Milwaukee Brewers
2010 Record: 77-85
750 RS, 804 RA, Pythagorean Record: 75-87
Manager: Ron Roenicke
GM: Doug Melvin
Free Agents:
Craig Counsell, SS (1, $1.4MM); Mark Kotsay, OF (1, TBD); Wil Nieves, C (1, $775k); Takashi Saito, RP (1, $1.75MM).
Minor League FA:
Erick Almonte, 1B; Brandon Boggs, OF; Morgan Brinson, P; Eulogio de la Cruz, P; Tim Dillard, P; Jameson Dunn, P; Sean Green, P; Jim Henderson, P; Robert Hinton, P; David Johnson, P; Brandon Jones, OF; Edwin Maysonet, SS; Sam Narron, P; Chris Nowak, 3B; Jeremy Reed, OF; Shawn Riggans, C; Mike Rivera, C; Jesus Sanchez, P; Zack Segovia, P; James Skelton, C.
Rule V Pick:
Patrick Egan, P (Orioles).
Trades:
Received Yuniesky Betancourt (SS) and Zack Greinke (SP) from the Royals for Lorenzo Cain (OF), Alcides Escobar (SS), Jeremy Jeffress (P), and Jake Odorizzi (P); Received Shaun Marcum (SP) from the Blue Jays for Brett Lawrie (2B); Received a player to be named later from the Blue Jays for Carlos Villanueva (P).
Waiver Claims:
Justin James, P (from the Athletics); Roque Mercedes, P (from the Diamondbacks).
Players Lost:
Cody Adams, P; Drew Anderson, OF; Juan Barrini, OF; Jeff Bennett, P; Steve Braun, 2B; David Bush, P; Chris Capuano, P; Allixon Caquea, 3B; Todd Coffey, P; Matt Costllo, P; Rob Currie, P; Doug Davis, P; Ruben Flores, P; Jody Gerut, OF; Nick Green, P; Luis Guerrero, P; Trevor Hoffman, P; Norris Hopper, OF; Joe Inglett, 2B; Ben Johnson, C; Mike Jones, P; Joe Koshansky, 1B; Connor Lind, 2B; Chuck Lofgren, P; Marty McLeary, P; Erik Miller, OF; Eddie Morlan, P; Ray Olmedo, SS; Johnny Raburn, 2B; David Riske, P; Adrian Rosario, P; Angel Salome, C; Andrew Sauter, P; Brandon Sizemore, 1B; Chris Smith, P; Adam Stern, OF; Caleb Thielbar, P; Chris Waters, P; Gregg Zaun, C.
Top 15 Prospects
1. Mark Rogers, RHP
2. Scooter Gennett, 2B
3. Kentrail Davis, OF
4. Cody Scarpetta, RHP
5. Kyle Heckathorn, RHP
6. Hunter Morris, 1B
7. Wily Peralta, RHP
8. Caleb Gindl, OF
9. Jimmy Nelson, RHP
10. Amaury Rivas, RHP
11. Tyler Thornburg, RHP
12. D’Vontrey Richardson, OF
13. Cutter Dykstra, 3B
14. Erik Komatsu, OF
15. Eric Farris, 2B
Unfortunately for Brewers fans, this is one of the weakest systems in baseball. Trading Jake Odorizzi, Jeremy Jeffress, and Brett Lawrie killed the top of the system. All 3 would be elite talent; now they don’t have much. Mark Rogers has been in this system forever; he’s battled injury for his whole career, but looked good in 2010. After that, most of the guys are interchangeable.
2010 Review:
The knock on the Brewers coming into 2010 was the lack of pitching. They brought in Randy Wolf (regressed) and Doug Davis (disaster) to join ace Yovani Gallardo (who started the season struggling). They were lucky that Chris Narveson emerged as a back of the rotation starter.
If the rotation wasn’t enough of a burden, the bullpen was just as bad. All time saves leader Trevor Hoffman couldn’t close out a game for the life of him. He was bumped from the closer role for John Axford. It wasn’t just Hoffman that stuggles, but most of the bullpen shared some of the blame.
As far as the hitters went, they had a mixed bag. Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder performed well, although not up to their normal standards. Casey McGehee had another strong season.
Young centerfielder Carlos Gomez and shortstop Alcides Escobar were sub-par all season. Escobar at least provided some defense. Gomez lost playing time to Jim Edmonds initially, and later Lorenzo Cain.
2011 Preview:
For what they didn’t address well in 2010, they more than made up for during the off-season. Adding starters Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum gives the Brewers the best rotation in the NL Central. Greinke will start the season on the DL, but shouldn’t miss much time.
They also added a bullpen arm – Takashi Saito. Saito can close if incumbent closer Axford can’t hold down the job.
They should be able to get by with the same offense. They replaced Escobar with Yuniesky Betancourt – not really an upgrade, but not too far off what they had last season. The key will be how Gomez handles the bat this year; if he can’t hit, look for down performances by the rest of the offense.
I do expect Fielder to have a career year, as he’s set to be a free agent after the season.
From the Bloggers:
Paul, Through the Fence Baseball: Heading into 2011, the Brewers have made a host of headliner moves and it would appear that they feel this is finally their year. Their potent 2010 lineup remains intact, and they have bolstered the starting rotation significantly. Will it be enough?
Bad news first: the bullpen. It’s really a shame that a bad bullpen can effectively neutralize a solid starting rotation as well as a productive lineup. The Brewers ‘pen doesn’t feature any household names, with the exception of offseason addition Takashi Saito. The likes of Kameron Loe, Zach Braddock, and closer John Axford actually put up pretty solid numbers in 2010 despite their relative obscurity. Still, the inexperience here could prove to be a major buzzkill for this promising team.
Defensively, this is a middle- to back-of-the pack team. Prince Fielder can pick it pretty well over at first, but nobody else on the roster stands out as anything more than an average defender.
Now the good news. This lineup is awesome. Manning the outfield are two 100-RBI men in Ryan Braun and Corey Hart, along with Carlos Gomez. Gomez, 25, has yet to put it together, but he has the makings of a five-tool player. The bats around the infield are just as impressive. At the top of the order, Rickie Weeks is in his prime and is coming off his best season. Casey McGehee is another 100-RBI man, and Prince Fielder, while coming off a down year relative to past performances, is in a contract year and is certainly capable of 40+ HRs and/or 125+ RBI.
More significant than the return of this potent lineup is the improvements made to the starting rotation. Via trade, the Brewers were able to land two upper-echelon starters in Shawn Marcum and 2009 AL Cy Young award winner Zach Greinke. Coupled with current staff ace Yovanni Gallardo and veteran Randy Wolf, this rotation is capable of great things. Even likely 5th starter Chris Narveson gives reason for optimism after posting a 3.05 ERA in August and September last year.
Give the Brewers credit for trading some key prospects to shore up a starting rotation that looks to finally hold the opposition down enough to let the offense slug their way into contention in the NL Central. If the Brew Crew remains in contention into July, look for them to make a move or two to solidify their bullpen, especially if Axford struggles. The Brewers figure to be a team that is playing for something this August and September.
Prediction:
1st Place