Milwaukee Brewers Season Preview

On June 28th, 2014 after the Brewers defeated the Colorado Rockies 74, they stood atop the NL Central with a record of 51-32. It all went downhill from there. The Brewers collapsed in the second half of the season with a 31-48 record that left them just two games above .500 and sitting at home for the playoffs yet again. The Warning signs were there that this team and it's roster were barely held together by tape and with no real change the following offseason, the results last season were predictable. The Brewers began the 2015 campaign by going 4-17 out of the gate and never recovered, limping their way towards a 68-94 record. That performance, combined with the atrocious farm system led to the firing of GM Doug Melvin before season's end.
Baseball season is back and that means another summer of tailgating, listening to Bob Uecker on the radio, and Brewers baseball. So what can we expect from the team this year?


Projected lineup:
SS Jonathan Villar
C Jonathan Lucroy
LF Ryan Braun
1B Chris Carter
3B Aaron Hill
RF Domingo Santana
2B Scooter Gennett
CF Keon Broxton

Starting Rotation:
RHP Wily Peralta
RHP Jimmy Nelson
RHP Taylor Jungmann
RHP Chase Anderson
RHP Matt Garza


If you don't recognize a lot of the above names, don't worry, there has been a ton of turnover from last years team. New GM David Stearns was busy in the offseason trading away players like Adam Lind, Khris Davis, Francisco Rodriguez, Jean Segura and others after the team had already traded away Aramis Ramirez, Carlos Gomez, Mike Fiers, and Gerrardo Parra during the season. It was clear the Brewers needed to rebuild their roster and acquire young talent to restock the farm system in order to compete in the future.
The Brewers actually had one of the best offseasons in all of baseball, not by improving the team on the field, but by replenishing the farm system with talent. One year ago, the Brewers farm system was one of the five worst in all of baseball, now it's one of the top 10 and some might even say top 5. This was all without trading arguably their best chip in Jonathan Lucroy. Lucroy had a down year in 2015 and struggled with some injuries but because he is only owed about 10 million for this season and the next, a genuine steal if he can perform like he has in the past. It's almost a 100% certainty Lucroy will be traded at some point this season, maybe even before then. Until he is, the Brewers need to hope he remains healthy and performing at a high level to increase his trade value.

If you were hoping for the Brewers to surprise some people this year, you'll probably be disappointed. The Brewers infield has to be one of the worst in the majors. Aaron Hill,who was acquired in the Jean Segura trade from the Dbacks is on the wrong side of 30 and posted a .230/.295/.345/.640 (batting average/on base %/slugging %/ on base + slugging) slash line. That's not very good. Jonathan Villar is one of the players acquired from Houston in the Carlos Gomez trade. He's 25 and has limited playing time in the big leagues. He has posted a career .236 average in 638 plate appearances (about a full season's worth) and strikes out a ton. Scooter Gennett can hit right handed pitching but struggles vs left handed pitching and isn't the best defender in the world. Chris Carter has a powerful bat but not much else. He hit 37 home runs in 2014 with the Astros but is a career .217 hitter and strikes out more that Leonardo DiCaprio at the Oscars.

In the outfield, the Brewers of course have Ryan Braun, who had a bounceback year last year, but still hasn't returned to his MVP level, and I'm not convinced he ever will. He has dealt with a ton of nagging injuries throughout his career, and of course was suspended for PED use in 2013. Braun will move back to left field this season, which should suit his defensive abilities a little better. Domingo Santana was acquired through the Carlos Gomez trade and played 38 games for the Brewers last year. He showed promise which for a guy getting his first real chance in the majors (he had only played in 20 games the previous two seasons with Houston) that's about all you can ask for. Keon Broxton was acquired from the Pirates in exchange for Jason Rogers. Broxton only had 2 AB's with the Pirates but does have some speed and has shown an ability to take walks in spring training. I would expect an average around .250 or so with an OBP above .300, nothing special but solid.

Four of Milwaukee's starters return from last year, Peralta, Nelson, Jungmann, and Garza. Garza had a horrible 2015 and will look to rebound this season. Best case scenario is that Garza performs well enough to become a trade asset, though it's unlikely given he has 25 million remaining on his contract through the next two years.Young starters Peralta (26), Nelson (26), and Jungmann (26) will form the core of the Brewers rotation this year. Peralta struggled last season dealing with a strained left oblique, but was inconsistent even before the injury. The Brewers need him to get back to the form he showed in 2014 when he won 17 games and posted an ERA of 3.53. All three starters figure to be a part of the Brewers long-term plans, so while the team might struggle, let's hope they don't. Chase Anderson is the newcomer to the rotation. Anderson was the other acquisition from Arizona along with Aaron Hill the the Jean Segura trade. He posted solid lines last year but nothing too impressive with a 4.30 ERA in 27 starts, though it was only his second year in the big leagues.

The Bullpen might be in disarray especially after Will Smith tore his LCL trying to take off a shoe (CLASSIC Brewers). Smith was really the only left handed option in the pen would have probably assumed the closing role along with flamethrowing Jeremy Jeffres. Now? I worry about our bullpen's ability to get left handed hitters out in late game situations. However if Smith stayed healthy, he likely will have been on his way out of town in a trade, so while this hurts the team on the field, it hurts even more because he has lost his trade value.

Overall, This will season be a struggle, but the season wont be defined by the Brewers performance in terms of wins and losses, rather by the performance of the young prospects both in the majors currently and those in the farm system. It'll be interesting to see if players like SS Orlando Arcia, SS Yadiel Rivera, OF Brett Phillips, OF Trent Clark, and others make it to the big leagues this season. I fully expect the Brewers to battle the Rebs for last place in the NL Central and am expecting something in the neighborhood of 60-65 wins for this club.