Baseball Guru
02-19-2002, 02:47 PM
Brewers banking on young pitchers to deliver
By DREW OLSON of the Journal Sentinel staff
Phoenix - Not long ago, when Milwaukee Brewers officials needed a pick-me-up, they would gaze at the bricks and beams of Miller Park and daydream about better days.
Now that the new stadium is a reality, the club is finding inspiration in another construction project.
In order for the Brewers to shed their string of nine consecutive losing seasons and assert themselves as a playoff contender in the next few years, they will need a spark from their crop of young starting pitchers.
Entering the third season of a four-year deal he signed in the fall of 1999, general manager Dean Taylor counts starting pitching as an emerging strength both at the major- and minor-league levels.
For a struggling team in search of a strong suit, the rotation is probably the best place to start.
With pitchers and catchers scheduled to report to Maryvale Baseball Park on Thursday, the six top candidates for the Brewers' five starting spots are 27 years old or younger.
Right-hander Jamey Wright, who is coming off surgery to remove bone spurs in his elbow, is 27. So is lefty Glendon Rusch, who was acquired from the New York Mets in the Jeromy Burnitz trade and recently signed a two-year contract with a club option for 2004. Paul Rigdon, 26, was dominant in spring training last year but was limited to 15 starts by an elbow problem that also required surgery to clean out spurs and scar tissue.
After representing the Brewers in the All-Star Game last year, Ben Sheets, 23, faded in the second half but is regarded as a potential ace with a 95-mph fastball, devastating curve and bulldog mentality on the mound.
Ruben Quevedo, a 23-year-old right-hander, came from the Chicago Cubs last year in exchange for David Weathers. The Brewers aren't sure what to expect from Quevedo, but they liked what they saw in 10 starts last year.
The brightest star
Perhaps the most exciting pitcher in the mix is 21-year-old Nick Neugebauer, who made big strides controlling his mid- to upper 90s fastball, breaking ball and changeup last season. Neugebauer, who succumbed to a shoulder injury during his second big-league start, put up staggering strikeout numbers in Class AA last year, reduced his walk totals significantly and did not seem overmatched at Class AAA or in the majors.
Given their youth and lack of service time, Sheets, Quevedo and Neugebauer will be affordable for the next several years and won't be eligible for free agency until 2006 or '07. Since starting pitching is one of the more expensive commodities in the game, the Brewers feel good about this group's potential.
Taylor, who spent a decade with pitching-rich Atlanta before taking the Brewers job, is banking on his group maturing quickly. With a budget that puts top-flight free agents out of reach and several youngsters still learning in the low minors, the Brewers don't really have a Plan B if this group doesn't come through.
"I think we have the nucleus of a solid young pitching staff that has a pretty good future," said Taylor, whose pitching staff led the majors in walks allowed last year. "It's one of the strengths of our club right now and it's going to get better."
For the past several seasons, the Brewers' bullpen has been one of the more efficient units in the National League during the first half and then wilted under a heavy workload in the second.
Although the loss of Weathers and an injury to Curtis Leskanic have clouded the picture somewhat, the bullpen could certainly benefit from a better performance by the starters.
The starters, in turn, would be helped by more consistent production from the offense. After setting a major-league record with 1,399 strikeouts last year, the Brewers decided a change was necessary and shipped Burnitz, their most marketable (not to mention expensive) player, to the Mets while picking up free agent second baseman-leadoff man Eric Young and outfielders Matt Stairs and Alex Ochoa.
Given their budget and lack of position prospects in the upper levels of the farm system, the Brewers have relied on "patchwork" moves like this in the past with varying degrees of success (Jose Hernandez, Tyler Houston, Sean Berry).
Young and Stairs, both of whom played for the Cubs last season, were part of the mid-level free agent class that got "squeezed" during an off-season in which clubs showed rare fiscal restraint. The Brewers, who can offer players like that a chance to establish or re-establish themselves, will likely continue to be aggressive in that market for the next few years.
Big bucks, big risks
When the Brewers do go after high-priced talent, the margin for error is slim. The Brewers feel good about first baseman Richie Sexson and leftfielder Geoff Jenkins, who signed long-term contracts last spring. Sexson seems poised to become one of the premier power producers in the league and Jenkins is expected to bounce back from a shoulder injury that will slow him during spring training.
Injury-prone centerfielder Jeffrey Hammonds, however, remains a big question mark and a symbol of the huge stakes facing the Brewers in the free-agent market. After signing a three-year, $21.75 million contract last year, Hammonds played just 49 games before injuring his shoulder.
"Without question, Jeffrey can have a huge impact this year," Taylor said. "You can talk about the injuries last year and which one hurt us the most. In my mind, Jeffrey Hammonds was the big one. He's a bit of a forgotten man in this whole scheme of things for a lot of people. Not in our minds, he's not."
To be competitive in the short term, the Brewers need their main cogs to stay healthy and produce at or near peak levels. In the long term, they need their farm system to develop prospects that can fill roster spots or be used as trade bait to acquire established players.
After a decade of subpar records, either development would represent a welcome change of pace.
By DREW OLSON of the Journal Sentinel staff
Phoenix - Not long ago, when Milwaukee Brewers officials needed a pick-me-up, they would gaze at the bricks and beams of Miller Park and daydream about better days.
Now that the new stadium is a reality, the club is finding inspiration in another construction project.
In order for the Brewers to shed their string of nine consecutive losing seasons and assert themselves as a playoff contender in the next few years, they will need a spark from their crop of young starting pitchers.
Entering the third season of a four-year deal he signed in the fall of 1999, general manager Dean Taylor counts starting pitching as an emerging strength both at the major- and minor-league levels.
For a struggling team in search of a strong suit, the rotation is probably the best place to start.
With pitchers and catchers scheduled to report to Maryvale Baseball Park on Thursday, the six top candidates for the Brewers' five starting spots are 27 years old or younger.
Right-hander Jamey Wright, who is coming off surgery to remove bone spurs in his elbow, is 27. So is lefty Glendon Rusch, who was acquired from the New York Mets in the Jeromy Burnitz trade and recently signed a two-year contract with a club option for 2004. Paul Rigdon, 26, was dominant in spring training last year but was limited to 15 starts by an elbow problem that also required surgery to clean out spurs and scar tissue.
After representing the Brewers in the All-Star Game last year, Ben Sheets, 23, faded in the second half but is regarded as a potential ace with a 95-mph fastball, devastating curve and bulldog mentality on the mound.
Ruben Quevedo, a 23-year-old right-hander, came from the Chicago Cubs last year in exchange for David Weathers. The Brewers aren't sure what to expect from Quevedo, but they liked what they saw in 10 starts last year.
The brightest star
Perhaps the most exciting pitcher in the mix is 21-year-old Nick Neugebauer, who made big strides controlling his mid- to upper 90s fastball, breaking ball and changeup last season. Neugebauer, who succumbed to a shoulder injury during his second big-league start, put up staggering strikeout numbers in Class AA last year, reduced his walk totals significantly and did not seem overmatched at Class AAA or in the majors.
Given their youth and lack of service time, Sheets, Quevedo and Neugebauer will be affordable for the next several years and won't be eligible for free agency until 2006 or '07. Since starting pitching is one of the more expensive commodities in the game, the Brewers feel good about this group's potential.
Taylor, who spent a decade with pitching-rich Atlanta before taking the Brewers job, is banking on his group maturing quickly. With a budget that puts top-flight free agents out of reach and several youngsters still learning in the low minors, the Brewers don't really have a Plan B if this group doesn't come through.
"I think we have the nucleus of a solid young pitching staff that has a pretty good future," said Taylor, whose pitching staff led the majors in walks allowed last year. "It's one of the strengths of our club right now and it's going to get better."
For the past several seasons, the Brewers' bullpen has been one of the more efficient units in the National League during the first half and then wilted under a heavy workload in the second.
Although the loss of Weathers and an injury to Curtis Leskanic have clouded the picture somewhat, the bullpen could certainly benefit from a better performance by the starters.
The starters, in turn, would be helped by more consistent production from the offense. After setting a major-league record with 1,399 strikeouts last year, the Brewers decided a change was necessary and shipped Burnitz, their most marketable (not to mention expensive) player, to the Mets while picking up free agent second baseman-leadoff man Eric Young and outfielders Matt Stairs and Alex Ochoa.
Given their budget and lack of position prospects in the upper levels of the farm system, the Brewers have relied on "patchwork" moves like this in the past with varying degrees of success (Jose Hernandez, Tyler Houston, Sean Berry).
Young and Stairs, both of whom played for the Cubs last season, were part of the mid-level free agent class that got "squeezed" during an off-season in which clubs showed rare fiscal restraint. The Brewers, who can offer players like that a chance to establish or re-establish themselves, will likely continue to be aggressive in that market for the next few years.
Big bucks, big risks
When the Brewers do go after high-priced talent, the margin for error is slim. The Brewers feel good about first baseman Richie Sexson and leftfielder Geoff Jenkins, who signed long-term contracts last spring. Sexson seems poised to become one of the premier power producers in the league and Jenkins is expected to bounce back from a shoulder injury that will slow him during spring training.
Injury-prone centerfielder Jeffrey Hammonds, however, remains a big question mark and a symbol of the huge stakes facing the Brewers in the free-agent market. After signing a three-year, $21.75 million contract last year, Hammonds played just 49 games before injuring his shoulder.
"Without question, Jeffrey can have a huge impact this year," Taylor said. "You can talk about the injuries last year and which one hurt us the most. In my mind, Jeffrey Hammonds was the big one. He's a bit of a forgotten man in this whole scheme of things for a lot of people. Not in our minds, he's not."
To be competitive in the short term, the Brewers need their main cogs to stay healthy and produce at or near peak levels. In the long term, they need their farm system to develop prospects that can fill roster spots or be used as trade bait to acquire established players.
After a decade of subpar records, either development would represent a welcome change of pace.