With 16 days left before pitchers and catchers report for spring training, it’s probably right to assume the Milwaukee Brewers don’t have any major moves left in them. They barely had any moves at all but on paper, the 2023 squad could very well be an upgrade from 2022. The moves that were made were calculated, didn’t cost much (shocker) and bring some upside to a team and fan base that needs some positive momentum after last year.
I want to look at each position and lay out the best case scenario for the season. Milwaukee has never been a hot bed for big name players yet they have been regulars in the playoffs for years. Obviously last year didn’t go as planned but I think the majority of Brewer fans saw the vision, even if they didn’t agree with it. Even though fans wanted more in the off-season, there are versions of 2023 where this roster finds a lot of success.
Starting Pitching
This is the one part of the team that I don’t think anyone is concerned about. They have a recent Cy Young award winner in Corbin Burnes, one of the more under rated arms in MLB in Brandon Woodruff and a lottery ticket in Freddy Peralta. I consider Peralta a lottery ticket because he’s only once thrown over 100 innings in a season. Whenever he does pitch however, the results have always been impressive.
Throw in starters like Houser, Lauer, Miley and Ashby and you have yourself a rotation with incredible upside and depth. The scary thing is, we still haven’t seen the full potential of this rotation. Burnes finally reached 200 innings last season, but that was the first time he’s thrown over 167 innings. Woodruff has only thrown over 153 innings once and it was 179 frames in 2021. Lauer has turned into a very solid back end starter and worked his inning count up to 158 last year. As long as the Crew can get reliable innings out of Houser, Miley and Ashby, there are no holes.
This rotation is a healthy season from Peralta away from being the best in baseball. Obviously, injuries happen and every team has to deal with them. That doesn’t mean teams don’t have seasons of good fortune. With a little luck and smart decision by Craig Counsell, this group of starters could blow away our already high expectations.
Relief Pitchers
The Brewers don’t have a concrete 1-2 punch to finish games this year like they did in years prior, but that doesn’t mean the bullpen won’t be good. A good year will be needed from Matt Bush who struggled after being traded for last year. He has the stuff to be a high leverage reliever and he should be more comfortable now after being in the organization for some time. We also can’t overlook the importance of a healthy Jake Cousins. He was very good in limited action in 2021 and continued that before an injury last year.
We are also likely to see some new arms make some noise in 2023. The Brewers have consistently found ideal roles in the bullpen for minor league arms that were struggling as starters. I’ll get more into the specific arms that fit this description in a different article. Keep an eye out for the name Cam Robinson this coming season as he could be the next young arm in the Milwaukee bullpen.
Overall, the bullpen lacks reliable names but that hasn’t killed this team in the past. Devin Williams is about as reliable as they come and this organization has done a great job of calling up electric arms that can develop into reliable late inning pitchers. I thoroughly expect that to happen in 2023 while a rebound year from Bush and a healthy Cousins anchor.
Catcher
If there’s one position that fans can’t complain about, it’s catcher as the Brewers front office upgraded in a big way. Adding William Contreras could very well go down as the steal of the off-season. Part of that is due to his upside, but also because of how little Milwaukee gave up to get him. Parting ways way a player buried in the organizational depth chart for an immediate impact starter at a position of need is a no brainer.
Even though Narvaez had a promising 2021, it was obvious he wasn’t going to be the long term answer. Contreras is 6 years younger and in his first full year, he out produced the best season of Omar’s career so far. Obviously, there are no guarantees in baseball or sports in general, but there’s a good chance the Brewers have an every day catcher that will be one of the best bats in the lineup as well.
First Base
2022 was an interesting year for Rowdy Tellez as he had his best but worst season to date. He easily set a new career high in home runs and RBI’s, but he also hit for his lowest average outside of a small sample size in 2021 that led to his trade to Milwaukee. At this point, we know he isn’t ever going to hit for a high average, but we should expect a slight uptick from last season.
We also can’t forget about Keston Hiura. Yes, he has been a major letdown since his rookie year, but he also hit 14 homeruns last year with very limited at bats. It’ll be tough for him to get consistent at bats, which I think is what he needs to produce at a decent level, but he’s also still relatively young. If Hiura struggles early and the Crew finally pull the plus, it’ll be an opportunity for Owen Miller to be the other part of that platoon. He did a decent job for Cleveland last year and does a better job of putting the bat on the ball.
The upside of this position is limited slightly but with the right strings being pulled, this team can get the power of Rowdy with some on base ability as well. Rowdy should have more chances to drive people in this season and even if his home run number doesn’t go up, the RBI’s should.
Second Base
With Kolten Wong no longer on the team, second base is very much so up for grabs. There isn’t a no brainer options to start on opening day at the moment, but that will change once spring training is a couple of weeks deep. Abraham Toro was brought in from Seattle over the winter but unless he makes an unexpected jump at 26, he likely won’t be the short or long term answer.
It’s most likely that we see Luis Urias slide over from third base. After a break out 2021, big things were expected of him last season. Unfortunately, those expectations weren’t met. A lot of that can be chalked up to a late start due to an injury but the numbers he did put up would look a lot better at second base than third. If he even flirts with his 2021 numbers, then the Brewers are really in great shape.
We also can’t overlook the potential of Brice Turang. He had an impressive 2022 in AAA and could be ready for a utility role in 2023. At 23, he is likely the long term solution either at second base or shortstop if Willy isn’t extended so it’ll be interesting to see if the Brewers front office would prefer to keep him in the minors so he can play every day. Either way, I think this position is in good shape in 2023 even if the faces will look a lot different from last season.
Shortstop
Shortstop may be the only position that looks identical from 2022 to 2023. Fan favorite Willy Adames set career highs in all major counting stats. Even though he struggled to get on base overall, he made sure to make his hits count. The one time touted prospect has only impressed since coming to Milwaukee and could very well have a better season in 2023. He has the ability to hit for power and average, and this coming year could be when he puts it all together.
Still only 27 years old, it wouldn’t at all be shocking to see him evolve his game even more. With Turang potentially backing him up, the Crew have young potential at important positions. Being able to have someone spell Willy once in a while without losing a ton of production will be key as to not wear Adames down as the season goes along.
Third Base
Third base will likely look different this year after the signing of Brian Anderson. This is far from a splash move but it isn’t one to over look either. Anderson had some productive years in Miami before dealing with a string of injuries. While healthy, he’s a hitter that can get on base and has some pop. The pop should be even more evident in Milwaukee as opposed to his previous home field in Miami.
After hopping on board, he mentioned how much better he feels now as opposed to the last three seasons. We can’t overlook the importance of being healthy and having that confidence back. Being able to have Anderson and Brosseau at third will be a bonus as both historically limit strikeouts and put the ball in play. That’s something this team desperately needs. There’s also a chance that Turang has a big spring training and forces the Brewers hand to put him somewhere, and that somewhere is third base.
Outfield/DH
The Brewers outfield in 2023 is going to look drastically different than is did in 2022. Gone is Renfroe, gone is Cain, gone is McCutchen (who mainly was a DH) and Taylor no longer looks to be apart of the plan. That leaves the Crew with Yelich, young Garrett Mitchell and either Taylor or new Brewer Jesse Winker. Even though many of the faces are different, we should expect better production.
For starters, Yelich is eventually going to have to have a solid season. His numbers improved in the lead off role last year but I expect to see some power again in 2023. Mitchell didn’t light the world on fire when called up last season but he got on base which is something the team needed in a big way. He has the speed to steal bases and as long as he gets on base at a decent clip, He should see a lot of playing time.
Winker may be an under the radar addition to this team, at least on a national level. He struggled in Seattle last year but it once again sounds like it was injury related. He had productive seasons as a Red and will get a lot of at bats in a ballpark that he has raked in as a member of a rival team. Do I expect him to match those numbers? No, that would be greedy, but getting somewhere close would be huge.
I listed Winker as an outfielder but it’s most likely that he is the DH this coming season. I expect that third outfield spot to be a revolving door until prospect Sal Frelick is called up. He jumped 3 levels last season and did his best work at the hardest one. Will he hit .365 all season? No, absolutely not, but he showed he can make adjustments as the competition gets harder and has the gap power this team needs. If he has a solid start to the season in AAA, it won’t be long before he’s called up to take on an every day role in the Milwaukee outfield.
Even though I don’t expect everything I listed to happen, I don’t think they need to for this team to make the playoffs. Even half of them happening and this team is in a solid spot. They finally have a farm system with some upside and with players that can make an impact this season. With the 3 aces in the rotation, all it takes is for them to be healthy for this roster to be competitive night in and night out.
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