It’s April and baseball is back! As another Spring Training comes to a close, the Milwaukee Brewers are getting ready to make another run at winning their first World Series in franchise history. Let’s preview the Brewers season outlook.
Last year the Brewers finished with a record of 95-67 in the regular season, the third best record in the National League. The Brewers entered the playoffs as the No. 2 seed and were eliminated by the eventual World Series champion Atlanta Braves in the second round. After an early exit, the Brewers have made many coaching staff and roster changes.
Key Additions
The Brewers made two big additions to help bolster the outfield and add some desperately needed offense to the lineup. The first of the two moves came in December before the lockout, when the Brewers traded for Hunter Renfroe from the Boston Red Sox. This trade sent Jackie Bradley Jr. back to the Red Sox in a four-player deal.
Renfroe has a career slash line of .237/.297/.490, however last year he slashed .259/.315/.501, bringing some much-needed help to the Brewers offense. As a team in 2021, the Brewers slashed .233/.317/.396. Renfroe is higher in batting average and much higher in slugging percentage than the Brewers last year. Adding Renfroe’s bat in the lineup adds another good hitter with some power. Renfroe’s addition was made to replace the hole left by Avisaíl García who left in free agency after last season.
The other addition the Brewers made happened after the lockout ended in March. They added another outfielder in former NL MVP Andrew McCutchen. McCutchen was signed to a one-year contract and was added as depth in the outfield if Lorenzo Cain, Christian Yelich, or Renfroe need a day off, or in case Yelich or Renfroe are moved to the universal designated hitter (DH) added this season. McCutchen, a career .280/.373/.476 hitter, is coming off a down season which saw him hit for .222/.334/.444, a career-low in batting average and third-lowest slugging percentage. He can still be very useful to the Brewers even if he can’t find the same swing he had when he won MVP back in 2013. McCutchen’s still gets on base at a high level and adds another dimension of power that the lineup lacked last season. If he can couple getting on base with decent play in the field this will be a great signing for the Brewers.
Spring Standouts
Some Brewers are making noise down in Arizona during the Cactus League. One of these players if former top prospect Keston Hiura. Hiura is playing well this Spring training, slashing .393/.485/.929 which ranks in the top three of the team. Also, Hiura leads the Brewers with four home runs, 12 RBIs, and second with six runs, and tied for the lead in doubles with three. This spring has seen a huge improvement in Hiura’s game especially his offensive production. Last season, Hiura slashed .168/.256/.301 in 171 at bats for his worst statistical season by far. Hiura used the offseason to tweak his swing, toning down his leg kick. He still has a concerning 40% strikeout rate, but the early results of spring in a small sample size is promising. Hiura will most likely start the season on the active roster, but will not start opening day. With the National League adopting the universal DH, Hiura will have plenty of chances to crack the lineup.
Outfielder Tyrone Taylor has also had a nice spring down in Arizona. Taylor is slashing .414/.406/.828, leading the team with 12 hits, tied for the lead with three doubles and tied for second with three home runs. Taylor has earned himself a spot on the active roster in a crowded outfield with Cain, Yelich, McCutchen, and Renfroe but he most likely will not make his first start until two of the three starters need a rest day. In the past, Cain has needed more and more rest as he gets older and Yelich has had injury issues, so Taylor could make his start sooner rather than later. The only downside is in the small sample size, Taylor’s on-base percentage is lower than his batting average, meaning his aggressive baserunning could get him in trouble on the base paths.
On the mound, Luis Perdomo has been solid through 7.1 innings of work in spring training. Perdomo has only allowed one earned run for an ERA of 1.23. Perdomo only allowed four hits and struck out three during his work down in Arizona. Perdomo’s ability to keep runners off the bases and limit free passes, walking no batters, could give him an early call up and see him coming out of the bullpen in late May if one or two pitchers from the Brewers bullpen go down.
Brandon Woodruff, Freddy Peralta, Willy Adames and Yelich are among the Brewers players that underperformed this spring. But with a small sample size spring training can be deceitful and we will have to wait until early June to really evaluate players this season.
Roster Prediction
After an active spring, the Brewers opening day roster is solidifying. In the infield, there’s Omar Narváez at catcher, Rowdy Tellez at first base, Kolten Wong at second base, Jace Peterson starting at third base and Adames starting at shortstop. In the outfield, there’s Yelich, Cain and Renfroe that will likely see the bulk of the starts with McCutchen serving as the DH. This leaves Taylor, Hiura, Brosseau, Reyes, and newly-acquired catcher Victor Caratini coming off the bench. Caratini was acquired from the San Diego Padres Wednesday to replace catcher Pedro Severino who will start the season with an 80-day suspension. In addition, Luis Urías will start the season on the Injured list with a left quad injury that manager Craig Counsell set a timetable of two weeks.
The starting rotation will include Burnes, Woodruff, Peralta, Adrian Houser and Eric Lauer, with Burnes starting on opening day. This leaves Brad Boxberger, Jake Cousins, Brent Suter, Aaron Ashby, Devin Williams and closer Josh Hader coming out of the bullpen.
The Brewers are looking primed to make another run at history with a lot of the same pieces as last year and that is why many predict the Brewers to win at least 90 games and win the National League Central Division.