Division Preview Part One: Brewers

Good Morning. I thought I’d start a little preview of all of our opponents. Just a quick hit on each team to see what we’re in for.

Summary:

The Brewers have begin a rebuild, shipping off players like Khris Davis and Jean Segura to net them parts for the future. Star catcher Jonathan Lucroy has a decent chance to be the next guy out of the door, especially since there is a good looking catching prospect in the minors by the name of Jacob Nottingham. The rebuild idea is smart for Milwaukee as a lot of their guys are getting older, and they are limited to what they can do in free agency. Best to accept reality, get value for your current players while they still have value, and give the rebuild a kickstart.

Three Reasons Why They’re Worth Watching.

1) SS Orlando Arcia

Arcia is the guy that allowed them to move Segura without thinking about it. He’s the 10th ranked prospect in baseball according to Keith Law, and is a player they might be be able to build their infield around. He had a nice season in AA in 2015, hitting .307 with a .453 slugging percentage and 25 stolen bases. That slugging percentage was a result of lots of doubles (37) and triples (7) than homers (8) so we’ll have to see if it translates into the big leagues. Still, he’s an interesting kid.

2)

The Lucroy Drama

Will he stay? Will he traded? After Ryan Braun‘s drug thing, Lucroy kind of became the face of the franchise, and is popular locally, but as I said, they have a catcher in waiting in Nottingham. I’d trade him ASAP and get as much value for him as I could, but it can hard to trade a popular player.

3) The Will Smith Injury

This one may just be me, but I always find it interesting to see how teams adapt to injuries. After all, every team gets them, which is why is why I believe having quality depth is as important as having stars. Smith, who was having a good spring, was slated to share closer duties with Jeremy Jeffress. Jeffress now starts the season as the sole closer. Let’s see if he can handle it, or something else needs to be done.

Three Reasons Why We’ll Beat Them

1) Makeshift Lineup

The team is in flux right now, so the lineup, with some exceptions, is mainly full of placeholders while the kids develop. This is the smart play, but will make our pitchers jobs easier.

2) No name rotation

They have guys like Matt Garza, Chase Anderson and Wily Peralta, guys who can be solid and hold the fort until the kids show up, that’s about it They don’t have any studs in the rotation right now, but what they do have will allow the kids to take their time and develop. That’s important. Even so, these are pitchers the Cards hitters should be able to handle without too much difficulty.

3) That bullpen

The injury to Smith put the ‘pen in flux a little, and that’s never a good thing, especially if Jeffress struggles. Look for the Cards to take advantage here as well.

Conclusion

The Brewers are a team that have done the right thing in starting their rebuild, but have a lot of work ahead of them, and will likely have a lost season in 2016.

As as always, thanks for reading.

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NL Central Standings

TeamWLPct.GB
Cardinals9369.574 -
Brewers8676.5317.0
Cubs7488.45719.0
Reds62100.38331.0
Pirates62100.38331.0

Last updated: 10/06/2022

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