Brewers Look Primed for Big Season After Spring Training

The Brewers are looking to have a huge season after finishing fourth in the Cactus League this Spring Training. The Brewers finished with a record of 15-11 only two games behind the leading team.

A Brewers Spring Training hat with new logo introduced in 2020 Photo: Justin Brenner

Leading the way for the Brewers was the catcher Many Pina and Left fielder Christian Yelich. Yelich had 11 hits and Pina had ten, both players hit over .300 which is very good. Pina is looking to bounce back for the Brewers after battling injuries last season.

Yelich, on the other hand, is looking to bounce back from a horrid campaign, after two years of MVP contention winning one in 2018 and finishing second in 2019. However, last year in the odd 60-game season Yelich barely hit .200 leaving him in the bottom of the Brewers hitters.

So far this year there seems to be much excitement from the Brewers fans on social media.

“Let’s go Crew!!” wrote Brewers fan Joe Cook on Instagram.

“Let’s get this boys!!!” With a fire emoji. Wrote another fan, Jenni Spor, also on Instagram.

Other break out players for the Brewers this season are Kolten Wong and Billy McKinney. Kolten Wong is now on the Brewers after he was signed in the offseason, now looking to make a difference on the field. Wong is playing with something to prove and it shows in his Spring Training statistics. He had 11 hits giving him a .306 batting average.

Billy McKinney is also looking to be a big utility piece for the Brewers. He is playing behind a crowded outfield, with Lorenzo Cain, Christian Yelich and Asvisail Garcia already having a starting spot in the outfield.

However, McKinney has impressed this Spring Training with 11 hits and four home runs. And considering McKinney’s speed he has the ability to race around the base paths and get some infield singles. McKinney’s combination of speed and power is very important and could be a key factor later in the game when a pinch hitter or runner is needed for the Brewers.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Brewers have many Gold Glovers in the field. In the outfield the Brewers have past Gold Glovers Jackie Bradley Jr., Yelich and Lorenzo Cain. And in the infield the Brewers brought in Kolten Wong who has won Gold Glove for second base the past two seasons.

The Brewers also look to step up their pitching this season. The most notable standouts were Ray Black, J.P. Feyereisen, Corbin Burnes, Brent Suter and Devin Williams. All of these pitchers were regulars for the Brewers last year and look to regain their roles all with strong showings in Spring Training. All of these pitchers had an ERA under 3.0 which is very good at the major league level.

The most impressive were Burnes, Feyereisen, Suter. Burnes pitched 16.1 innings and only gave up three earned runs and struck out 26 batters. Those are very good numbers for a pitcher looking to become Milwaukee’s ace this year.

Feyereisen is looking to be a big product coming out of the bullpen and he showed it in spring only giving up one run in 9.2 innings. Also, with 17 strike outs the Brewers can use someone like him who is reliable late game and can get out of a jam with his ability to strike out batters.

And finally, another impressive bullpen arm in Suter. Suter put together a great Spring giving up only two runs in 10.1 innings of work. The strike out numbers were not as high for Suter but that is ok has, he is known for making hitters ground out with weak contact and working multiple innings out of the bullpen. His ability to cause weak contact and work multiple innings will come in handy if the Brewers lose a starter to injury.

The last important aspect is the fans. Fans are once again allowed at American Family Field in Milwaukee and will look to make some noise as the Brewers open the season looking to finish first in the National League Central.

Fans in the stands of “American Family Field” during a game in July 2019 Photo: Justin Brenner

There is limited capacity however, the fans are still an important part of the Brewers as they seem to fuel this small market team and give them drive in a division that is theirs to win.