2009 Milwaukee Brewers Predictions
Written by Jason Lowry
The Milwaukee Brewers finally made it back to the postseason, after failing to do so for the last 25 year. They took home the NL wild card spot by winning 90 games and finishing 2nd in the NL Central behind the Chicago Cubs. A big reason for the Brewers’ success last season was the midseason trade that involved bringing former Cy Young winner CC Sabathia to town to pair up with Ben Sheets at the top of the rotation. While the duo was outstanding, Sabathia was nearly unbeatable, as the Brewers went 14-3 in his 17 starts. The bad news is both Sheets and Sabathia are long gone, and the Brewers are left with a bunch of questions in their starting rotation. The Brewers did make some big pickups this offseason including the likes of outfielder Trot Nixon, starting pitcher Braden Looper, and veteran closer Trevor Hoffman. To get a better feel for the 2009 Milwaukee Brewers, here is a quick preview of the upcoming season.
Offense:
While the team might be hurting with its starting rotation, the club is still loaded with some of the best young bats in the game. The heart and soul of this lineup is in LF Ryan Braun, who finished 3rd in the MVP voting last season, and 1B Prince Fielder. The two combined for 71 HR’s and 208 RBIs last year. CF Mike Cameron has the power to help this team score some runs, but he is strike out prone, and can be a big inning killer. Getting the offense going will be SS JJ Hardy and 2B Ricky Weeks, and these two need to get on base as much as possible with Braun and Fielder following behind. The Brewers could really use RF Corey Hart to bounce back with a solid 2009 season after hitting just .239 after the all-star break in 2008. The Brewers will likely have to deal with Jason Kendall as the opening day catcher, but after hitting just .246 last season, don’t be surprised if the young prospect Angel Salome gets a crack at the starting job at some point during the season. Overall we look for this offense to hit a bunch of homeruns, but if Fielder or Braun struggle to get it going, its going to be really hard for this team to compete in 2009.
Pitching:
There is no question that the Brewers will not be able to replace the talent of Sheets and Sabathia in the starting rotation, but if the offense produces like it should, just keeping the team in the game could be good enough to get this team back into the playoffs this season. After missing most of last season, Yovani Gallardo will be the ace of this staff, and his health his a big part of the Brewers’ potential this year. Dave Bush, Manny Parra, and Jeff Suppan will return to the starting rotation, with free agent pickup Braden Looper rounding out the starters. Bush was great to finish the season going 4-0 in August with a 2.12 ERA and the hope is Parra will be able to improve off his 10 wins in just his first full season in the majors. The addition of Trevor Hoffman should help this team finish games, as Eric Gagne was a big disappointment last year and is no longer part of the team. Look for David Riske, Jurge Julio, and possibly Chris Capuano to be the main setup men to get the ball into Hoffman’s hands.
Prediction: 4thin NL Central
The Brewers did everything they could to win in 2008, and it might have cost them in the long run, as this team just doesn’t have the pitching to compete day in and day out. We like this team to finish around .500, but in a tough NL Central that could land them in the bottom half of the division.
Archived Season Previews:
Individual MLB Team Previews:
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