2016 Starting Position players

[CheezWizHed]

Since a SP rotation thread was out there, I thought I'd start the same for position players. My main intentions is to show where our weaknesses are for the starting positions. I've left out anyone that would normally be considered a utility only player (Gomez or Schafer):

 

Probable depth chart (pending any FAs or trades of course):

C Lucroy Maldonado Weisenburger Centeno

1B Lind Braun Rogers Clark

2B Gennett Segura Sardinas Rivera

3B Perez Herrera Rogers

SS Segura Sardinas Rivera Arcia

LF/RF Braun Santana Davis Reed Roache

CF Peterson Wren Phillips Taylor

 

If we were to forget about service time or anything else, I can see this as our most talented lineup:

 

C Lucroy Maldonado Weisenburger Centeno

1B Braun* Rogers Clark

2B Gennett Segura Sardinas Rivera

3B Perez Herrera Rogers

SS Arcia Segura Sardinas Rivera

LF/RF Santana Reed Davis Roache

CF Phillips Peterson Wren Taylor

* Assuming a Lind trade...

 

The things that jump out to me is the hole at 3B and the depth at 1B and C. Probably no surprises there, but its nice to see the depth all in one spot. That potential OF looks quite exciting!

[Jenkins5]

I think Michael Reed as a real opportunity next spring to fill that CF spot to at least start the year until Phillips or Taylor claim it. That would in effect push him to a 4th OF in the mold of Parra. Peterson is very iffy in CF, Wren could push for job, Schaefer most likely wins it.

 

My idea OF would be Santana, Reed, Braun but not sure it works out that way.... Sadly Davis, Schaefer, Braun is what we get.

[reillymcshane]

Our offense is going to be bad next year:

 

C - Lucroy/Maldonado - Above average - although both players were below average this year, I don't think it's a stretch to think they can't rebound to make this position a positive.

1B - Lind - Above average, although you need a respectable right handed bat to platoon (Lind has a .821 OPS at 1B, but the poor hitting of the other players - mostly Rogers - drops the position to a .781 OPS this year).

2B - Scooter - Average - although he has been below average in 2015, Scooter's past success, plus his solid play since returning from the minors, makes me think he can be an average starter. You need a platoon partner. Most options (Rivera, Sardinas, Gomez, Herrera) are poor hitters, but better defensive players.

SS - Segura - Average

3B - Perez or Dominguez - Below average - Perez has a sub .700 OPS play since joining the team. If you include his time in Detroit, it's sub .600 OPS play this year. There's little reason to view him as no more than a utility guy. Dominguez offers some pop, but not much else. It's a bad situation.

LF - Davis - Average - Surprisingly, Davis, even with a .734 OPS, is hitting better than the league average. Add in his mediocre defense, and you have a, barely, average player. Santana offers an intriguing option due to his plus power. But he screams Wily Mo Pena to me, which isn't necessarily good.

CF - Schafer, Peterson, Wren - below average. It's an ugly situation. You gotta hope someone steps up.

RF - Braun - Above average.

 

No one is exceptional. There's no big bat to carry the club. There are a lot of questions. One of the three 'above average' positions are coming off a bad season - and none of them is really that great. Some of the average positions are dicey as well. Two positions are just bad looking. And depth is an issue as well. A major injury or two, such as Lucroy and Lind, could really be painful.

 

I just see a lot of question marks without very good answers. The team does have the off season to make some moves, but this lineup won't be very good next year.

[ewitkows]

I don't see Braun moving next season. I see Lind hanging around and possibly even signing a extension.

[BrewersAA]

Line-ups are so hard just because position players seem to change hands/positions much more than relievers. There are just a ton of possibilities. I could see a potential lineup where several guys are traded that looks like this.

 

CF: Reed

2B: Perez

RF: Braun

C: Lucroy

LF: Davis

1B: Clark

3B: Rogers

SS: Sardinas

 

This also puts a wave of impact guys at AAA and IMO what you are hoping for is a few of these guys to hit and have nice 1st halves and then you flip them and call up Arcia, Phillips, Santiago, & Taylor. I would like to see Davis and Braun traded this winter (nothing against braun, it would just be nice to get out of that contract), but the outfield FA market is deep! Now, on the same hand the FA market for IFs is barren, especially MIFs, so i could see lind having significant offseason value as well as segura and gennett.

[Jenkins5]

1b Lind

2b Gennett

SS Segura

3b Perez

c Lucroy

LF Santana

Cf Reed

Rf Braun

 

Corner OF Davis or Peterson

All OF Schaefer or Wren

 

1b/3b Dominguez or Rogers

2B/SS Sardinas or Rivera

C Maladondo

[JohnBriggs12]

I will go out on a limb and say Brewers will sign Jon Jay and David Murphy as FA on short term (1-2 year) deals.

 

Shane Peterson has to show me he deserves the Parra role for 2016, as soft platoon with Davis. I'm not convinced. Jay is the perfect buy low stopgap guy to play CF and lesser free agents tend to stay in division so I think Brewers have a decent shot at him. Murphy is an older poor man's version of Parra.

 

Bolstering the offense from the left side without spending a lot and not impeding any young players should be the goal this winter. If they can add two legit major league lefty bats, then they can deal Lind and move Braun to 1B opening up RF to Santana.

[pacopete4]

C: Alex Avila

1B: Lind

2B: Gennett

3B: Dominguez

SS: Sardinias

LF: Braun

CF: Reed

RF: Santana

 

C: Maldonado

IF: Perez, Rivera

OF: Peterson, Wren

[paul253]

Please let them move Lind and let Rogers play first. Next year is going to a lost year anyway so why pay Lind while simultaneously benching a guy who has nothing left to prove in AAA? Even if you get a lower level corner infield prospect it's a help.

[gregmag]

Thanks for doing this, Cheez. My best guess for our most common lineup next year:

 

cf Reed

2b Gennett

1b Braun (assuming Lind trade and position shift)

lf Davis

c Lucroy (assuming no trade)

rf Santana

ss Segura (Arcia before the end of the year)

3b Perez

 

The hardest and most interesting thing about this exercise, I think, is that we're likely to see a lot of fluidity in the lineup next year. Right now I think Reed, Arcia, and Santana will all be starting by August, but they could all start the year at AAA.

 

If Schafer catches fire the rest of this year, he could start next year in cf. Not likely, of course.

 

Similarly, if Perez doesn't hit the rest of the year, he could be out. Dominguez is a possible in-house option (not looking likely right now, but he's there). 3b is pretty clearly the likeliest position to be filled by someone who isn't here yet.

 

I don't get the point of holding onto Lind. He could very easily regress, he isn't young, he won't be cheap to resign, and his 1b defense barely passes muster now. If they don't move Braun to 1b, then sub in Rogers 1b for Santana rf in the lineup above. I like Rogers, and I'd like to see him get a shot, but I don't think any amount of wishing will make him a passable 3b.

 

I continue to believe most people are underrating Khris Davis. As reilly mcshane pointed out, he's been average this year, and this year has involved a major injury and then getting clobbered by Parra's career year. He has been better than this before, and I think he will be again. The power he brings to the table is worth a lot more than it was five years ago.

 

Middle infield is hard to predict. I think Gennett has a job until (a) he gets expensive or (b) somebody clearly outclasses him, which no one has yet but Rivera conceivably could. I think they'll start next year with Segura at ss, but who knows. I'd probably get what I could for him over the winter, give Rivera or Sardinas the job out of spring training, and expect Arcia to push the starter out by mid-summer.

[FVBrewerFan]

I don't want to see Arcia, Santana, or Reed up next year. Just no reason to burn a year of service time in a wasted season. With that said, I will make a caveat and say ONE of those guys can come up next year. Not a bad idea to get that rookie year out of the way for Santana or Reed.

 

I would like to see Rogers get some extended playing time at 1B. K Davis, another year in LF will tell us once and for all if he is in the long term plans or not. Pretty much same thing with Gennett.

 

I would try real hard to trade Braun, Lind and Lucroy, but I expect them to all be back.

[igor67]

Reed and Santana are not guys you get cute with on service time. Santana because he's done all he can at AAA and with his profile you might very well want to give him 2 full years to acclimate to the big leagues or risk getting Nelson Cruzed again. Reed is a guy I like a lot, but is not someone likely to be so amazing that I have to keep him. That said he still probably starts the year in AAA, until he has done enough to show he is ready for the last step. That said I'm not sure at the moment how Santana gets into the opening day line-up as a starter but he should. Phillips and Arcia potentially get the whole year in AAA, but it kind of depends we have a lot of young starters if they really step it up?

[clancyphile]

What I think is the best possible offensive lineup, assuming no trades, and disregarding defense as I usually do:

cf: Reed

ss: Arcia

3b: Braun

1b: Lind

rf: Santana

c: Lucroy

lf: Roache

2b: Gennett/Segura platoon

pitcher

 

With a bench of Maldonado, Segura/Gennett, Hernan Perez, Schafer, and Khris Davis.

[fondybrewfan]

Yeah I don't understand the service time concerns for these guys. If they show they are ready to play in MLB let them play. At least then if we can become competitive again in 2017 or 2018 they all have some playing time under their belt instead of being rookies trying to feel their way. Let them take their lumps for a year so we are ready to compete after that. This shouldn't be a Cubs or Astros style rebuild that takes 4 years; I am hoping it takes 2.

[clancyphile]

Reed and Santana are not guys you get cute with on service time. Santana because he's done all he can at AAA and with his profile you might very well want to give him 2 full years to acclimate to the big leagues or risk getting Nelson Cruzed again. Reed is a guy I like a lot, but is not someone likely to be so amazing that I have to keep him. That said he still probably starts the year in AAA, until he has done enough to show he is ready for the last step. That said I'm not sure at the moment how Santana gets into the opening day line-up as a starter but he should. Phillips and Arcia potentially get the whole year in AAA, but it kind of depends we have a lot of young starters if they really step it up?

 

I think Reed is in the mix for the starting CF job in 2016... his speed and OBP skills make him a decent option to lead off. Santana could fit nicely in right field, moving Braun to either left or first.

[JohnBriggs12]

From a marketing or competitive standpoint, they can't have a roster full of minor league vets like Schafer, Peterson, Herrera, or Hector Gomez around with no track record of success in the major leagues. Maybe Peterson as a bench bat but those other guys need to go.

 

Lind's value is he's the only legit LH power bat. Unless as I suggest, they invest in a couple lefty vet hitters, for full time duty in CF and at least part time duty in LF or 3B, the lineup would be too RH and yes they aren't likely to become contenders but they should still try and field a team capable of competing and having some entertainment value. Santana may be the most major league ready, but there will need to be maneuvers to get him in the every day lineup.

 

It's just hard seeing Rogers as full time 1B, and Gennett as the lone LH bat in a lineup.

 

I'm of the belief that staying too long in the minors can stunt a player's growth. So if by June, Arcia's done all he can do at that level then just bring him up. It would give a lot us a reason to show up, and it would help Arcia's development. The idea that you can wait until all these guys are ready to win is rather foolish. Just because they can compete at the major league level doesn't mean they are good enough to win. Why not adjust to major league pitching when nothing is expected team-wise? The biggest stud for the Cubs isn't Bryant, it's Anthony Rizzo, and he endured the worst of it in Chicago.

[SoCalBrewfan]

It's kind of amazing how we went from a pretty settled roster entering 2015 to question marks everywhere. Next year will be spring training all year long I think....just like now.

 

The timing of newcomers like Arcia, Reed, Santana will be interesting. My gut feeling is that none of those three go North with the big club in April, but that all play in Milwaukee at some point during 2016 and are in the opening day 2017 lineup. And honestly, the roster they start 2016 with will be way less interesting than the one they end the year with.

 

There will be quite a few decisions to be made with the back half of the roster very soon; in particular they have a ton of infielders on the 40 man roster who are redundant and will need a bunch of slots for young players. I don't have a good sense of who they like on the corners from among Perez, Herrera, Dominguez, Rogers, Clark, but presumably they don't keep all of them, even if Lind is still here. Similarly, I could imagine any one of about ten middle infield combos next year, drawing from Segura, Gennett, Sardinas, Gomez, Rivera, maybe even Perez or Herrera; for all that, though, the biggest question is who ends up pairing with Arcia in their eventual 2017+ lineup. Decisions in the outfield are coming as well, as in the not too distant future we'll have available some combination of Reed, Phillips, Santana, and maybe Wren or Tyrone Taylor.

 

It's kind of a cool challenge for a new GM; there will be lots of decisions to be made and opportunities to shape the roster, with some promising assets and a lot of incomplete pieces.

 

If it's me, I try to put a great defense behind our young pitchers, given that the offense doesn't look great in the short term. I'd shop Segura, Lind, Davis, Gennett, and Braun this offseason, most aggressively trying to move Segura or Gennett and Lind, and give Sardinas and Rogers long looks.

[CheezWizHed]

I suppose if Michael Reed keeps killing AAA and does well in ST, he might get a chance to start in CF. I hadn't thought about that. Short term, that could work.

 

I expect Santana coming up next year and move Braun out of RF. If Khris Davis returns as Khrush Davis the rest of this year, I can see them motivated to trade out Lind and move Braun. Otherwise, Khris might go packing instead. I've long been a KD fan, but with some above average guys behind him, he won't stick around if he is just average.

[1992casey]

Yeah I don't understand the service time concerns for these guys.

 

For a player who's never seen the Major Leagues, 20 days in the minors will gain an extra year of team control. That's huge. Avoiding super-two is a much lesser concern; all that does is cost the team more money in a player's third year.

[SRB]

My guesses:

 

C - Lucroy

1B - Rogers (Lind traded in the offseason)

2B - Gennett/Sardinas

3B - Dominguez

SS - Segura

LF - Braun

CF - Reed (Schafer for the first month or so of the season, then Reed called up)

RF - Santana (Davis traded in the offseason)

[Funketown]

What type of batting line are we expecting out of Reed? It seems a bit lofty to expect lead-off production out of a guy putting up a .278/.379/.422 in Biloxi. I don't really see the reason to rush him unless he mashes in Colorado Springs (for whatever that's worth...). That said, bringing up a borderline prospect in a non-competitive season wouldn't be the worst stop-gap.

[JohnBriggs12]

Yeah I don't understand the service time concerns for these guys.

 

For a player who's never seen the Major Leagues, 20 days in the minors will gain an extra year of team control. That's huge. Avoiding super-two is a much lesser concern; all that does is cost the team more money in a player's third year.

 

For top of the line prospects, like Arcia and Phillips, service time is huge. Otherwise it's not. I think casey's point is Santana and Reed are nice prospects but not cornerstone franchise guys. The likelihood they become lineup fixtures for 6 seasons is remote.

[Crash2303]

SS Jean Segura

C Jonathan LuCroy

RF Ryan Braun

1B Adam Lind

LF Khris Davis

CF Ben Guez

3B TRADE for Garza and K-Rod

2B Scooter Gennett

 

NOTES

* In general, I think its looking more and more like management is going to try and stay competitive next year to keep people in the seats, which is why you didn't see a complete uhaul of players leave. if you look at the roster- if they can fill CF & 3B, it is likely they'll be a .500 team or better. unlike the NBA they don't need to tank to retool, we can trade a few spare parts to add to our young core in the off-season or next year and still maintain a good MLB team.

 

* Ben Guez - nobody has mentioned him as being in the running for the CF next year. It is too bad what happened to him this season, because he most likely would have seen a lot of time on the MLB roster. but, Melvin has said he really likes him and wants to bring him back- unless we pick up a FA or trade, I think he's our starting CF over Wren, Reed, Peterson, Schafer.

 

* Keep Wren, Reed, Arcia, Phillips in AAA for a full season there to refine their game- no need to rush them next year.

 

* Domingo Santana will take over in the OF once Lind is traded at the all-star break. He'll take Kris Davis' spot unless Khrush Davis shows up between then and now, in which case I expect Braun to go to 1B.

 

* I expect one or both of Gennett and/or Segura to be traded before the end of next season with Sardinas taking over starting duties and Rivera filling his utility spot.

 

* 3B- big hole, with few if any viable options next season. Few FAs available there, so wouldn't be surprised if they use K-Rod, Garza, and Segura/Gennett to address 3B for next year via trade. If not I expect Dominguez, Perez, Gomez, Sardinas, Rivera, Rogers to battle it out in ST. I think Rogers beats them out, working on his D all off season. Though, really wish Taylor Green had panned out- he'd be perfect to slot in their for a couple years.

[Jenkins5]

There is zero excuse for Santana to be sent back down again next year. I think outside of his K rate, he has shown there is nothing left for him to still prove in AAA. We are a rebuilding team, if he is in future plans, why delay? He dominates AAA, time for him to begin adjusting to MLB. He already used a option this year. Moreover, how do you expect anyone to improve when you have Wren, Reed, Taylor, Phillips, Roache, and Santana all sharing time in the OF?

 

Phillips, Arcia, Taylor should all not touch MLB next season until July/August at earliest. Reed is older and getting his AAA experience in now. Wren as well. Guez would be extremely depressing.... Wasting opportunity for a guy in our future plans like Reed getting a shot. Peterson & Schaefer would still be above Guez, Long even as well

[MrTPlush]

I'm guessing this:

 

C- Lucroy

1B- Rogers

2B- Gennett

3B- Dominguez

SS- Sardinas

LF- Davis(not going anywhere yet)

CF- Reed

RF- Braun

 

I'm going out on a limb thinking the Brewers will stop wasting their time with Segura. I also wouldn't be surprised to see Braun shifted to 1B next season. I really don't see them moving Davis unless he has a nice 2 months...would be stupid to sell low on him so Santana can have a spot. I would just put Braun at first well before selling low on Davis. If Braun's future is really at first why wait?