Manager
Ron Roenicke, first year
Last Year
77-85, third in NL Central, No. 21 in Power Rankings
Preseason Power Ranking
No. 15
Notable Arrivals
SS Yuniesky Betancourt (trade, Royals), RHP Sean Green (free agent, Mets), RHP Zack Greinke (trade, Royals), 1B-OF Mark Kotsay (free agent, White Sox), RHP Shaun Marcum (trade, Blue Jays), C Wil Nieves (free agent, Nationals), OF Jeremy Reed (free agent, Blue Jays), RHP Takashi Saito (free agent, Braves),
Notable Departures
RHP Dave Bush (free agent, to Rangers), CF Lorenzo Cain (trade, to Royals), LHP Chris Capuano (free agent, to Mets), RHP Todd Coffey (free agent, to Nationals), SS Alcides Escobar (trade, to Royals), RHP Trevor Hoffman (retired), RHP Carlos Villanueva (trade, to Blue Jays), C Gregg Zaun (free agent, to Padres)
Three Storylines
- Pitching focus: After sporting a great lineup and suspect pitching, now the Brewers could have my favorite National League rotation outside of Philadelphia. Greinke should flourish in the National League, and Marcum was an up-and-comer in Toronto. And with Adam Wainwright out for the year in St. Louis, Yovani Gallardo would be the ace of every other team in the division.
- Last year for Fielder?: If Milwaukee is in contention, they'll hold on to Prince Fielder until the very end of the season. If they falter, he'll be perhaps the No. 1 name on the market at the trade deadline. His contract expires after the season.
- Enough defense?: The Brewers' infield could be a defensive disaster. Fielder has little range at first, and Betancourt is rated among the worst shortstops. Milwaukee was 29th in Defense Efficiency Ratio last season, and didn't upgrade at any position. That's one way to derail a good pitching staff.
Projected Lineup
- 2B Rickie Weeks
- RF Corey Hart
- LF Ryan Braun
- 1B Prince Fielder
- 3B Casey McGehee
- C Jonathan Lucroy
- SS Yuniesky Betancourt
- CF Carlos Gomez
- Pitcher
Off the Bench
1B-OF Mark Kotsay, C Wil Nieves, IF Craig Counsell
Projected Rotation
- RHP Zack Greinke
- RHP Yovani Gallardo
- RHP Shaun Marcum
- LHP Randy Wolf
- LHP Chris Narveson
Bullpen Keys
- RHP John Axford (closer)
- RHP LaTroy Hawkins (setup)
Pick
Third in NL Central
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