MLB Season Preview: Milwaukee Brewers

Milwaukee Brewers

Last Season's Standings: The Milwaukee Brewers went 75-87, including 6-4 in their last ten games. This recored was good for 4th in the NL Central

In: RP Francisco Cordero; SS Craig Counsell (prev. team: Arizona Diamondbacks); SP R.A. Dickey (prev. team: Texas Rangers); 2B Tony Graffanino; C Damien Miller; C Johnny Estrada (via trade w/ the Arizona Diamondbacks); RP Chris Spurling; SP Jeff Suppan (prev. team: St. Louis Cardinals); RP Claudio Vargas (via trade w/ Arizona Diamondbacks); RP Greg Aquino (via trade w/ Arizona Diamondbacks); C Kevin Mench; SP Chris Capuano

Out: 3B Jeff Cirillo (new team: Minnesota Twins); SP Geremi Gonzalez (new team: Toronto Blue Jays); RP Justin Lehr (new team: Seattle Mariners); C Chad Moeller (new team: Cincinatti Reds); SP Tomo Ohka (new team: Toronto Blue Jays); RP Allan Simpson (new team: Pittsburgh Pirates); SP Doug Davis (via trade w/ Arizona Diamondbacks); SP Dana Eveland (via trade w/ Arizona Diamondbacks); CF David Kynzel (via trade w/ Arizona Diamondbacks)

Starting Pitching: The Milwaukee Brewers have completely revamped their starting pitching rotation beginning with the current pencilled in staff ace Chris Capuano, who just received big bucks to avoid arbitration. He is entering just his third full season in the bigs and will need to improve upon his 11-12 record with a 4.83 ERA last season in 34 starts, not exactly ace material. Also, aces generally get batters from both sides of the plate with relative ease (he struggles against righties). He may get the ball opening day, but time will tell how often he takes the hill. . . Following him in the rotation will be veteran Ben Sheets. He missed a mjor part of last season to a serious shoulderi injury and will be looking to prove that those problems are behind him. Good first pitches are key for any pitcher, but their especially key for the success of Sheets. Behind Sheets will be free agent signing Jeff Suppan, who had a solid 12-7 record with a decent 4.12 ERA in 32 starts. He'll need to eat up a lot of energy to save a bullpen which is sure to be taxed. Next in the rotation should be ex-Jay starter who rebounded quite nicely from his dreadful performance in the Jays organization, in which he won only ten games and lost fifteen. He went 12-11 with a 4.41 ERA in 34 appearances, 32 of which were starts. He will be out to prove that last season was not a fluke. As long as Bush escapes the first inning relatively unscathed, he should be all right most nights. Rounding out the rotation is trade acquisition Claudio Vargas, who went 12-10 with a 4.83 ERA in 30 starts for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He needs to get through seven solid innings of work without a major gaffe more consistently.

Bullpen: Francisco Cordero is the undisputed closing pitcher for the Brewers. He saved 22 games last season, as well as winning an extra 10 games and losing five,a far cry from the 43 save performance he put out in 2003. He needs to get back to that dominant state in terms of saves if the Brewers expect to be competitive in '07. Setting him up should be the mediocre Matt Wise who missed the final 2 and a half months of the season to a should injury. He needs to prove that his shoulder is healthy and that he can be effective as a setup man coming into the ball game in the 7th or 8th. He went 5-6 with a 3.86 ERA in 40 appearances last season. Should Wise falter or not be ready to pitch at the start of the season, Derrick Turnbow is pretty effective as a late innings man. However, Turnbow had a rough season in '06 going 4-9 with a brutal 6.87 ERA in 64 appearances. He needs to be consistent night in, night out and work on his command. Jose Capellan is another option, when healthy in the late innings. The Brewers would be wise to be cautious with him and make sure that he's pain-free when pitching, otherwise he could wind up with a injury that will keep him on the shelf for a few games or more. He was 4-2 with a 4.40 ERA in 61 games played last season. Look for Capellan to enter the ball game in the 7th. The left-handed specialist is Brian Shouse, who is just horrible against righties because his sinker doesn't work against them and he gets pounded with that pitch. He's a ground-ball pitcher who will primarily face the left-handed bats of the opposing team. Shouse was 1-3 with a 3.99 ERA in 65 appearances in the '06 season. Trade acquisition Greg Aquino will likely be a pitcher who plays every other day at most as he struggles on consecutive days, he needs to be better in the second half of the season. He was 2-0 with a 4.41 ERA in 42 games played last season. Look for him to be determined to have a good full season. Rookie Dennis Sarfate will be considered for the final spot in the Brewers bullpen, but with just 8 regular season games under his belt, he'll likely start the season in AAA Nashville. Finally, Ryan Braun will try and play his way onto the Brewer's roster. However he has only 9 games of experience in the majors and will likely be forced to sign a minor league deal. and start in Nashville. There's a good chance that the Brewers will sign another reliever, likely one that can pitch long relief and make spot starts.

Catcher: Johnny Estrada was a great pickup by the Brewers, who will be looking to him to guide their young pitchers to success. He can also contribute offensively, but he needs to drive the ball better to compensate for his lack of a running game. He'll bat 8th in the line-up and play between 155 and 125 games. Backing him up will be aging backstop Damian Miller who will be accepting a reduced role , which should keep him sharp for the duration of this marathon of a season. Miller will certainly be an asset defensively, but offensively he's very streaky, tending to strike out a lot and needs to relax more when batting with runners aboard. Rookie Mike Rivera is also in the mix, however look for him to start in Nashville, but to be available as an injury replacement.

First Baseman: Prince Fielder, like his father, former baseball great Cecil Fielder, is a chubby kid who can pound the baseball. Unfortunately in the field, he's mediocre are best; needs to work on his AB's with runners in scoring position. Look for Fielder to bat 5th and play 150+ games. Fielder hit .271 with 28 HR, 81 RBI and a bad 154 K last season. Backing him up will be utility infielder Tony Graffanino. He'll likely primarily be a pinch hitter and occasional starter, mainly at first base where his poor range won't be as much of an issue. He struggles against lefties.

Second Baseman: Entering his third major league season, Rickie Weeks will be looking to prove that he's fully recovered from the broken wrist that caused him to miss the final 62 games of the season. He is a real asset on the base paths causing pitchers fits trying to keep him from stealing. He should bat 6th and play around 100 games if healthy. His defense is a work in progress. Graffanino should be the primary back-up. Craig Counsell, free agent signing should also get some playing time, he can also play shortstop and 3rd base.

Shortstop: J.J. Hardy is entering somewhat of a comeback season, as he missed all of 35 games to a broken ankle. He'll be looking to prove that he's healthy. He'll be a great asset defensively, but watching him run the bases is somewhat comical, when he gets into a slump, it's near impossible for him to bounce back. Look for him to play between 110-120 games and to bat 7th in the line-up. Counsell and Graffanino should also see time at shortstop.

Third Baseman: At the ever important hot corner the injury-prone Corey Koskie will be looking to stay healthy. He missed significant time last season with a concussion. When healthy, he can contribute to the offense and defensively, where he has a strong arm. The only thing is that he has a tendency to pull the ball and make a lot of easy outs at second and first. Koskie hit .261 with 12 HR and 33 RBI in 257 at bats. Look for him to play around 100 games and to bat 3rd in the batting order. Braun, Counsell and Graffanino will be in the line-up when Koskie is not.

Left Fielder: Bill Hall is making the switch from SS to LF where it is hoped that he'll be less likely to have defensive blunders. Hall strikes out way too much and is best suited as a second man in the line-up because of his speed. Hall hit .270 with 35 HR and 85 RBI, but he struck out an awful 162 times last season. Look for him to play around 150 games. Kevin Mench should get some time as a backup to Hall, but look for him to be primarily a pinch hitter and defensive substitute. Mench will be accepting a reduced role where he'll see fewer at-bats and therefore will have to be economical and take every AB and make it count. Utility man Gabe Gross will also be around to pinch hit and back up any outfield position, although his primary role will be backup to Clark and pinch hitter. Gross will be battling for playing time and will likely be used as a platoon outfielder. Gross is entering his second full season in the majors. Finally rookie Laynce Nix will be in the mix for an outfield and roster spot, but he'll likely start the year in Nashville.

Center Fielder: Lead-off man Brady Clark is entering his fifth season with the Brewers and is looking to get back to his career-best .306 average. He needs to utilize his speed on the base paths a bit better and work on his AB's against southpaws. Clark should play between 135 and 145 games. Gross and Hart will battle for the back-up job; Nix is also in the hunt.

Right Fielder: Finally, Geoff Jenkins will be taking on a big role as he looks to fill the shoes of the departed Carlos Lee, who was traded mid-season in '06, as the clean-up hitter. Jenkins will need to improve his ability to drive in runs and is also looking to stay healthy. He hit .271 with 17 HR and 70 RBI in 484 at bats. Look for Jenkins to play around 150 games if healthy. Backing him up will be a combo of Hart, Gross and Nix.

Season Prediction: I think this team will have some difficulty scoring runs on a consistent basis and will be relying on an inconsistent pitching staff to limit opposition runs. The Milwaukee Brewers will finish the '07 campaign in 5th place, within a few games of the Reds.