CTOD: Milwaukee Brewers

For an offense that was pretty decent last year and had a few surprises, the emergence of Hart, Weeks and McGehee, the Brewers still finished below .500 at 76-86, good for 3rd in the NL Central. The pitching is what really struggled for the Brew Crew last year. They had a team combined 4.58 ERA and only managed 75 quality starts, not good enough for a team looking to compete and win a division. What did Milwaukee do? They went out and found some pitching, it came at a price but they certainly bolstered their arsenal.



The Brewers have a lot of guys that can hit, and should continue to hit. The line-up is centered around the big two, Ryan Braun (Hebrew Hammer, a great nickname) and Prince Fielder. Prince is entering a contract year and should be poised for a huge 2011, hitting .341 this spring, he clearly has something to prove. The Hebrew Hammer is as good as it gets when it comes to outfielders, the guy can do everything and do it well. His numbers dipped a bit last season, however no cause for concern and I think we can expect another MVP type caliber season from Braun. McGehee actually led the team in RBI's last year and along with Hart and Weeks gives the Brewers some serious offensive threats besides Braun and Fielder. The Brewers won't be struggling to put runs on the board this season that's for certain, and will match up at least equal or better to any other NL Central line-up easily.

The Brewers brass went out and showed the league they are serious about winning 'now' and signed Greinke and Marcum. It came at a fair price and the Brewers have a pretty depleted farm system as a result but none the less the message is clear. The addition of Greinke and Marcum, joining Gallardo and Wolf forms a pretty darn good rotation that should be able to compete with most teams, yet will likely not get the hype that San Francisco or Philadelphia gets. The 1-2 of Greinke and Gallardo will be something to see for sure and should provide a pile of wins. Greinke did fracture a rib in a pick up game of basketball and is slated to miss a couple starts but will be ready when the time comes. Greinke was able to win the 2009 CY Young on a terrible Royals team and with such a potent offense behind him now, who knows what could happen? Gallardo, although sometimes streaky, has been getting better and better every year. With the pressure coming off a bit this year due to the new additions, I predict Gallardo will settle in quite nicely and hopefully get that WHIP down. Marcum, the former ace of the Blue Jays, had a 3.64 ERA last year in the hitter friendly AL East while managing 13 wins. In the NL Central, I expect Marcum to be a very good 3rd starter and lower that ERA and bring that win total up. Marcum has had some velocity concerns this spring along with some arm issues, yet the Brewers say he's fine and expect him to be ready for his April 2nd start against the Reds. Then for the 4th guy the Brewers have Randy Wolf, a solid number 4 who gives you 200+ innings and just does his thing. Wolf actually led the Brewers in quality starts with 20 and should do more of the same in 2011. The Brewers have put together a solid rotation this year and it'll be fun to watch them put up wins with all the run support they should get. They need to stay healthy though, Gallardo seems to miss games every season and Marcum's arm concerns are hopefully nothing and he'll get his starts in. These 4 guys should give the Brewers quite a few more quality starts than the 75 they had last year.

In the bullpen they have found a nice young Canadian guy who can throw seed and close games in John Axford. Add in the always dependable Takashi Saito, hard throwing Carlos Villanueva, Capuano, Davis etc. The Brewers have a fairly underrated bullpen that will keep them in games and at the same time not lose too many either.

Prediction - 1st in NL Central. With the Cardinals missing Wainwright, and the Reds having too many question marks, I think the NL Central is theirs to lose. The Brew Crew will need to stay healthy and have contributions like they did last year throughout the line-up in order to take this division, but it can be done for sure.

Player to watch - Prince Fielder. This guy always seems to play with a chip on his shoulder. Being a young cocky type of player in a contract year I think he's going to crush it this year. Prince wants to get paid and he's going to put up the numbers to prove it, he could easily get to 50 bombs this year. Exciting year for Brewers fans for sure.