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by Scott Glab
2005 Record: 81-81
(
2005 Runs Scored:
726
2005 Runs Allowed:
697
Expected 2005
Record: 84-78
The
last time the Brewers did not have a losing season, it was 1992, and they resided in
the American League. Now, they are a
well balanced team with a few young infielders that are the envy of many a
team. By trading away 1B Lyle Overbay to
It
may be too early to expect earth-shattering production out of Prince Fielder
and Rickie Weeks. But chances are they
will contribute enough to make the Brewers a force in the NL Central,
especially with a full year of Ben Sheets and the return of their top four
starters from last year.
2005 Starters: Damian Miller,
Projected 2006 Starters: Damian Miller,
The Brewers received average offensive production from
their catchers last year, with Miller playing twice as often as Moeller and
hitting far more effectively than him.
The thing is, Miller is now 36, and Moeller hit well in 2002 and 2003,
so they will probably drift towards each other in production. Each is a sure-handed defender, and their
arms are pretty average.
2005 Starter:
Projected 2006 Starter: Prince Fielder
Overbay was a high average, line-drive hitter who hit for a low-ish .276 average last year. Prince is huge like his dad Cecil Fielder, but seems to be a more polished hitter, though he’s only 22 years old. Don’t expect 50 dingers from him yet. But .280-30-100 isn’t out of the question this year.
2005 Starters: Rickie Weeks, Junior Spivey
Projected 2006 Starter: Rickie Weeks
Rickie weeks was one of those
players who was better than everyone around him in college. We're not sure about his defense, but we do know that he possesses blistering
speed, and is still quite an unpolished hitter.
He needs major league at-bats right now, but there is some speculation
that his speed will land him in the lead-off spot instead of Brady Clark. That would be a setback.
2005 Starters: Russel Branyan,
Wes Helms
Projected 2006 Starter: Corey Koskie
Before 2005, Corey Koskie had six straight seasons with an OPS between .815 and .845! Last year he was injured and his hitting suffered considerably. He’s been looking good this spring, but should his progress be a mirage, the Brewers will turn to…
Utilityman
2005: Bill Hall
2006: Bill Hall
He’s an amazingly valuable player who started games at 2B, SS, and 3B last year. He’s a good fielder at all positions who can hit for power and average. With all the question marks due to inexperience or injury in the Brewers’ infield, he will find a way to get significant playing time.
2005 Starter: J.J. Hardy
Projected 2006 Starter: J.J. Hardy
Entering July last season, Hardy was
in a Christian Guzman-esque funk with the bat, having
an OPS under .570.
But after the all-star break, his OPS was over
.860, even better than fellow masher Bill Hall’s. Expect Hardy to fall between those two
extremes this season, and quite possibly make the leap form good to great
defender.
2005 Starters: Carlos Lee, Brady Clark,
Geoff Jenkins
Projected 2006 Starters: Carlos Lee, Brady Clark, Geoff Jenkins
Brady Clark is capable, steady,
on-base threat in center field who is sandwiched by two inconsistent performers
in Lee and Jenkins at the corner spots.
Lee has better speed and strikes out less, while Jenkins is usally as streaky as they come...until Carlos Lee went hot
and cold on the team last year, unfortunately finishing cold. Barring injury, in which case Gabe Gross (yikes!) will probably be the first to step up,
this should be a solid offensive outfield, arguably among the top 10 in the
game.
Projected 2006 Front Three: Ben Sheets, Doug Davis, Chris Capuano
The Brewers have an excellent
pitching coach in Mike Maddux, and they have
continuity in returning their top four starters from last season. Ben Sheets is a Cy
Young candidate who is as elite as he is healthy. Doug Davis improved his K/IP and H/IP ratios
last year, but served up a whole basketful of melons (26). Capuano easily had his best season as a pro,
but also loved the longball too much (31). If these two can keep the ball in the park,
they will round out a formidable threesome.
Other 2005 Starters: Tomokazu Ohka, Gary Glover, Rick Helling, Wes Obermuller
Other Possible 2006
Starters: Ohka,
Helling, Dave Bush, Dana Eveland
Ohka is a control artist and has the
job of #4 starter.
Maddux on Ohka: “He is probably the most coachable guy I've ever
been around. He's unbelievable.” He could easily play out as one of the top #4
starters in the game. Helling, Eveland, and Bush will
compete for the final spot in the rotation.
Helling excelled in a 49-inning comeback last
year, and hot prospect Eveland may settle in as a lefty
out of the pen.
2005 Top Relievers: Derrick Turnbow,
Matt Wise, Julio Santana, Ricky Bottalico, Jorge de
la Rosa
Projected 2006 Top
Relievers: Turnbow, Wise, Dan Kolb, de la Rosa, Kane Davis
Turnbow
was the surprise closer of the year in 2005.
He was ridiculously effective, posting a 1.74
ERA with 39 saves. Expect some sort of
decline here. The rest of the pen is a
bit stronger than last year, or at least appeare to
have more options. Matt Wise returns and
should remain a top setup man. Dan Kolb
is back from
Final Word:
The ages of
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