Charlie Klein
Key Additions:
Randy Wolf (SP)
Doug Davis (SP)
LaTroy Hawkins (RP)
Gregg Zaun (C)
George Kottaras (C)
Carlos Gomez (OF)
Key Departures:
J.J. Hardy (SS)
Jesus Colome (RP)
Jorge Julio (RP)
Braden Looper (SP)
Jason Kendall (C)
Felipe Lopez (2B)
There is just something about this Milwaukee Brewers team that leaves me hesitant to pick them to finish any higher than third in the Central this season. I don't really know why, but my gut tells me to run away from this team, and fast.
The NL Central is always incredibly difficult to predict because year after year there never seems to be one team that is clearly better than the rest. And 2010 is no exception. The Brewers could very well win this division and prove me utterly wrong. Ryan Braun is one of my favorite players (having owned him the past two seasons in fantasy baseball) and his bat alone can carry a team on a stretch run. Couple his bat with Prince Fielder's, and one has one of the best 3-4 combinations in the game.
What pushes me away from this team is the unproven young talent throughout the rest of the order. Carlos Gomez has been a flop since leaving the Mets as a part of the Johan Santana trade, and was the odd man out in Minnesota with the emergence of Denard Span. Gomez will start in center for the Brew Crew and will be asked to merely field well and steal bases. The other player that has much to prove in 2010 is Rickie Weeks. I've been told by an innumerable amount of people that this guy is going to be a star in the league. And yet every year Weeks spends more time on the disabled list than in the field. Weeks has never had a season of 500+ at bats, and in his last full season in 2008 only hit .234 with minimal power numbers.
The two young players about whom I am most excited are Alcides Escobar and Casey McGehee. Escobar has drawn comparisons with Florida Marlins star Hanley Ramirez and in 125 at bats last season hit for a respectable .304 average. He is also a wizard at shortstop and could prove a revelation for the Brewers this season. McGehee came in last season and in 116 at bats hit 16 homeruns, 66 RBIs, and hit for a .301 average. Originally in the Cubs system, I am willing to bet some northsiders wish they would have held onto this kid.
The rotation is where I find most of the issues for the Brewers this season. Their ace, Yovani Gallardo, is one of the best young pitchers in the game, but after him the talent pool gets much more shallow. The Brewers shelled out way too much cash to sign Randy Wolf as a free agent, especially for a player who has had issues with staying healthy in the past. Their rotation just does not compare with St. Louis' or Chicago's, and that is why I am slating them into the three spot in the NL Central this season.
Projected Staring Nine:
1. Alcides Escobar (SS)
2. Carlos Gomez (CF)
3. Prince Fielder (1B)
4. Ryan Braun (LF)
5. Corey Hart (RF)
6. Casey McGehee (3B)
7. Rickie Weeks (2B)
8. Gregg Zaun (C)
9. Yovani Gallardo (P)
Projected Starting Rotation:
1. Yovani Gallardo
2. Randy Wolf
3. Doug Davis
4. Jeff Suppan
5. Manny Parra
Best Reliever: Todd Coffey
Closer: Trevor Hoffman
Predicted Finish: Third in the NL Central.
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