Centerfielder Bill Hall will be Fielder’s only real protection in the lineup.  Last year Hall came out of nowhere to swat 35 home runs, more than double his previous career high.  Hall’s power is one reason the team is willing to look past his 161 strikeouts last season.

Rickie Weeks is the third young Brewer from whom the team is expecting a big season.  Last year, his second in the big leagues, Weeks bumped his average up 40 points, but saw a decline in both his power numbers and his already poor BB/K ratio.  In the off-season the Brewers traded outfielder Dave Krynzel--the franchise’s longtime “leadoff hitter of the future”—paving the way for Weeks to move into the leadoff spot.  Weeks will need to improve on his career .346 OBP in order to stay there, and the team thinks he is capable of that.  The wrist injury that ended Weeks’ season prematurely last August has healed, and the team needs him to start showing the five tool-talent that made him the #2 overall pick in the 2003 draft.

Unfortunately for the Brewers, much like the Artist Formerly Known as Prince, the rest of their lineup can be described with one symbol.  That symbol is a giant question mark.  Third baseman Corey Koskie is suffering from post concussion syndrome, and doesn’t know when he will return.  It’s likely that Craig Counsell and Tony Graffinino will fill in for him while he is out.  Twenty-four-year-old shortstop J.J. Hardy is slated to hit second, but he has only 500 major league at-bats and a career batting average of .246.  At catcher, Damien Miller and Johnny Estrada will split time unless one of them emerges as the starter.  In the outfield, some combination of Geoff Jenkins, Kevin Mench, and Corey Hart will fill the remaining two spots flanking Hall.  Hart has less than 300 career at-bats, and the numbers of Mench and Jenkins have been steadily declining the last three years; that means unless the team coaxes Robin Yount and Paul Molitor out of retirement to fill out the lineup, there will be even more pressure on Weeks, Fielder, and Hall to produce.  

The Brewers bullpen is another area that could prove to be problematic.  Francisco Cordero was untouchable as a closer after coming over from the Rangers last season, but the bullpen is thin in front of him.  The team hopes flame throwing right-hander Jose Capellan develops into a top setup man, but there is no guarantee that will happen.  Brian Shouse and Zach Jackson are the bullpen’s only lefties, and while Shouse is adequate against left-handed hitters, neither are dominant relievers.  The team is still holding out hope that Turnbow will become a shut-down reliever once again, but it’s more likely that Matt Wise, Carlos Villanueva, Gregg Aquino, or Claudio Vargas will be the team’s other late-inning right-handers.

Defensively, the Brewers are one of the weakest teams in the league.  Weeks led major league second basemen in errors last season even though he only played 92 games, and Bill Hall is a converted infielder playing his first full season in center field.  Out of the entire Brewers starting lineup, only Miller and Hardy are above average in the field.

The Brewers enter 2007 in a very interesting situation.  They are a young, small-market team with an increasing payroll, but it’s hard for them to be optimistic in light of last season’s results.  Their only major acquisition was Jeff Suppan, and their bullpen and defense—two hallmarks of competitive small market teams—are below average.  It’s now been 25 years since the Brewers last made the playoffs, and it looks like manager Ned Yost and his team will have to wait another year. 

2006: 75-87 (4th in NL Central)