Much ado about Taylor Green. (Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports)

Tryna get the Green like I’m waiting at a long light
broke just doesn’t suit me, girl, and every night is prom night

Brewers utility infielder Taylor Green has only played in 78 games spanning two seasons at the Major League level, but it sure feels like a heck of a lot more.

Drafted in the 25th round by Milwaukee in 2005, the former top hitting prospect in the organization broke through with Milwaukee in 2011, hitting .270 and earning a spot on the postseason roster despite only appearing in 20 games. Hopes were high entering 2012 for Green but a .184/.265/.340 slash line over 117 plate appearances didn’t get the job done as he was sent back and forth between Milwaukee and Triple-A Nashville.

Just a year after it seemed that Green, 26, would be a mainstay in the Brewers infield for years, there is much uncertainty surrounding what, in fact, the organization wants to do with him.

Green watches a three-run homer fly out of Miller Park, one of his three on the year (Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports)

As for this spring, the British Columbia, Canada, native is in a battle for one of the reserve infield spots available. Unlike much of his competition – Bobby Crosby, Donnie Murphy, and Alex Gonzalez, to be specific – Green has the option of spending time in the minors again if he doesn’t make the Opening Day roster. With Aramis Ramirez, Jean Segura, Rickie Weeks, and Mat Gamel (knee withstanding) locks for the 25-man roster and Corey Hart set to open the season on the disabled list, the competition for the other two, maybe three spots (Ron Roenicke’s preference being the independent variable here) are down to the following: Green, Crosby, Murphy, Gonzalez, Jeff Bianchi, and Scooter Gennett.

If the Brewers go with Green, they’ll be adding a left-handed bat to come off the bench in most games. He is a .270/.357/.570 hitter with all three of his career homers coming as a substitute compared to only batting .184 as a starter. Compared to Gamel – Hart’s expected fill-in at first – Green is a plus defender, but, overall, is nothing flashy on defense. He has the versatility to play first, second, and third base at a respectable level, meaning he’ll give you replacement-level fielding and could flash some pop at the plate, but could become a liability in the lineup.

After years of riding the buses, this should all-in-all be Green’s first full Big League season; in addition to that, however, it could be Green’s make-or-break year with the Brewers. He had one of the best seasons by any Brewers minor leaguer in recent memory with Nashville in 2011 (.336 average, .997 OPS, 22 home runs) and has done what it takes to make the majors.

One of the many competitions happening in Maryvale this spring for Milwaukee, the battle for the final infield spots lacks a strong threshold of upside for the most part, and Green gives the Brewers the best chance at having a player to come off the bench and help win games off all the names mentioned. Expect to see him on the Opening Day roster, wedging in a start or two every week.

2013 RtB Predictions: 303 PA, .251/.313/.402, 8 HR, 38 RBI, 30 R, 5 SB, eyes of steel.

Follow @ReviewngTheBrew on Twitter and/or the author (and self-proclaimed most active Twitterist of the staff), Curt Hogg. Be sure to like us on Facebook, too, for more Brewers Season Outlook updates.

To view previous season outlooks, click here. To view last year’s previews, go here.

]]> http://reviewingthebrew.com/2013/02/17/brewers-2013-season-outlook-taylor-green/feed/ 0 http://reviewingthebrew.com/2013/02/06/alex-gonzalez-officially-signed-de-los-santos-lost-on-waivers/ http://reviewingthebrew.com/2013/02/06/alex-gonzalez-officially-signed-de-los-santos-lost-on-waivers/#comments Wed, 06 Feb 2013 20:07:29 +0000 Colin Bennett http://reviewingthebrew.com/?p=6680 Veteran shortstop Alex Gonzalez was re-signed by the Milwaukee Brewers today, in a move announced widely by sources last week. It was made official when Gonzalez, now 35, passed his physical and a corresponding move could be made to make room for him on the roster. That move was place Fautino De Los Santos on [...]

Alex Gonzalez Officially Signed, De Los Santos Lost on Waivers - Reviewing the Brew - Reviewing the Brew - A Milwaukee Brewers Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

Jeff Bianchi bunting. Pretty much sums it up. Photo: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Today it was reported, by multiple outlets, that the Brewers had agreed to bring back Alex Gonzalez to sure up the infield.  This news was met with both positive and negative fan reactions.  Many Brewers fans began to wonder if this meant that Jean Segura would be going back to the minors, while others wondered if Gonzalez could be a complete utility infielder like Jerry Hairston was during our 2011 playoff run.  The answers to those questions seemed pretty straight forward, Jean Segura is the starting shortstop and Gonzalez has never played any position other than shortstop in his MLB career.  There was one question that kept coming up that peaked my interest: What would become of Jeff Bianchi?  And people were really upset about it, let me try and put this into perspective for those of you out on the ledge.

What’s really amazing about this is, many of you will have absolutely no idea who I am talking about…

Jeff Bianchi was drafted in 2005 by the Kansas City Royals.  In 2010 he had Tommy John surgery on his throwing arm, which lead to his eventual designation for assignment.  Then the Cubs scooped him up for a grand total of 32 days, before he was again designated for assignment.  The Brewers grabbed him and plugged him into the minor league system for some infield depth.  He made his major league debut last July as a member of the Brewers(wearing #14) and was not anything terribly special.  Bianchi is the perfect example of “potential” clouding people’s judgement of his talent.  Yes, the kid shows flashes of offensive prowess.  Yes, he can play multiple positions.  But is he a future starter?  Nope.  Is he ever going to start for the Brewers?  Not a snowballs chance in hell.

The Brewers claimed Bianchi off of waivers from the Cubs,  Casey McGehee style.  Only this time we didn’t get the same bang for that buck.  Bianchi only saw the batters box 76 times and hit a saucy .188 in those opportunities.  Actually…that is pretty close to what we got from Casey McGehee towards the end there.

So for those of you who seemed to be really bummed out, let me put your minds at ease.

YES.  This is the end of the Jeff Bianchi era in Milwaukee.  Had he chosen to stick around for Spring Training, rather than running off to play in the World Baseball Nobody Gives A Crap, (For Italy!!  I might add) he might have had a 5% chance.  Now, if he had another minor league option or two, there would be no need to even write this article.  Since Jeffy B made his MLB debut this past season, we could control him for another couple of years.  Sadly (for some of you), he can only remain a Brewer if he is on the MLB roster and that just isn’t happening now.

As you can probably tell by my tone in this article, I could not possibly care less.  No seriously, try me.  Alex Gonzalez is a better player, who brings a veteran presence and some more leadership tot his fairly young team.  Any of you who are crying over this turn of events, why don’t you lobby Bianchi to stay state side and give himself a chance of staying in Milwaukee.  Otherwise, let it go.  It was fun while it lasted, but I promise you that by this time next year you will be sitting with your buddy at a bar saying, “Whatever happened to Jeff Bianchi?”.  And the odds are, neither of you will know and you will both let it go.  Or you will whip out your smart phones, only to find out he is sitting in baseball limbo without any more options and no team willing to invest a major league contract in a guy who can’t hit at the major league level.

Players come and go every day in major league baseball.  I will guarantee you, right now, that there will be a new “Jeff Bianchi” this season.  Just like there is every season.  My guess, is that it will be either Caleb Gindl in the outfield, or Scooter Gennett at 2nd base.  But I will hold off talking about those two gentlemen.  That is another article for another day.

Say your goodbyes Brewers fans.  If you are foolish enough to watch the “World Cup of America’s Past Time”, you can say Buongiorno as he starts at shortstop for team Italy.  And for the record, he was born in Pennsylvania.

It’s an affordable move, and not entirely unexpected, to add a little more depth and some veteran help to the middle infield for the Milwaukee Brewers. Alex Gonzalez was a member of the 2012 Brewers roster before an ACL injury forced him to the sidelines for the season.

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As of a few days ago, the Brewers have made an offer to Alex Gonzalez, but what this will achieve, nobody knows. I’m by no means opposed to re-signing Gonzalez, but it makes you wonder if this is the right move to do. With so much emphasis on the pitching problems lately, the one spot nobody has really seemed to have any problem with has been the offense. Well, why would you? This is a Brewers’ team that in 2012 was rather efficient on the offensive and even defensive side of the ball.

However that said, shortstop had been a mess last year up until the Zack Greinke trade that gave us Jean Segura. Now even with the highly toted Segura at short, this is still a position that lacks experience. Perhaps Gonzalez’s influence for one more year can help try to solidify that problem.  (more…)

Unfortunately, the bullpen is the third vital piece to a good, contending team, and that’s the one piece the Brewers have been missing all year. They have arguably the worst bullpen in baseball. You can say what you want about the Mets or the Rockies, but there are few bullpens in baseball that you can give a six-run lead, and that bullpen will find a way to blow it. But that’s been the story of the Brewers’ bullpen.

However, there has been one piece down in the ‘pen recently who has given Brewers fans hope. That reliever is the Canadian 29 year-old long time farmhand Jim Henderson.

Prior to his call-up, Henderson had been in the Minor Leagues for all 10 of his professional seasons, without getting even one call-up. You have to wonder how he didn’t go insane while toiling down there. Before joining the Brewers’ system in 2009, he had previously pitched in the systems of the Expos/Nationals and the Cubs.

Henderson had the definition of an inconsistent Minor League career, which could be why it took him so long to get to the Majors. One year, he’d have a stellar sub-3.00 ERA, then the next year he’d get shelled and his ERA would skyrocket to over 5.00. Take his career in the Brewers’ farm system, for instance. In 2009, his first year in the system, he had a 2.04 ERA at Single-A, High-A, and Double-A combined. Then, in 2010 at Double-A, he struggled to a 5.46 ERA. In 2011, he came back and put up a 2.64 ERA at Double-A, but had problems after his call-up to Triple-A, posting a 5.93 ERA in half of a season there.

So that meant he was due for a good year this year, and it definitely happened. In 35 games for Triple-A Nashville, Henderson went 4-3 with a 1.69 ERA. That included his first 21 games of the season in which he didn’t give up an earned run. Henderson served as the closer for the Sounds, notching 15 saves before his call-up.

So far, he’s brought that same a-game to the Majors. He has yet to factor in a decision, but has a 1.29 ERA in seven innings pitched over eight games.

Henderson has also answered a huge call the past two days: the job of the Brewers’ closer. Coming into the season, the Brewers thought they had two established closers at the back end of their bullpen in John Axford and Francisco Rodriguez. But that simply hasn’t been the case: Axford’s ERA is 5.10, and K-Rod’s sits at 5.48.

Axford did save the first game of the series with the Reds (with a little help from Norichika Aoki). But, the past two games, Ron Roenicke has opted to go to Henderson, which I’ve been begging him to do ever since Henderson’s call-up. I actually even tweeted before his call-up that I wanted Henderson to come up and become the closer.

A few months later (and probably a few months too late), my wish has been answered.

In the second game of this series, Henderson threw a 1-2-3 ninth, including a strikeout, in a 3-1 win that locked up Mike Fiers’ best start in the Majors so far. Then, today, Henderson tossed another scoreless ninth in the Brewers’ 3-2 comeback win. He did walk batter, but also struck out two.

Henderson definitely has the stuff to be a closer. He has that high-90’s fastball, then a deadly slider that compliments it perfectly.

But, it’ll be a long time before we know if Henderson can be a real closer in the big leagues. Obviously we haven’t seen enough of him, as he’s pitched in just eight games and has two saves. But, even if Henderson finishes the season as a great closer for the Brewers, we still won’t know. If Henderson has a 40-save season in 2013, we still won’t know. Why? Because of Derrick Turnbow. Because of Trevor Hoffman. Because of John Axford.

The Brewers have just had horrible luck with closers in recent years. Each of the closers I just listed was dominant for roughly a year and a half to two years, and then just flamed out. I want and hope that Henderson will be different than those guys, but we just won’t know for a few years.

For now, though, the Brewers have found a guy who can safely get them through the ninth inning, even in a close game. And that’s all we can ask for in a season like this.

The death knell is sounding throughout Brewer Nation, and there isn’t any reason why that shouldn’t be the case. Milwaukee’s playoff hopes are being dashed almost daily by what seems to be an endless supply of heartbreaking losses.

The opinion of the Brewers blogosphere and media circle are clear – now is the time to sell this team off and look to greener pastures.

I’ll state it right now, and reiterate this point over and over again:

selling on this team is being minute wise and hour foolish.

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