predictions on any of the brewers for a suprisingly great season?

[dlk9s]

Ken Macha will have a huge year, giving someone the green light to steal at least once per week.

[PrinceFielderx1]

Rickie Weeks is going to shock Brewers fans with 35 HR's and 120 RBI's . He's the next top hitter in Milwaukee not named Braun or Fielder.

I don't think anything Rickie Weeks does is really a surprise even though he hasn't yet. Talent-wise, he's right there with Braun and Fielder. What it will take for him to put together a season that matches his talent is the question. Those numbers are a little extreme though.

 

My surprise is Escobar of course. I think he'll hit .300, steal 35 bases, score 100 runs and slug over .400 and walk away with ROY award. Of course I won't be surprised but most of you will.

 

My pitching surprise will be Claudio Vargas.

I don't think so. I think he is going to pick up where he left off in 2009. In 37 games last season he already had 9HR's and 24 RBI's. and 40 hits.

[DHonks]

Just looking at things, and I have to think that Parra has a decent chance for a breakout year, as do a number of other players. Bush, Hart, Gomez, and Weeks have all shown glimpses, but never put whole seasons together. Heck, I just did a little look at two pitchers off the top of my head who were huge underachievers early in their careers, and both Roy Halladay and Chris Carpenter compare favorably to Parra early in their careers.

[TheCrew07]

Ken Macha will have a huge year, giving someone the green light to steal at least once per week.

I have nothing to add other than that made me laugh... go Ken!

[mothershipconnection]

Its really not a joke mostly because its a contract year. If he wants to get a decent contract to be a starter in this league again, he is going to have to make the starting rotation and pitch well.

 

All the motivation in the world ain't gonna help Suppan. You could tell me "you'll get $50 Million and have a guarantee of a long happy life if you can start 30 games and have an ERA under 6.00 in the major leagues" and I'd still be somewhere around 80.00 (my guess at what a BP pitcher would put up). Suppan's talent level acts as a ceiling that would prevent drive and motivation from leading to success.

 

My prediction is Parra. The guy just has too much talent to continue looking mediocre. Something just needs to "click" again for him.

[nate82]

Sleeper pick for a surprisingly great season would be John Axford. If someone gets injured and it is a non lefty I think Axford is going to get the call up first I believe he will be perfect in the bullpen with Hawkins and Coffey being the only real hard throwers in the bullpen.

 

Other picks for a surprisingly good year: Jody Gerut and Manny Parra. Both are going to have a great year and I think Gerut may even push for playing time over Hart.

[clancyphile]

Two in the majors, three from the farm:

OF Jim Edmonds: Proves that the .937 OPS with the Cubs in 2008 was not a fluke, and forces the Brewers to have him split time with Gomez and Hart

 

C George Kotteras: Hits .265 with 12 homers and an OBP in the .370 range.

 

Minors

LHP Chris Cody: When a starter goes down, he comes up - and the Jose Cappellan trade will officially become a steal for the Brewers

 

C Angel Salome: Hits .360 in Nashville. All of a sudden, the Brewers have THREE legit options at catcher.

 

3B Taylor Green: His season includes batting averages of over ,300, over 40 doubles between Huntsville, Nashville, and a September call-up. Oh yeah, he walks more than he whiffs.

[monty57]

I think if given playing time, Gerut could find the form that led to an .845 OPS in 2008. If healthy, Bush should go back to his low-to-mid 4's ERA he's had most of his career. I also think Escobar's bat will play fine in the majors, and the glove will excel.

 

I predict Gamel will destroy AAA pitching, making for an interesting decision either mid-season or next off-season on what the Brewers' plans are for him in the future.

[HiAndTight]

Jeff Suppan... Haha, just kidding. I think Weeks could be an All-Star if he can finally stay healthy.

LOL......we're going to read these at the end of the year and find a lot of comments that we can't believe we made and a couple that prove prophetic.

 

The first one I'm gonna throw out there very well may prove to be the prior, but I think Jeff Suppan will be a very big surprise for the Brewers. I'm predicting a 4.40 ERA this year and 195 innings pitched. I don't know if he'll do it with a .185 BABIP and walking 185 guys, but I think he'll someone manage to not be terrible this year(at least his ERA won't be).

 

 

Please don't ask me to substantiate that one. It's just one part guess, one part wishful thinking and one part "injured pitcher-in-a-contract-year".

 

 

As for the youngsters, I think McGehee will struggle and prove to be just a guy as he was for his entire minor league career and Mat Gamel will step up and hit around .300/.365/.500 and have a big season for us in the #2 spot.

 

I fear a handful of guys will struggle or regress, but I also think you'll see a passable .285/.325 type line from Gomez who hits for a little more pop than we expect. Not a surprisingly "great" season by any means, but a surprisingly "not awful" season......

 

[HiAndTight]

Ah hell, I can't stick to just those.

 

 

Minor Leagues;

 

Jake Odorizzi-Easy and fluid delivery and effectiveness allow him to throw 125 innings with 10K's per 9, and a 2-2.5 GO/FO ratio.

Kentrail Davis-Puts up a .325/.415/.575 line in Low A and quickly asserts himself as thee steal of the draft and a top 25 prospect in the game.

 

AND.....Cody Scarpetta.

The ticking clock and electric stuff combine to push him and he posts a sub-3.00 ERA with a 1.10 Whip, 11K per 9IP, and a 3-1 K/BB ratio as he puts himself firmly in line to be a 2011 early to mid-season callup!

 

 

By the way, this topic makes me almost more excited for Minor League baseball this season than Brewers baseball. I can't wait to see if some of us are right about the Brewers young stable of arms, or if BA is correct and we're really one of the weakest systems in the game.