Last year, I knew the Brewers were going to be better than people thought, did I think they would put themselves into a position going into the last month where they could clinch a berth into the postseason? I did not.
Unfortunately, the Brewers folded late and could not finish what could have been one of the biggest surprises we’d seen in baseball in some time.
However, in 2015, I look for Milwaukee to be just as good as last year, and I have three guys that are going to bounce back, and one that is going to emerge as a major player for Milwaukee in 2015.
To me, a no brainer bounce back candidate is Jean Segura.
Tragedy struck Segura last summer when his son tragically passed. He took time away from the team after what was a disappointing campaign to that point.
I think he’ll come out this year with a new focus and bounce back with a nice year. Prior to that, Segura was an on base machine. A .367 minor league OBP and in his best major league season to this point, he was at .329.
His track record indicates he should bounce back nicely from a .246 average in 2014, as his Batting Average on Balls in Play (BABIP) was at .275 last year. BABIP is a fair indicator Segura should easily up that average this year.
If Segura gets on base at the clip he’s capable of, he’s can really move, and take steal bases and allow more opportunities for his middle of the order bats to get him in.
I like a nice year out of Segura and for him to be a big catalyst at the top of the lineup.
Ryan Braun has to be a force in the middle of this order.
Coming off the suspension, Braun struggled in ‘14. A 19 HR, 81 RBI .269/.324/.453 line last year wasn’t the typical Ryan Braun year. I think we can expect Braun to get back to that .300 hitter with 25-30 home runs.
Put aside your biases about his positive PED tests, Braun is still one of the biggest stars of the game today. He is the face of the Brewers, and for Milwaukee to move past the collapse of last year, Ryan Braun has to be the one guy that bounces back.
For Khris Davis, his first full season in the big leagues was a tale of two halves.
Davis blasted 15 of his 22 home runs in the first of the year to a .252 average falling off to .239 in the second half.
After a terrific May, Davis slowly dropped off month by month. If he can learn from his first full go through, we could really see Davis explode.
I do expect him to find consistency and have a very good 2015.
The Brewers have long coveted Jimmy Nelson. At 6-foot-6 and 245, Nelson is your prototypical power arm.
I would encourage you to not take a lot of stock in his 2-9 4.93 ERA in 2014.
Nelson is not going to be a 4-plus ERA pitcher. In fact, his Fielding Independent Fielder (FIP) figures from last year was 3.78. While I don’t think that number will always be that high, I think Nelson shows major improvement in 2015 and over time could become one of the Brewers top starting pitchers.
In the offseason, the Brewers moved longtime ace Yovanni Gallardo and part of the reason for that was because they believed Jimmy Nelson was ready to step in and become a centerpiece of this rotation.
I don’t know that Nelson will become an ace type pitcher in year one, but with guys like Matt Garza and Kyle Lohse already there, I think Nelson can be the third of a solid trio of pitchers.
An offseason addition I love to this lineup was Adam Lind.
I talked about this guy last year and thought he was in for a big time year, unfortunately, Lind battled injuries, and didn’t play in 100 games. While he saw limited field time, Lind did hit .321 with six homers. Two of the last three years, injuries have hampered him but when Lind is on the field, is one heck of a left handed hitter.
In a right handed heavy lineup, a power left handed bat for the Brewers will be very welcome.
Again, if Lind is healthy, history tells us he is a 25-35 home run a year guy with a healthy average. He joins a similarly constructed lineup in Milwaukee from where he was in Toronto.
As I do every year, I like Lind for a nice year in Milwaukee and to give the Brewers the stability they’ve needed at first since the departure of Prince Fielder.
Of course we all know what Carlos Gomez, Jonathan Lucroy, and Aramis Ramirez are going to give you. Same for Kyle Lohse and Matt Garza. The Brewers need the guys named above to step up and provide some relief.
I thought the Brewers did well in bringing back closer Francisco Rodriguez for another contract. The Brewers bullpen also needs to be better late in the year as well. The Brewers lost big roles in Tom Gorzelanny and Zack Duke. How do the Brewers replace those two guys that provided great production?
That is such a big question for this team this year.
The usual power, the St. Louis Cardinals headline the NL Central and once again the Pittsburgh Pirates look primed for another run at the playoffs. I also look for the Cubs to be much improved, so the Brewers have little room for a late season letdown.
We know they are capable of winning a lot of games, for the Brewers this year, it has to be about maintaining that high level of play.
I think the Brewers make a strong run, not just at the playoffs, but at the NL Central.
With a wide open National League this year, I look forward to seeing how the Brew Crew respond after last year’s late season debacle with plenty of upside this year.
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