With a new MLB season looming, there’s cautious optimism in Milwaukee.
It’s not that the Brewers are expected to contend this year — far from it. Rather, the team is in the midst of a rebuild, which means this season should give fans a glimpse of what the future has to offer.
As we approach the 2017 season, we’re previewing what’s ahead for each of the 30 MLB teams. The Milwaukee Brewers are next:
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Up-and-coming player to watch
Thanks to the rebuild process, the Brewers have no shortage of promising young talent in their system.
Acquired via trade with the Houston Astros in July of 2015, pitching prospect Josh Hader should see major-league action this year. The 22-year-old southpaw posted a 3.29 ERA, striking out 161 batters in 126 innings across two minor-league levels last year.
Lewis Brinson is another top talent picked up via trade. Acquired in the deal that sent all-star catcher Jonathan Lucroy to the Rangers last summer, the 22-year-old outfielder is now Milwaukee’s top-ranked prospect. Brinson, who combines lethal speed with power, impressed in spring training and should make his MLB debut sometime this season.
What a successful 2017 season would look like
FanGraphs projects the Brewers to repeat their fourth-place finish in the NL Central from last year, which means they’re extremely unlikely to come anywhere close to the franchise’s best season in recent memory, when they made it as far as the NLCS in 2011.
A successful season means getting a clearer picture of the team’s direction in the future. One of the more nagging questions for fans in Milwaukee: Is the tear-down complete? Franchise player Ryan Braun is the last remaining star from the old guard the Brewers have yet to move. The outfielder is signed through 2020, but he’s been surrounded by near-constant trade rumours since last summer, when the team came close to dealing him to the Dodgers. He may be 33 — and he’s still owed a considerable sum — but he generated 3.2 FanGraphs WAR last season and could yield valuable returns.
The Brewers have a very good farm system, which means they’re set up well for the future. For now, the season is all about developing young talent. Players such as Jonathan Villar and Keon Broxton will need to build on the promise they’ve shown so far. Villar hit .285/.369/.457 with 19 home runs and an MLB-best 62 stolen bases last season, while Broxton had a banner second-half in 2016, slashing .294/.399/.538 with eight home runs over 46 game before his season was cut short because of a broken wrist.
Biggest remaining question
Milwaukee GM David Stearns spent the off-season loading up on what might be termed ‘what-if’ talent. The acquisitions of Neftali Feliz, Travis Shaw and Eric Thames are budget-friendly options for a team setting itself up for success down the road.
Feliz hasn’t quite been the arm he was in his heyday in Texas. He posted a career-worst ERA of 6.38 between two teams, the Rangers and the Tigers, in 2015, but put up better numbers last year as the Pirates’ setup man, with a 3.52 ERA across 62 games. Can he be relied upon as the Brewers’ closer?
Shaw, meanwhile, had a down year in 2016 with a subpar OPS+ of 88.
But the most interesting ‘what-if’ is Thames, a former Blue Jay who left MLB in 2013 and became a superstar (and league MVP) with the NC Dinos in Korea. Milwaukee signed Thames to a three-year deal this winter; he replaces Chris Carter, who joined the Yankees.
Thames never lived up to expectations with Toronto, but can he finally break out in the majors?
