Looking back, that rotation is literally in tatters.

Greinke was traded to the Angels when the Brewers thought they were out of contention. Marcum went on the disabled list for over two months, and has a 5.70 ERA in five starts since returning. Wolf was released towards the end of August after he was unable to ever find himself as a starter this season. Narveson went down after just his second start in April with a torn rotator cuff.

In other words, Gallardo has been the one staple of the rotation. The Brewers have had to dip into their farm system to find the rest of their current rotation. And, I have to say, most of them have filled in admirably. Marco Estrada, who pitched out of the bullpen to start the season, was the first guy the Brewers turned to, and, despite the fact he hasn’t been able to notch many wins, he’s been very solid. Mike Fiers, who was having just a mediocre year at Triple-A Nashville prior to his call-up, has come up and established himself as a perennial Rookie of the Year candidate. Mark Rogers was solid before his shut-down, but Wily Peralta has been dominant since taking his rotation spot.

Let’s say the Brewers don’t make any starting pitching-related moves this offseason. The 2013 rotation would look something like Gallardo, Estrada, Fiers, Rogers, and Peralta, since Marcum is leaving via free agency. There are plenty more prospects who will get a chance in ’13 Spring Training, but these pitchers are the ones with the most experience (despite the fact some of them still have very little experience).

There is definitely a lot of inexperience in that rotation, but, if they all pitch to their ability (and get solid run support while doing so), they could all be successful in the Majors. And, personally, I’d almost like to see the Brewers experiment with that next year.

But we know they won’t, because there’s too much risk involved. The Brewers will more than likely go after at least one free agent starter. But, many consider the 2012-13 offseason’s starter front to be one of the worst in years. The highlights will be Greinke, Marcum, Ryan Dempster, and that’s really about it, at least for big names. Greinke is definitely the safest of the three, and he expressed the possibility of re-signing with the Brewers this offseason. But we might have to wait and see if he’s still around after waiting for the $15 million per year that he isn’t going to get.

Since it’s more than likely the Brewers won’t pick up one of those three, I’d almost like to see the Brewers try an experiment of young, in-house starters in the rotation, like I said earlier, and I’d like to see that for a few reasons.

First off, it would keep the Brewers from thinking they need to make an actually unnecessary move that would make the team worse. The most recent examples of that are Wolf and Jeff Suppan. Now don’t get me wrong; I liked Wolf. He had a solid year and a half under his belt with the Crew prior to his release. But things weren’t clicking this year, which makes me worry about the Brewers signing a similar veteran over this offseason. I don’t think I need to explain my reasoning for Suppan.

The front office will probably think that veteran presence is needed in a young rotation, but Gallardo should be at the point of his career where he can start setting an example for the guys behind him and serve as that “veteran” (although he’ll only be 27 next year). Estrada hasn’t been on the Brewers for very long, but he’s been around. I don’t think the Brewers should waste money on getting that “veteran starter” this year.

My second reason is that the Brewers have something that they didn’t have previous years in which they needed a veteran guy: they have a ton of prospects that are big league ready. Fiers, despite his inconsistency recently (which could be due to fatigue from his first year in the Majors), should have a rotation spot locked up for next year. Before his shut-down, Rogers was giving the Brewers a chance to win every time out. It’s too early to say about Peralta, but, after three dominant starts, a good Spring Training next year could net him a rotation spot. And then there are all the prospects (i.e. Hiram Burgos) and the recent draft picks (i.e. Taylor Jungmann, Jed Bradley) that haven’t even made it to the Majors yet.

Even though Gallardo is the only pitcher who has a spot locked down for next year, the Brewers have so many starting pitching prospects that they’ll have to be able to get something out of at least some of them, particularly the ones who are getting big league experience this year. This could be the makings of a very dominant future rotation for the Brewers; why not get a glimpse of it next year?

So we’re taking a break from the negative nonsense today to bring you some quick news hits from a group of ballplayers whose dreams have not yet been crushed by injuries, losing streaks or whiny media-types. I’m talking about the Minor League affiliates of the Milwaukee Brewers, of course.

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This week there was so much news happening, I could add hundreds of things to the junk drawer.  So in honor of March Madness, these are things that I am putting in the junk drawer to forget.  Here are some things I am “Mad” about and deserve to be junked.

First Handful of Players Re-Assigned

This bugs me because I wanted to see more of a couple of these guys.  Primarily, I think it is madness that Brock Kjeldgaard did not get more time.  Brock was sent to Huntsville Alabama, along with pitcher Cody Scarpetta.  Then, it was Taylor Jungmann and Jed Bradley who were designated to minor league camp. That was not surprising beacuse those two have never even pitched in the system.   Anderson De La Rosa was the 5th player and he followed Jungmann and Bradley to minor league Summer camp.  We hardly had any time to see these guys, but clearly the organization does not think they are ready.  Therefore, I am forced to accept this, but it does not mean I have to like it.  This also sucks for Colin Bennett, who picked Kjeldgaard to follow this spring.  Sorry pal.  Better luck next season. 

Oct 4, 2011; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Shaun Marcum against the Arizona Diamondbacks during game three of the 2011 NLDS at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

Shaun Marcum Is Still Not Pitching

This is frustrating for a few reasons.  Part of me wants to believe that he is genuinely having issues, but the Satan part of me thinks that he is milking it a little bit.  Why would he do that?  Shaun was clearly bitter that he was open to a long-term extension and the Brewers apparently were not.  Now, I do not doubt that he has some tightness in his shoulder.  That does not mean that he is not milking this thing for all it is worth.  Why would you risk injury in Spring Training, when you need to be pitching for a contract?  Just think about it for me.  It makes sense.  But, Marcum has been working with Rick Kranitz and was scheduled to throw off of a mound today.  So maybe I am blowing this out of proportion.  It wouldn’t be the worst thing ever if he started the regular season healthy. 

Brandon Kintzler Needs Nerve Testing

Kintzler had X-rays on his forearm earlier this week.  His discomfort was initially self-diagnosed as a screw moving.  Last season Kintzler had surgery to repair a hairline fracture in his arm, which involved a screw.  It is possible that the screw is still the root of the problem however.  Brandon now believes that the screw could be “pinching a nerve”.  If you have never had a pinched nerve, it is terribly uncomfortable.  It does not hurt necessarily, but it certainly is not something you enjoy.  This is good news however.  Hopefully this is something he can recover from and we can get some innings out of him.  Guy has good stuff, it would be a shame to watch him sit on the shelf for another season. 

John Axford Gets Into Politics

This may sound absurd, but John Axford has publicly thrown his support behind the highly controversial Stache Act.  If you do not know what I am talking about, follow this link.  This glorious movement was sent to me by an old friend, Shawn Anderson of The Hall of Very Good.  For those of you who do not know, Shawn is an avid baseball fan and a member/writer for the American Mustache Institute.  The AMI is responsible for this glorious piece of legislation.  You should really educate yourself on this.  It is one of the more genius things ever and I am not surprised that John Axford is on board with this.  Thanks Shawn. Oh, and for the record…nothing about this makes me “Mad”.  I just felt like it deserved some love.

**Special Note** Shawn and I will be doing a pre-season chat soon, so be on the look-out.  It is gonna blow your mind. 

Not related to the Junk Drawer, but the Brewers won today over the Padres 6-4.  Taylor Green hit a 2-run homer, Chris Narveson looked pretty sweet, and Tyler Thornburg has now thrown 5 consecutive scoreless innings.  That win puts us at .500 on the Spring!!!   Whooeeeee!!!!

Go Brewers!!

Seriously, what is the rub bub? 

What on earth could that select group of gentlemen possibly still be debating?  The hearing started almost two weeks ago.  This isn’t the O.J. Trial!!  There is no new evidence that I know of, so what in the name of Zeus’ b-hole is going on?  This is absolutely demolishing the joy I usually feel this close to Spring Training.  This panel of MLB appointed people, are really screwing up my universe.   

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     Nyjer Morgan or Tony Plush, whatever you want to call him, has become somewhat of a local legend in Milwaukee this season.  Form everything I have read, it sounds like T-Plush loves the city and the fans.  In fact he Tweets his adoration for the Brew Crew Nation almost daily.  In yesterday’s walk-off sweep of the Pirates, Nyjer gave us something new to throw up when it is his time to shine.  Many of you will recognize it as the international sports symbol for ‘time-out’.  As many of you may know, there are no time-outs in baseball, so why not let this happen. 

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I want to be out there, but like I said, there are doctors that know a lot more about injuries and stuff than I do.  It’s a matter of seeing doctor’s and getting the OK to go out there and play tomorrow.

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The Brewers made two safe picks in today’s First-Year Draft.  As Colin already covered (beautifully, I might add), they took two very safe and solid college pitching prospects.  Did I mention that they also happened to be the tallest kids in the draft?  These two young men add up to 13 feet of pitcher.

With the 12th overall pick, the Crew selected 6′ 6″, 224 pound, right hander Taylor Jungmann.  This kid had an unbelievable 13-1 record last year at the University of Texas.  What I like most about this pick, turn around time.  Since Jungmann has already been through three full seasons of college ball, plus one summer in the Cape Cod league, the odds are good that he will not be spending as much time in the minors, as would a kid drafted right out of high school.  Plus, Jungmann was a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award (best player in amateur baseball).  A very safe and solid pick to start out the Brewers 2011 draft.

Then the boys in blue and gold followed up with another giant kid, 6′ 4″ south paw, Jed Bradley out of Georgia Tech.  Jed is a lefty with a ton of potential.  While he does not have the accolades or numbers that Jungmann may have, he certainly has what the Crew is looking for.  This kid makes bats miss.  He finished last season with 106 K’s in only 98 innings of work.

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