Milwaukee Brewers: Top 5 Spring Training Storylines To Watch

Spring Training is finally getting underway. With high expectations for the Milwaukee Brewers heading into 2019, there are going to be a lot of major storylines to watch in Spring Training.

When you finish the previous season just one win shy of making your first World Series appearance in 36 years, there’s going to be a lot of attention, both locally and nationally, paid to you. That’s where the Milwaukee Brewers sit heading into the 2019 season.

Most of the core from 2018 is returning for this season, with the exception of starting pitcher Wade Miley. Hopes and expectations obviously remain high, and that means there’s likely to be a lot more scrutiny paid to spring training this year with more eyes watching, and more on the line.

The Brewers are beginning their defense of the NL Central title that they won in Game 163 last year against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. It was a down year for the Cubs in 2018, and with the humiliation of the loss last season, that team will be motivated to get back on top.

Rest assured, the rest of the Brewers will be just as motivated to keep that title and finally reach the World Series for the first time since 1982. This is the beginning of their legitimate championship window.

Windows like this don’t last long in this league. The Brewers need to maximize every opportunity, or the window will close before they know it, and they’re left without a title. But that’s not the mentality this team has. They’re focused on having fun together as a team, and taking things one game at a time. It’s cliche, sure, but cliches are important.

The Brewers believe they can do this, and at the end of the season, when reporters interview the players who won the World Series, they’re always asked when they felt they could win the Series this year. And the players almost always answer that it began in spring training with the mentality they set for themselves here in February.

That’s what the Brewers are doing right now, setting their World Series mentality.

With that said, there are going to be several key storylines to watch unfold as we go through the six week stretch that is spring training. Here are the top five storylines Milwaukee Brewers fans need to keep a close eye on.

5. How Does Yasmani Grandal Adjust To His New Team?

The Milwaukee Brewers made Yasmani Grandal their marquee offseason addition this winter when they signed him to a one year, $16 million contract back on January 9th. Considering he’s only in Milwaukee for one season, he’s going to have to make it count.

Grandal is arguably the second best catcher in all of baseball. He’s rated as the best pitch framer in all of MLB and finished second in catcher OPS+ last season, just behind JT Realmuto. The Brewers have made a clear upgrade at the position.

Some Brewers fans have a negative opinion on Grandal’s ability, based on his horrible performance in the NLCS last year. For whatever reason, Grandal did not play well last postseason, and hopefully that does not become a trend for him. But rest assured, Grandal is as good a catcher any team would be able to find.

He’s going to have to adjust to a new pitching staff and hopefully address those passed ball concerns. We’ve seen reports that soon after Grandal signed, he texted Josh Hader and starting catching bullpen sessions for him. Hard to blame him, Hader has probably the filthiest stuff on this pitching staff, and it’s probably a smart idea to get as much practice catching him as he can.

Grandal appears dedicated to learning this new staff, and his framing ability should help this staff achieve even further heights. But it’s his bat that really caught the Brewers attention.

A strong offensive output in spring training, as well as limiting the passed balls will go a long ways towards putting Brewers fans at ease about their new starting catcher. As the big name acquisition this year, he’s going to attract a lot of attention from Brewers fans.

3. How Will The Rotation Shake Out?

The Milwaukee Brewers currently have seven viable, quality options for their starting rotation. Those pitchers; Jhoulys Chacin, Jimmy Nelson, Chase Anderson, Zach Davies, Corbin Burnes, Freddy Peralta, and Brandon Woodruff, are all competing for five spots in the starting rotation.

It’s fair to assume that Jhoulys Chacin is guaranteed a spot after his performance last season. Jimmy Nelson, coming back after shoulder surgery, also figures to get a spot should he get through spring training healthy and ready to go. The Brewers have also stated that Corbin Burnes will go into the starting rotation in 2019, so he should get a spot.

That leaves Davies, Anderson, Peralta, and Woodruff fighting for two spots. Given Anderson’s contract, he probably should get a rotation spot, but his performance last season was concerning. He lost that velocity he gained in 2017 and his effectiveness went way down and his home run totals went way up.

If Anderson continues to struggle in spring training, what will the Brewers do with him?

It’ll come down to which players pitch the best in spring training. Whoever pitches the best will likely get the spots. It’s important to keep in mind that all of these pitchers still have minor league options, including Davies and Anderson. Although it is unlikely that Anderson would get optioned to the minors.

Anderson and Davies are also trade candidates, but with spring training now beginning, the chances of them getting traded prior to the season starting are pretty small.

It’ll be a true competition for these guys. Unless the Brewers go with an extremely unconventional approach that includes all seven of these guys in the rotation, someone is going to get left out, stuck with a job they don’t want. It’ll bring the best out of them, which is good for the team. But at this point, it’s anyone’s guess as to how the starting five will look on Opening Day.

2. The Second Base Battle

With the poor production and eventual non-tender of Jonathan Schoop, the Milwaukee Brewers second base job is once again up for grabs. Pres. of Baseball Operations David Stearns’ plan to get Schoop for a year and a half of productive play at second base did not come to fruition, and he made the smart decision to let him go.

But now the position faces uncertainty for a second straight season. That means another position battle to watch for in spring training.

The current candidates for the position are Hernan Perez, Cory Spangenberg, and Tyler Saladino. With the platoon splits of Perez and Spangenberg complementing each other, a platoon between them seems the most likely outcome.

But perhaps Tyler Saladino could go on another offensive tear, like he did shortly after he was acquired last season from the White Sox. If he gets hot at the plate, he likely earns himself a spot on the roster and possibly even the regular starting role. His splits don’t suggest he’d be good in a platoon, with slightly better numbers against lefties, but far more power against righties.

He could earn the starting job outright with Spangenberg and Perez serving as backups and utility players instead.

Or what if between Perez and Spangenberg, one of them completely dominates while the other just falls off the table? Will the Brewers stick with a platoon even though one player is playing well against both righties and lefties and the other is just struggling?

There’s a lot that could happen here. It’s definitely an important story to keep an eye on.

1. The Return Of Jimmy Nelson

It’s been a much anticipated return for Jimmy Nelson. He had just turned into the ace of the Milwaukee Brewers staff in 2017 when he was brought down with a shoulder injury that ended his 2017 and forced him to miss all of 2018 as well. But now he’s back with a clean bill of health.

The major question for Nelson will be how well he does in his return to action. Many are concerned that he may never get back to being the pitcher he was before the injury. Many others also have faith in Nelson to pick up where he left off.

More from Brewers News

• Brewers: 4 Players Who Must Step Up for the Crew to Make the Playoffs
• Brewers: Yet Another Huge Promotion For Top Prospect Jackson Chourio
• Brewers Making Colossal Mistake With Corbin Burnes’ Contract
• Which Players May Be In The Final Month Of Their Brewers Careers?
• Brewers: Where Does Devin Williams Stand In NL Reliever Of The Year Race?

Only time will tell which section of the fan base is correct. For all of our sake, hopefully Nelson picks up where he left off.

Is his velocity still there? Is the movement on his pitches still there? Can he still be that homegrown ace the Brewers are looking for?

Over the past two offseasons, many have called for the Brewers to sign a top-tier starting pitcher, but Stearns has shied away from that. If Nelson returns to his ace form, he will be rewarding Stearns’ patience.

This is the first real competition Nelson will be facing since his injury 18 months ago. The Brewers will be watching his workload carefully this spring.

If Nelson shows his usual dominant self, many concerns about this Brewers rotation will be squashed, and there will be added legitimacy to this group. If he struggles to get going in spring, the question marks about this staff will only continue, as there are few established guys in this group. Nelson is the one guy who could change all that.

We’ve been waiting to see Jimmy Nelson again for a long time. And now that he’s back, we’re not going to take our eyes off of him.

The Milwaukee Brewers have a bright future ahead of them and 2019 has a lot of optimism in particular. With added eyes on the Crew this spring, these are the key storylines for all of us to follow.