RFB Brewers Offseason Roundtable: Strengths and Weaknesses?

This Week’s Topic

Doug Melvin has said that the Brewers are basically done making moves. As of right now, what are the team’s strongest and weakest points? Who should we watch for to step up this year, and who should we lower our standards on?

Bryan

With the latest Ben Sheets development, it doesn’t look like the Brewers will get another starter until mid-year. I think starting pitching is the weakest point of the team right now. I think most of the pitchers will have a good year, but if one pitcher gets hurt (and it’s baseball, so it WILL happen), we then have to rely on Villa in a starter's role or the triumphant return of Chris Capuano.

We also shouldn’t count on our catchers much for offense, so I’m lowering my standards on Kendall and Rivera. Mike Rivera was amazing in very limited play last year, but I doubt he does the same this year. I hope he does, but I’m not expecting him to. I’m also not expecting Jason Kendall to start the year off like a man possessed like last year.

The strongest part of the team is their outfield, both defensively and offensively. I expect Mike Cameron to have a better overall year, especially since he won’t miss the first 25 games due to suspension.

Corey Hart’s mindset scares me a little. He ended last year with a massive slump and isn’t getting offered as much as he thought he should. This will either make him start tearing it up at the beginning of the year or will cause the slump to carry over.

Ryan Braun is basically gold in Milwaukee now. He will continue to work to improve on his already strong list of accomplishments.

Even though the Brewers lost uber-benchie Gabe Kapler, I have a feeling Tony Gwynn is going to turn it around this year and be a strong part of the Brewers bench.

Jared

I think the strongest area of the team is the offense. With the same starters as last year, the offense is obviously good. I also think a number of the guys on the team will contribute more this year than they did last year. They might have to in order to make up for the starting pitching.

The starting pitching is the team’s weakness. I don’t think there is anything wrong with the starting five. In fact, they’re probably above average. But the Brewers have no depth, and there is no way they can make it through the season pitching just five starters.

The Chase Wright trade was a step in the right direction, and Chris Capuano could come back from injury, but there are just question marks after that.... I think the team needs to add a starter or at least some more AAA depth.

I expect David Bush to step up this season. He’s flirted with pushing his game to the next level the last couple of seasons, and I think he’ll take that step this year. I’m not saying he’ll be an ace by any means, but I think he will be a very solid starter (ERA under 4) that will consistently eat innings and be a level performer for the Brewers.

I like what Jason Kendall brought to the table last year, but I worry about him becoming a weakness on the team. He made up for his weak offense with his defensive play and how he handled the pitching staff last season, but if he takes a step back offensively or defensively, his value will be pretty limited.