The Brew Crew come in at number 14 overall on the countdown. A lot of people would say that 14th is too low for a team that has been in the headlines for a lot of off-season acquisitions. Shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt was one of those guys, as well as starting pitcher Shaun Marcum, and apparently this Greinke guy isn’t half bad. It will be a year of improvement at Miller Park but I don’t think this team is good enough to overtake the Cardinals and Reds in the NL Central… yet.
No. 14 Milwaukee Brewers
Projected Rotation
- Zack Greinke-RHP
- Yovani Gallardo-RHP
- Shaun Marcum-RHP
- Chris Narveson-LHP
- Randy Wolf-LHP
Projected Bullpen
- John Axford-RHP
- Takashi Saito-RHP
- Latroy Hawkins-RHP
- Zack Braddock-LHP
- Kameron Loe-RHP
- Manny Parra-LHP
- Sean Green-RHP
Projected Lineup
- 2B Rickie Weeks
- RF Corey Hart
- LF Ryan Braun
- 1B Prince Fielder
- 3B Casey McGhee
- SS Yuniesky Betancourt
- C Jonathan Lucroy
- CF Carlos Gomez
Analysis
The Brewer batting order is as solid as it’s been in a long time. Rickie Weeks is an ideal leadoff man with a great combination of speed and power. He hasn’t hit for a very consistent average in his career but 2011 should be the year he puts it all together.
Weeks will have a lot of support at the top of that order with Hart, Braun, and Fielder giving Milwaukee one of the most dangerous top four hitters in the National League. Braun has been the most consistent hitting left fielder in the Majors over the past four seasons and Hart emerged as a star for the Brewers in 2011. The most bothersome part is in fact the inconsistency of Fielder. The big fella’s power numbers fell off quite a bit and he still only hit a disappointing average of .262. That being said Fielder can stroke the ball with the best of them and if he can finish around .280, Milwaukee is going to be a dangerous club down the stretch.
Prince Fielder Photo Courtesy MLB.com
The bullpen will say goodbye to closing immortality Trevor Hoffman and welcome the unknown John Axford into the ninth inning spotlight. Axford pitched very well for the Brewers in key situations last year and on top of that, he got to learn from freaking Trevor Hoffman! Axford could be a surprise all-star in 2011 and a steal in a butt load of fantasy drafts.
The Brewers have depth behind Axford in the pen with Hawkins, Saito, and Parra as very capable arms. Hawkins could regain at least some of his old self and be a prime setup man while Saito and Parra round out a very retooled Brewer bullpen. After that it gets a little shaky and health will be a supreme priority for this group in 2011.
Now we get to the rotation the part that everybody is buzzing about. If Greinke can regain Cy Young form the Brewers could win the division, but Greinke won’t regain his Cy Young form. Don’t get me wrong the 2010 season was a fluke and Greinke can pitch much better than that. He may still be a top ten pitcher but is now in the 2nd tier of the National League elite.
Gallardo and Marcum give them potentially one of the better starting rotations in the NL but the group is still pretty unproven. Not one of these guys has ever pitched in a meaningful game before and if the Brewers get lucky and do find themselves in a divisional race I’m not confident they’ll have the leadership to stay in it for very long.
It’s going to be a fun season at Miller Park but don’t get your hopes up. This team certainly is better, but it’s not that much better.
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