2012 MLB Season Preview: Milwaukee Brewers

The next team in the Call to the Pen MLB Season Preview Series is the defending National League Central Division Champion Milwaukee Brewers.

2011 MILWAUKEE BREWERS RECAP

Coming off a 2010 campaign which touted one of the better offenses in the National League, the Brewers set out to deal with the issue of their starting rotation. They entered the trade market and landed Shaun Marcum from the Toronto Blue Jays for prized prospect Brett Lawrie. General manager Doug Melvin was not finished. He then pulled off a deal with the Kansas City Royals for their ace, Zack Greinke. The deal also included receipt of Yuniesky Betancourt’s services and cash to offset some of his contract. Starting shortstop Alcides Escobar and prospect Lorenzo Cain were the center pieces of the four players leaving Milwaukee.

The offense was still an important part of the team and it did not disappoint. Outfielder Ryan Braun won the NL Most Valuable Player award after hitting .332 with 109 R, 33 HR, 111 RBI and 33 SB.

Braun’s bashing partner Prince Fielder continued to put up enormous power numbers. He ended the season with 38 home runs and 120 RBI, both second best in the National League.

Nyjer Morgan came on board in late March after a slow start by Carlos Gomez. He provided a spark on the field and off. He hit .304 and swiped 13 bases in 119 games.

Both Rickie Weeks and Corey Hart were hampered by injuries but played well when they were on the field. Weeks still managed 20 homers and 77 runs in 118 games, while Hart pounded 26 home runs and scored 80 runs in 130 games.

The pitching staff was everything they hoped for. Yovani Gallardo cemented himself as the staff ace. He won 17 games with a 3.52 ERA. He struck out 207 batters in 207.1 innings. Greinke missed all of April due to a non-baseball related injury sustained in Spring Training. He still won 16 games for the Brewers striking out 201 hitters in 171.2 innings. His ERA was inflated but ended up at 3.83. His FIP was 2.98 and xFIP was 2.56. The Brewers also received a fine season from Marcum (13-7, 3.54 ERA). Randy Wolf won 13 games and Chris Narveson chipped in with 11 wins.

Another piece the Brewers picked up at the All-Star break was former New York Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez. He immediately stepped into the eighth inning role behind closer John Axford. Axford was magnificent. He saved 46 games (with a streak of 42 straight) with a 1.95 ERA and 86 K’s in 73.2 innings.

The team entered the All-Star break tied with the St. Louis Cardinals atop the NL Central. They began to pull away, at one point holding a 10-game lead over the Cards. They slumped a bit and the Cardinals got back to 4.5 games back with a great run, but the Brewers never really were close to relinquishing the lead. They finished with a 96-66 record, setting the all-time franchise win total.

In the playoffs, they beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 3 games to 2. It required an extra inning affair in game five. By virtue of winning the division series, they met the Cardinals in the National League Championship Series. The series was tied at two games apiece, but the Cardinals were able to win the final game at Busch Stadium and then got the better of the Brew Crew at Miller Park in Game 6.

2012 MILWAUKEE BREWERS OUTLOOK

This team despite the loss of Prince Fielder could still make waves in the NL Central. Like all other teams, their health will dictate a lot. With Fielder gone they can not sustain long-term injuries like they did with Weeks and Hart last season. Aoki looks to be an exciting player and it will be interesting to see how Brewers manager Ron Roenicke will work him into the lineup (if Hart is not hurt).

The rotation is a definite strength. They have arguably the best one-two punch in the division in Yovani Gallardo and Zack Greinke. Shaun Marcum could improve over last season. Randy Wolf is the veteran innings eater and Chris Narveson is looking to take the next step. Each of them won more than 10 games last season and barring injuries, there is no reason they cannot duplicate that effort in 2012.

The Brewers can also lay claim to a top eighth and ninth inning combination. John Axford has been everything they hoped since he officially took the reigns from Trevor Hoffman in 2010. They have a very good insurance policy in Francisco Rodriguez who still feels he is closer material, and he’s right. The loss of Takashi Saito and LaTroy Hawkins should be solved by the combination of Jose Veras, Kameron Loe and Tim Dillard.

The lineup is filled with potential All-Stars, again providing they stay healthy. Corey Hart is already iffy for the beginning of the season, so we may see Norichika Aoki right away.

Nyger Morgan will be near or at the top of the order and it remains to be seen what he can do for a full season. The Brewers hope the answer is score a lot of runs.

Braun is determined to put the PED mess behind him, though he’ll have a very hard time hiding from the fans in opposing stadiums. The best way for him to put it behind him is to have just as good a season as he did in 2011. This will be no easy feat as he put up some very lofty numbers. It will be interesting to see if Braun puts undue pressure on himself and presses at the plate. He’ll need some help from new third baseman Aramis Ramirez, who will now be providing Braun with the protection he used to enjoy from Fielder. Ramirez still has some pop, but he will have to display it and beat people early on. If he doesn’t produce, Braun won’t see a pitch until that changes.

Rickie Weeks and Alex Gonzalez make a nice double play combination. Weeks is an All-Star second baseman with power and speed, and Gonzalez is an upgrade over Betancourt.

The great unknown of the lineup is Mat Gamel. The Brewers have long felt that the soon to be 27 year old Gamel was going to make it big with them. He is now being given a chance at first base after multiple mini tours as a third baseman. Gamel had a fantastic 2011 season with Triple-A Nashville, predominately playing first base. He hit .310 with 28 homers and 96 RBI. If he can translate that into the bigs, he’ll certainly take some weight off the middle of the order.

The Brewers recently locked up catcher Jonathan Lucroy with a five-year extension, and this guy can hit. He is having an exceptional spring, hitting a ridiculous .513 with a 1.307 OPS. He turns 26 in June, so a breakout season is a distinct possibility.

Manager Ron Roenicke in his second year as manager, lost a mainstay in the offense, but maintains the great core of his pitching staff. It will be his job to keep the older players and those susceptible to injury fresh by working in the bench for intermittent days off. The best case scenario for the Brewers could produce another NL Central crown, or at least a berth in the wild card play-in game. Worst case, the injury prone middle of the lineup strikes again, Gamel fails and Ramirez cannot provide enough production to aid Braun and the Brewers fall as far as fourth in the division. My guess is that they end up winning about 85 games which is probably a few less than will be needed to be a part of the wild card play-in game.

Find your team’s 2012 season preview or when it will be published here.

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