A Look at the Brewers' Past, Present, and Future

It’s been a great start to the baseball season, but there have been a few surprises. What’s been the shocking fact? How every team has been almost .500? Boston is in last in the AL East? Or is it how guys like Chris Colabello and Charlie Blackmon come out of nowhere and have been on fire?

Though all of those might be surprising, that’s not what I’m looking for. It’s actually dealing with the Milwaukee Brewers. As of right now, they are the best team in the MLB. Why is that?

Coming off a season where they finished 2^nd to last in the NL Central, lost their best hitter in the middle of the season due to suspension, and they could not figure anything out with pitching, especially with their relief. I’ll be honest, I was glad when my favorite teams were playing them.

But they did show signs of talent. Two guys really jumped out in terms of offensive and defensive talent: Carlos Gomez and Jean Segura. Segura played his first full major league season at age 23 last year, and finished with a .294/.329/.423 line with 44 steals, 10 triples, and a 3.5 WAR.

Gomez was even better, having the best year of his career. In his prime 27 year season, he batted just .284/.338/.506, but had 40 steals and 24 home runs with 73 RBI’s, all career highs. The best part of his game was his defensive capabilities in centerfield. He finished with a 4.6 defensive WAR, which totals to a 8.9 WAR, the highest in the MLB and second only to Mike Trout. Call him the next Torii Hunter, because he can rob home runs with ease.

So seeing these guys stand out this year isn’t much of a surprise. Gomez is batting .375 with 4 home runs already, while Segura had a rough start but has been playing hot lately. Plus, Ryan Braun is back and has 10 RBI’s already, while Aramis Ramirez leads the team with a .383 batting average. Besides new acquisition Mark Reynolds, Gomez, and Kris Davis will strike out a lot, the rest of the team won’t strike out much.

Although this team ranks 5^th in batting average (.273) and 4^th in slugging percentage (.441), it’s not their hitting that has been carrying this team. It’s actually the outburst of their pitching. Check out these stats: 1^st in ERA (1.87), 2^nd in WHIP (1.03), 2^nd in Batting Average Allowed (.204), and have 8 quality starts from their starting pitching.

Their starting pitching consists of Yovani Gallardo, Wily Peralta, Marco Estrada, Kyle Lohse, and new acquisition Matt Garza. All except Lohse have an ERA under 3, with Gallardo having a 0.96 ERA and a 2-0 record.

Gallardo struggled last year, but it wasn’t because of anything with his control or velocity. It was his mental game. He had a few personal issues last year, and it looks like that has settled now. Matt Garza, though has yet to get a win for his new team, has given them a great #2 or #3 pitcher that they haven’t had since they had CC Sabathia and Zack Greinke.

Plus, their relief has been the best in the game. Four of their relief pitchers, including Francisco Rodriguez, have yet to give up a run this season. I bet every team wish they could say that about their relief system.

What I’m saying is that much of the Brewer’s success this year is not much of a surprise. What is surprising to me is that they are 6-0 on the road, sweeping the Phillies AND the Braves. On that perfect road trip, they outscored opponents 19-0 from the 7^th inning on. Plus they are so far 2-0 against their division, and can sweep the Pirates today.

The problem with the Brewers is that their farm system is horrible. They are ranked dead last in farm system rankings, and they have only one player in the top 100 MLB prospects (though the one player, a pitcher named Jimmy Nelson, could come up this year). Plus, minus Segura, some of their guys are getting old.

This year (and possibly the next one or two) might be the last times that they have a chance to even compete.  But as long as they keep playing like this, they can look like a playoff contender. The Cardinals will probably still pull out as division champs, but the Reds have played poorly, and the Pirates do not look like the same team compared to last year. They might be able to pull out one of the two wild card spots.

This is a fun team to watch this year, and Milwaukee should be getting excited. They’re not going to continue with such an astounding pitching roster, but if their bullpen stays the same, they might finish top 5 in the MLB.

All hatred aside, having Braun back has helped and will help too. But can Gomez do just as well as last year? Same with Segura. And is Mark Reynolds still going to strike out 200 times? The answer might come in their next week, as they host St. Louis, then go on a four game road series with the Pirates.

Soon the Cardinals and Cubs will be rocking the division, with the Pirates being just as good as well. This has to be the year for the Brewers, and as of now, they got a shot.