Nick & Hayden's 2014 MLB Preview: 23. Milwaukee Brewers

"I did not have sexual relations with that man."

-Ryan Braun referring to alleged scandal with Anthony Bosch

23. Milwaukee Brewers

by Nick Opich

2/19/14

Trying and tumultuous is the best way to describe the Brewers 2013 season. The “Ryan Braun is a d*ck and steroid user” talk started up again after the outfielder was implicated in the Biogenisis Scandal and willfully accepted a suspension for the final 65 games of the season. The juiced up slugger reportedly called up season ticket holders to apologize for his mistakes but outside of Wisconsin, I’m not sure if anyone really forgives him or how many wins that will add to their season total.

           

As Hayden and I were creating our rankings for this season’s preview I was extremely intrigued by Milwaukee and thought they should be a couple spots higher on our list. Carlos Gomez is a legitimate star and MVP candidate, Jean Segura is one of the best young shortstops in the game, and Ryan Braun will be back for a full season. This offseason they swooped in to sign Matt Garza and have quietly constructed one of the better starting rotations in the league. This team is not without some questions though. The trade of outfielder Norichika Aoki was a head scratcher, their minor league depth is nonexistent and their first base platoon situation is far from ideal.  

Although they play in a very good division, I think the Brewers will improve upon their 4^th place finish last season. As a bold prediction, if everything falls into place, this team could leap frog Cincinnati and be a dark horse to compete for a Wild Card spot (or at least make life a little more difficult for St. Louis and Pittsburgh).   

1.      Last year & offseason

a.       74-88

b.      Signed Matt Garza, Zach Duke, Lyle Overbay, Mark Reynolds

c.       Traded Norichika Aoki to KC for LHP Will Smith

2.      Line up/Rotation

Lineup:

1.       Jean Segura SS

2.      Carlos Gomez CF

3.       Ryan Braun RF

4.      Aramis Ramirez 3B

5.       Khris Davis LF

6.       Jonathan Lucroy C

7.      Mark Reynolds/Lyle Overbay 1B

8.      Scooter Gennette 2B

Rotation:

1.        Yovanni Gallardo

2.        Matt Garza

3.      Kyle Lohse

4.      Wily Peralta

5.     Marco Estrada

3.      Favorite/Least Favorite

a.       Hayden's Favorite – Lyle Overbay

b.      Nick's Favorite – “Scooter”; Rotation

c.       Hayden's Least Favorite– Didn’t get return for Weeks while you could have

d.      Nick's Least Favorite – Prejudice against Lefties

4.      High Heat Impact Player

a.       Jean Segura

                                                              i.      2013 break out year

                                                            ii.      Needs to walk more

                                                          iii.      Steals bases

                                                          iv.      Needs to be a leader

                                                            v.   

                                                          vi.      Don’t do ^ that ^ anymore

5.      Prospects to impact this year

a.       Jimmy Nelson

                                                              i.      Could provide spot starts or make some relief appearances

b.      But seriously, beyond that, the Brew Crew have a horrendous farm system

6.      Midseason Status

a.       Standing next to Cubs noticing the impressive play of St. Louis, Pittsburg, and Cinncinnati

7.      Bold Predictions

a.       77-85

b.      Trade Aramis Ramirez and all of his contract to Cleveland for Mike Aviles and Tyler Naquin (OF)



Podcast Playlist:
"High Lonesome" by Gaslight Anthem
"I Wanna Be Sedated" by The Ramones