By Seth McClung Special to OnMilwaukee.com Published Sep 28, 2010 at 8:51 AM Photography: Allen Fredrickson

What can baseball expect from Prince Fielder between now and 2015?

  • .270 to .300 batting average
  • 30 to 50 home runs
  • 85 to 150 runs batted in

Book it. The next five years, book it. Just pencil it in, put him in the four hole and build around him.

But where to book it is the question. There is no doubt that Prince is one of the kings of slugging in the Major Leagues today. His value is undoubted and he is worth whatever you're willing to pay. He plays in more games than Mark Teixeira and is younger than the "Eight Years, $180 Million Man."

So why wouldn't he expect the same kind of payday? Let's go from the top and list some concerns teams may have.

His weight? This could be a concern for some teams but let's face it: his few extra pounds are just excuses for a team to try to knock down his value. He is not going to eat himself out of the league. (How do you do that anyway eating tofu burgers?) Weight in baseball is largely overrated. It's swinging a bat and playing first base. Not too much real concern here.

His attitude? Almost every major star has an attitude. It's just whether or not they show it. Prince has a very "me against the world" kind of demeanor toward life, and I do not blame him. Seeing how people act toward him in his professional life and some in his personal life -- you can only expect him to be that way. So, this is not a real issue.

His health? 162 games the last three years, with this season going for 161. This is a non-issue.

So what is the real concern? It comes down to money, no matter what you hear and who you hear it from -- it's all about dollars and cents. If you can afford Prince Fielder, you want him. If you find yourself not being able to afford him you trade him for as much pitching and young talent as you can get.

I am not saying the Brewers are cheap if they deal Prince. The Brewers could choose for pitching over power/money, and that's not necessarily wrong. Here are some teams who could show large interest in Fielder.

Baltimore: To compete in the east a big bat sure would help.

Boston: If they were able to trade for and sign Fielder they would put themselves back in the position where they could be in the playoffs year in and year out.

Los Angeles Angels: A team that could use a huge bat in an otherwise decent line-up.

Toronto: All of that young pitching that they have could entice the Brewers into making a deal.

San Francisco: Another team that has a surplus of pitching that the Brewers could be interested in.

New York Mets: They spend money and they need a heavy hitter, this would make sense.

Chicago Cubs: This would be a nightmare scenario for Brewers fans but the Cubs could use a lot of things and Prince would be easy to build around.

The Brewers: The Brew Crew could keep the big bopper and try to continue to lock up players long-term. It is not out of the question.

In the end what do I think it will take to land fielder? Five years and $105-115 million. In this day and age I feel he is worth it (and someone will pay it), It would be a great luxury to fill in the line up card with Hart, Braun and Fielder in the 2,3,4 spots, respectively ... and know you have them locked up for a while.

Seth McClung Special to OnMilwaukee.com

Seth McClung pitched for the Milwaukee Brewers from 2007-2009, but broke into the Major Leagues with Tampa Bay in 2003. The West Virginia native is now a pitcher in Taiwan.

McClung, a popular player during his time in Milwaukee, remains connected to Brewers fans through this blog on OnMilwaukee.com.

"Big Red" will cover baseball in a way only a player can, but he'll talk about other sports, too. The 6 foot, 6 inch flamethrower will write about life outside the game, too.