RBI numbers of his middle-order mate Braun, Prince's value with a surprising number of fans seemed to falter.

And then came June. Entering the month with 8 HR, Prince matched the number in June alone, exiting the month was a SLG climbing ever closer to .500, and a steady OBP. July was even kinder to the gentle giant, who added another 6 HR to his total and kept his overall production level at a very solid .278/.373/.503.

After 3 HR in the month of August, Prince is suddenly up to 25 HR, a total that is third only to Ryan Howard and Adrian Gonzalez, for NL 1B. In the OBP department, only Albert Pujols, Lance Berkman, and Connor Jackson make outs less frequently (Mark Texiera was also just ahead of Prince, but was recently traded to the Angels). As for SLG? The big man has that mark up over .520, and his SLG of .522 is second to only Pujols and Berkman.

Moreover, the left-handed slugger has adjusted well to his HR surge in 2007, a surge that might have been improbable to maintain in consecutive seasons.

HR/H:

2006: .182

2007: .303

2008: .223

What might be more worrisome than his HR total through 2008 is his 2B total, which dropped considerably from 2007 (from 21% to 16% of H), accounting for a lower XBH%:

XBH%

2006: .416

2007: .527

2008: .402

Yet, Prince is maintaining good discipline at the plate, which is a crucial skill to have when the power is not coming...

BB%

2006: 9.1%

2007: 13.2%

2008: 11.8%

K%

2006: 19.3%

2007: 17.8%

2008: 18.8%

And at the end of the day, he's even maintaining a consistent rate of hitting:

H%

2006: .238

2007: .242

2008: .237

Overall, the power hitter is producing a silent, solid season. He does not stand at the elite level of Albert Pujols and Lance Berkman, but his overall level of production (OBP and SLG) is actually better than his contract-target, Ryan Howard (.239/.328/.502).

I think that this level of production from Prince cannot merely be dismissed; by tossing out any value for the slugger early in the season, the consensus has been that Prince is an easily expendable trading piece. While it is certainly true that he produces at a position that more readily replaces production than at other positions on the diamond, this does not equate Prince's production in the Brewers' line up as expendable.

Prince is the Crew's best OBP bat, one of the best SLG on our team, and probably the most well-rounded hitter at the plate. The fact that he produces quietly in the midst of a storm of controversy amongst the fans, the fact that he produces for a contract in the shadow of a smart extension-move for one of the franchise's top players, seems to relegate Prince to the level of a replaceable player in some circles. Unfortunately some mistake business interests for character flaws, and contract complaints for a lack of loyalty -- but while almost nobody was looking, Prince Fielder put together a season.

Hopefully Brewers fans once again realize that this guy is around, and is one of the best young prospects in the game, a disciplined young hitter. After all, he'll probably be around for a while, through his arbitration years, and even if he leaves after that, no one should be angry with the man -- he's a business man, sure, but he's also one hell of a valuable hitter, and with those arbitration years ahead of him, he'll never come at a better price.

Keep it up, Prince!