Casey

McGehee

Hairston has been dealing with the ailment for the past few weeks. “Feels better,” Hairston said. “I’m just preparing myself to play. That’s all I can do.” Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said he’s informed both Hairston and Casey McGehee who would start at third base in Game 1 of the NLDS, but he wouldn’t divulge it to the media. It would be a surprise if McGahee doesn’t get the nod despite a woeful .223/.280/.346 batting line this season.

It’s a bit of a surprise. Hairston has seen a good amount of playing time at the hot corner down the stretch in place of McGehee, who batted .132/.203/.294 in September, but the Brewers have stood by the struggling McGehee pretty much all year. Ultimately, though, McGehee can’t be stunned that he and his .223/.280/.346 batting line for the season are on the bench. He’s expected to get the start in Game 2 against Daniel Hudson, who he is 5-for-5 against in his career. It appears this will be a “hot hand” situation.

Brewers manager Ron Roenicke has stuck with Hairston over Casey McGehee during the playoffs, and the 35-year-old Hairston has not disappointed, batting 8-for-20 (.400) through six games. The trend could continue on Monday, as the veteran is 4-for-5 this season -- and 6-for-11 lifetime -- against Game 2 starter Edwin Jackson.

“I think he can still be a good player,” said Melvin. McGehee, who is arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter, stumbled to a .223/.280/.346 batting line this season and was benched in the playoffs in favor of Jerry Hairston. He hit .285/.337/.464 with 23 homers and 104 RBI in 2010, though, and Melvin evidently thinks McGehee could recapture at least some of that lost production. The Brewers are not expected to make a run at Aramis Ramirez, but they seem likely to at least bring someone in to compete with McGehee or perhaps let him battle it out with Taylor Green.

This is a promising development for fantasy owners. Walker has just 24 homers over 286 major league games, so he isn’t your prototypical power hitter, but he did drive in 37 runs in 66 games out of the cleanup spot last year. It’s possible the Pirates could bat Casey McGehee out of the fourth spot against left-handed starters.

With a .292 average and seven RBI in 48 at-bats, McGehee isn’t quite tearing it up this spring, but he is certainly outproducing Pedro Alvarez. He’ll certainly start against lefties once the season begins. Whether he’ll get playing time against righties at the expense of Alvarez or first baseman Garrett Jones remains to be seen.

McGehee is batting just .246/.316/.333, continuing the prolonged slump that began in his final year with the Brewers. He also has zero home runs in 76 plate appearances this season, and carries no fantasy value.

Pedro Alvarez has been terrible, so McGehee might open the season at third base for the Pirates. He certainly seems like the lesser of two evils, so he could be pretty useful in NL-only leagues early on.

Tabata is off to a pretty rough start this season, batting just .200 (11-for-55) with two walks and 10 strikeouts, so Pirates’ manager Clint Hurdle is trying something a little different Friday. Garrett Jones will make the start in right field while Casey McGehee plays first base and Clint Barmes bats No. 2.

The current plan is for McGehee to be a pretty expensive backup for the Pirates, but he might wind up as a regular at third or first if he hits. He was 1-for-8 this spring entering the day.