MILWAUKEE BREWERS
| Kevin Barker (1B, 26, L/L) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1998 AAA 124 463 128 26 4 23 59 96 36 97 276 330 499 2 5 1999 AAA 121 442 123 27 5 23 89 87 59 94 278 363 518 2 2 2000 AAA 85 286 56 10 1 11 41 44 52 76 196 316 353 0 1 |
| A good young hitter with the Brewers, Barker may have had the worst season of any player in baseball in 2000. And you really can't say much more than that, except that he's probably not such a good young hitter anymore. |
| Ron Belliard (2B, 26, R/R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1998 AAA 133 507 163 36 7 14 114 73 69 77 321 408 503 33 12 |
| I like Belliard a lot; his second season with the Brewers wasn't quite as good as the first, but I've seen sophomore slumps that were much, much worse. He is a young second baseman who is durable, can hit for average and get on base, and could hit for more power. So far, he has been a total bust as a base stealer. |
| Henry Blanco (CA, 30, R/R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1998 AAA 48 134 36 11 0 4 19 23 22 27 269 367 440 2 0 |
| Blanco's career appears to be headed in the right direction, and that is a surprise. He's not a good hitter, but he was better in Milwaukee than he was in Colorado, and he also has a good defensive reputation. He seemes to have found a home, and his career will likely last a few more years. |
| Kevin Brown (CA, 28, R/R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1998 TOR 52 110 29 7 1 2 17 15 9 31 264 320 400 0 0 |
| Brown's career has followed a rocky path. He started out with the Rangers, but was stuck behind Rodriguez. The Blue Jays acquired him, then quickly lost interest in him. Last year he was dealt Milwaukee, where he became one of numerous discarded catchers on their roster. He can hit home runs, but doesn't do much else; he's always hit when he's gotten the chance. |
| Jim Bruske (37, R) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 2000 AAA 2 4 19 2 0 0 1 32 47 14 22 928 |
| Bruske pitched badly for Milwaukee, pitched very badly with Indianapolis, and was shelved early in the season with a right elbow strain. That's three strikes; given his age, I don't expect another chance. |
| Mike Buddie (30, R) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1999 AAA 9 2 49 2 0 0 0 79 80 22 68 286 2000 AAA 8 5 36 6 0 0 2 88 74 49 55 428 |
| Buddie's dream of being a lifelong Yankee was ended by a demotion in the spring, and a trade to the Brewers soon after. He was too inconsistent to pitch for the Yankees, but his ability to start or relieve could make him a valuable asset with another team. He needs to throw strikes, which he usually does, but last year his control deserted him. |
| Jeromy Burnitz (RF, 32, L/R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1998 MIL 161 609 160 28 1 38 92 125 70 158 263 339 499 7 4 1999 MIL 130 467 126 33 2 33 87 103 91 124 270 402 561 7 3 2000 MIL 161 564 131 29 2 31 91 98 99 121 232 356 456 6 4 |
| Burnitz looked a little ridiculous last year, trying to sign a rich new contract while hitting .230 with the Brewers. But he wasn't too bad; on the whole, he was probably as good as he was in 1998, when he drove in 125 runs. He's a solid player, draws walks and hits home runs, and I expect him to be better this year. |
| Robinson Cancel (CA, 25, R/R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1998 AA 58 158 51 10 0 1 17 30 22 32 323 403 405 2 2 1999 AA-AAA 105 340 99 18 1 10 57 60 37 66 291 365 438 14 7 2000 INJURED - DID NOT PLAY |
| Cancel was a good prospect before last year, but missed the entire season after having his right shoulder operated on. He's still young, and he should make a comeback... but at what position? Can he still catch after having his throwing shoulder operated on? I guess we'll find out... |
| Lou Collier (IF/OF, 28, R/R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 2000 AA-AAA 67 228 60 8 3 2 36 41 41 53 263 373 351 9 5 |
| Collier is a catch-and-throw guy, plays all over the field but doesn't hit. He's a warm body on the bench, not much more. |
| Jeff D'Amico (25, R) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1998 INJURED 1999 INJURED 2000 MIL 12 7 23 23 1 1 0 162 143 46 101 266 |
| After an impressive debut in 1997, D'Amico missed almost two full seasons with injuries. Last year he came back, and pitched stunningly well; he also had some "right rotator cuff tendinitis", evidence that his arm is not completely sound. I have no idea how durable D'Amico will be in the future, but if he is healthy he's Kevin Brown. |
| Valerio De los Santos (25, L) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1998 AA 6 2 42 4 0 0 10 67 81 25 62 392 |
| De los Santos missed most of 1999 with back problems, but was back in action last year. Most of his numbers were good; he had a problem with home runs, however, giving up 15 of them. He is still quite young; I expect he will cut down on the homers, and emerge as a very good pitcher. |
| Mike DeJean (31, R) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1998 COL 3 1 58 1 0 0 2 74 78 24 27 303 1999 COL 2 4 56 0 0 0 0 61 83 32 31 841 2000 COL 4 4 54 0 0 0 0 53 54 30 34 489 |
| DeJean recovered from a disastrous 1999 season, and pitched fairly well with the Rockies. He should be back with Colorado this year; they need pitchers who can survive in their park, and DeJean has done it for most of his career. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it. |
| Angel Echevarria (1B/OF, 30, R/R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 2000 AAA 74 284 95 23 2 7 46 50 26 44 335 395 504 1 1 |
| Echevarria can hit in Colorado, but was claimed by the Brewers during the summer. I doubt that he can hit so well at sea level, but the Brewers are desperate for someone, anyone, to fill in at first base; an opportunity might open up for him. |
| Jeffrey Hammonds (OF, 30, R/R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1998 BAL-CIN 89 257 72 16 2 6 50 39 39 56 280 375 428 8 3 1999 CIN 123 262 73 13 0 17 43 41 27 64 279 347 523 3 6 2000 COL 122 454 152 24 2 20 94 106 44 83 335 395 529 14 7 |
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Hammonds made good use out of his one year in Colorado, turning his big numbers into a $22 million contract with Milwaukee. On the road, he was his usual self, batting .275 with 6 home runs. At Coors Field, he hit .399 with 14 homers. I think Hammonds is a very good fourth outfielder, but would be an ordinary regular. Of course, these days, maybe a good fourth outfielder is worth $7 million a year. |
| Jimmy Haynes (29, R) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1998 OAK 11 9 33 33 1 1 0 194 229 88 134 509 1999 OAK 7 12 30 25 0 0 0 142 158 80 93 634 2000 MIL 12 13 33 33 0 0 0 199 228 100 88 533 |
| Back in 1998, Haynes pitched well enough to provide hope that he might one day be a good pitcher. But he has pitched quite poorly the past two seasons, and there is no evidence that he will get any better. |
| Jose Hernandez (3B/SS, 32, R/R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1998 CHC 149 488 124 23 7 23 76 75 40 140 254 311 471 4 6 1999 CHC-ATL 147 508 135 20 2 19 79 62 52 145 266 339 425 11 3 2000 MIL 124 446 109 22 1 11 51 59 41 125 244 315 372 3 7 |
| Hernandez might disappear off of the map. He did not have a good season, and teams usually don't have much patience for aging infielders who strike out 140 times a year. Hernandez is okay, a solid defensive player at both third and short. He doesn't hit well enough to be a third baseman, but he has more power than a typical shortstop. He can help a team in a variety of roles. |
| Tyler Houston (1/3/CA, 30, L/R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1998 CHC 95 255 65 7 1 9 26 33 13 53 255 290 396 2 2 1999 CHC-CLE 113 276 62 10 1 10 28 30 31 78 225 275 377 1 1 2000 MIL 101 284 71 15 0 18 30 43 17 72 250 292 493 2 1 |
| Houston rescued his career with a power surge at Milwaukee last season. He has some positives: he has power, he can play a variety of positions, and he is left-handed. This combination of skills will keep him in the league for years... but he'll never be consistent at doing anything. |
| Geoff Jenkins (LF, 27, L/R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1998 AAA 55 215 71 10 4 7 38 52 14 39 330 381 512 1 1 |
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Jenkins had another big year at the plate, and is now the Brewers' best player. He hits .300, has power, and is a good base runner. He may have even more power than the numbers show; County Stadium in Milwaukee is an awful home run park, and Jenkins hit 19 of his home runs on the road. The Brewers are moving into a new park this season; if it's any friendlier for hitters, Jenkins may have a chance at hitting 40 homers. He's a real good player now... though I still don't expect him to hit .300 consistently. |
| Chris Jones (OF, 35, R/R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1998 ARI 63 121 23 3 1 2 17 13 11 37 190 254 281 2 1 |
| Jones has been around awhile; the Brewers were his eighth team in ten years. He spent most of the year at Indianapolis, but got into a few games with Milwaukee; that, I think, was a fluke. |
| Ray King (27, L) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1998 AA-AAA 2 5 62 0 0 0 5 62 59 25 52 377 1999 AAA 4 4 37 0 0 0 2 43 31 22 41 188 2000 AAA 1 3 30 0 0 0 1 27 26 12 21 333 |
| He began the year with the Cubs, but they didn't seem to trust him very much, and he was sent on to Milwaukee. The Brewers didn't seem to trust him, either, and he spent half the year at Indianapolis. Nonetheless, I like King; his performance the past two seasons has been outstanding, and he appears to be a good pitcher. And it's not like the Brewers have more good pitchers than they can use. |
| Curtis Leskanic (33, R) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1998 COL 6 4 66 0 0 0 2 75 75 40 55 440 1999 COL 6 2 63 0 0 0 0 85 87 49 77 508 2000 MIL 9 3 73 0 0 0 12 77 58 51 75 256 |
| Leskanic is among the better relievers in the league, and his first year with Milwaukee was a good one. He survived in Colorado for seven years, and was always much better than his numbers looked. His control has been getting progressively worse the past few years, but not bad enough to hurt his performance; those walks may go down a great deal if the new strike zone becomes a reality. His career won-loss record is 40-23. |
| Luis Lopez (IF, 31, S/R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1998 NYM 117 266 67 13 2 2 37 22 20 60 252 312 338 2 2 1999 NYM 68 104 22 4 0 2 11 13 12 33 212 308 308 1 1 2000 MIL 78 201 53 14 0 6 24 27 9 35 264 309 423 1 2 |
| Lopez is a veteran utility infielder, and last season he hit well enough to keep his job. He may not be so lucky in 2001. |
| Stan Loretta (IF, 30, R/R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1998 MIL 140 434 137 29 0 6 55 54 42 47 316 382 424 9 6 1999 MIL 153 587 170 34 5 5 93 67 52 59 290 354 390 4 1 2000 MIL 91 352 99 21 1 7 49 40 37 38 281 350 406 0 3 |
| Loretta is an outstanding utility infielder who was back in his natural role last season. He had a good year; Loretta plays a variety of positions; he also hits for a consistently good average, and walks as often as he strikes out. |
| James Mouton (OF, 32, R/R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1998 SD 55 63 12 2 1 0 8 7 7 11 190 268 254 4 3 1999 MON 95 122 32 5 1 2 18 13 18 31 262 364 369 6 2 2000 MIL 87 159 37 7 1 2 28 17 30 43 233 363 327 13 4 |
| Mouton can draw walks and runs the bases, but doesn't do much else. He helps a little bit, puts a few runs on the board, and is well suited sitting at the far end of someone's bench. |
| Elvis Pena (IF, 25, S/R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1998 A 115 428 123 24 4 6 93 48 70 85 287 403 404 41 12 1999 AA 110 356 107 24 6 2 57 31 48 64 301 391 419 21 6 2000 AA 126 477 143 16 7 3 92 37 69 76 300 399 382 48 13 |
| Pena is a young, fast infielder who has hit well at Carolina the past two seasons. The Rockies have been reluctant to promote him... problems with his defense, perhaps? I assume that he will play in either Colorado Springs or Colorado next year, so his numbers will take a jump. |
| Santiago Perez (SS, 25, S/R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1998 AA-AAA 143 587 175 24 16 14 91 78 34 101 298 341 465 27 14 1999 AAA 108 407 107 23 8 7 57 38 31 94 263 315 410 21 4 2000 AAA 106 408 112 26 7 5 74 34 44 96 275 345 409 31 8 |
| Perez is a young shortstop with Milwaukee; I doubt that he will hit enough to be a good player, but he should hit enough to be a good Brewer. His defense was a bit of an adventure last year (6 errors in 24 games), so I have my doubts about how quickly he will move into the lineup. |
| Richie Sexson (1B/LF, 26, R/R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1998 CLE 49 174 54 14 1 11 28 35 6 42 310 344 592 1 1 1999 CLE 134 479 122 17 7 31 72 116 34 117 255 305 514 3 3 2000 CLE-MIL 148 537 146 30 1 30 89 91 59 159 272 349 499 2 0 |
| Sexson had a slow start to the season with Cleveland, but he started to get hot as the weather warmed up. He was dealt to Milwaukee in July, and played exceptionally well for the Brewers. On the whole, I think he played better than he did in 1999; he's about average among first basemen, will rate higher if he can continue to hit like he did the second half of last season. |
| Ben Sheets (23, R) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1999 A 5 3 5 5 0 0 0 28 23 14 28 358 2000 AA-AAA 8 8 27 26 1 0 0 154 132 56 119 240 |
| Sheets is hot stuff now, after pitching extremely well at both Huntsville and Indianapolis, and also throwing a shutout against Cuba that clinched the Gold Medal for Team USA in the Summer Olympics. He's been in pro ball only two years, so I wouldn't expect any immediate miracles, but he looks like he'll be a winner within two years. |
| John Snyder (27, R) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1998 AAA 7 3 15 15 1 0 0 97 112 34 63 436 |
| He picked up where he left off in 1999, pitching atrociously bad ball. There is no reason to think that Snyder will ever have another winning season. |
| Everett Stull (30, R) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1998 AAA 1 4 21 7 0 0 0 43 49 45 39 886 1999 AAA 8 8 30 22 0 0 0 139 124 73 126 447 2000 AAA 7 5 16 16 1 1 0 104 95 43 74 295 |
| Stull was released by the Braves before last season, then signed on with the Brewers. He pitched pretty well at Indianapolis, so Milwaukee decided to give him a chance. He has always had good stuff, but he has never learned how to throw strikes. |
| Mark Sweeney (OF, 31, L/L) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1998 CIN 122 192 45 8 3 2 17 15 26 37 234 324 339 1 2 1999 CIN 37 31 11 3 0 2 6 7 4 9 355 429 645 0 0 2000 MIL 71 73 16 6 0 1 9 6 12 18 219 337 342 0 0 |
| Sweeney was used almost exclusively as a pinch hitter last season, and he batted .219. He doesn't do many things very well, and now he will probably have to drop "pinch hitter" off of his resumé. He's capable of doing better, but may not get the chance. |
| David Weathers (32, R) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1998 CIN-MIL 6 5 44 9 0 0 0 110 130 41 94 491 1999 MIL 7 4 63 0 0 0 2 93 102 38 74 465 2000 MIL 3 5 69 0 0 0 1 76 73 32 50 307 |
| Weathers has moved around a lot, and his career up to 1998 had been an extremely ugly one. But he has performed well the past two years with the Brewers; he's a decent middle reliever. |
| Devon White (OF, 38, S/R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1998 ARI 146 563 157 32 1 22 84 85 42 102 279 335 456 22 8 1999 LA 134 474 127 20 2 14 60 68 39 88 268 337 407 19 5 2000 LA 47 158 42 5 1 4 26 13 9 30 266 310 386 3 6 |
| White is nearing the end of a long and surprising career. He is still a useful player; he keeps his average respectable, contributes a little power and speed, and he was the greatest defensive outfielder of his generation. He has also played a key role on some championship teams, and that makes him a valuable veteran on the bench. |
| Jamey Wright (26, R) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1998 COL 9 14 34 34 1 0 0 206 235 95 86 567 1999 COL 4 3 16 16 0 0 0 94 110 54 49 487 2000 MIL 7 9 26 25 0 0 0 165 157 88 96 410 |
| Wright finally escaped from the Rockies, and tried to re-establish himself as a good young pitcher. He was decent; he needs to throw more strikes in the future, but at least now he has a chance to develop. |