Milwaukee Brewers: 5 Bold Predictions For The 2019 Season

Bold Prediction #2

Jimmy Nelson picks up where he left off, wins Comeback Player Of The Year

The longrunning Jimmy Nelson saga is nearing its next stage. With Nelson finally healthy and ready to make his Cactus League debut on Monday, Milwaukee Brewers fans and players alike will get to see Nelson in game action for the first time since September 2017.

Personally, I’m a big believer in Jimmy Nelson and think that he can continue to pitch in the dominant form he was in prior to his injury. The reports from Spring Training are all good and he’s seemingly looking better than ever.

If Nelson truly is better than ever, there’s no reason he can’t pick up where he left off in 2017 and continue his upward trajectory as a starting pitcher. He was on his way to ace status in 2017 and now he has to prove once again that he’s a dominant frontline starter.

I’m predicting a strong season for Jimmy Nelson. The Milwaukee Brewers will watch his innings closely and will likely prevent him from reaching 200 innings this year. But I think he can still reach 175 innings and post a sub-3.50 ERA.

Should Nelson be able to do that, he’ll be in strong contention for the Comeback Player of the Year award, given annually to a player who “re-emerged on the baseball field during a given season”. That description would fit Nelson perfectly after being stuck in the shadows in 2018 while rehabbing. If he re-emerges, finishes ~175 innings with a strong ERA, that award is Nelson’s.

Nelson’s velocity appears to be back where it once was and he might have even added a tick or two to that fastball. The current Brewers rotation doesn’t have many flamethrowers, and Nelson was the resident flamethrower prior to his injury. With the return of Nelson, he and Corbin Burnes will be the two hard-throwing starters in the rotation.

Speaking of Corbin Burnes…

Bold Prediction #3

Corbin Burnes establishes himself as the ‘Ace’ of the rotation, wins Cy Young award

The other day, Robert Murray of The Athletic wrote an article (subscription required) on Corbin Burnes adding a changeup and a sinker to his arsenal which now boasts five(!) pitches. His fastball, slider, and curveball were already filthy enough and got him to a 2.61 ERA in 30 appearances last year.

Now he’s adding a changeup and a sinker to that? Hitters will have no chance against Burnes this year.

Although he’s young at 24 years old and this would be his first season in the big league rotation, Burnes has the stuff, the command, and the stamina to become the homegrown frontline starting pitcher the Milwaukee Brewers have long been searching for.

Jhoulys Chacin had a strong 2018 season, but even though he’s an established starter, I still wouldn’t consider him an ‘ace’. Jimmy Nelson, as previously described, will hopefully pick up where he left off, and he could re-take that title of ‘ace’ but I think it’s Burnes that will seize that title for himself. Nelson will probably have some restrictions on innings this season, while Burnes will not.

As for the Cy Young award, I think it would be a total shock for him to upset the league and overtake pitchers like Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, and others to win the award. It would have to be a ridiculous season for him to do so. It may be more reasonable to look for a Top-5 finish in Cy Young voting for the young Burnes, but this isn’t a reasonable predictions article, this is a bold predictions article.

Corbin Burnes will win the 2019 NL Cy Young award.

That’s right, I said it. The 2019 NL Cy Young winner will be Corbin Burnes of the Milwaukee Brewers.

I believe this kid will burst onto the scene in 2019 and make his presence felt across the league. A full season, 30+ starts, with a sub-3.00 ERA is what’s coming for Burnes. If he dominates the second half like Yelich did last year, he can build up enough momentum to win the award at season’s end.

His 2018 bullpen and postseason performance is reason enough for optimism. He’s dominated all through the minor leagues and Burnes will continue his skyward trend. I can’t wait to see him as a full-time starter this season and watch what he can do at full power.

Bold Prediction #4

The Brewers will have 6(!) players with 30+ home runs this season

For the past two seasons, the Milwaukee Brewers have had three players with 30+ home runs in a season. In 2017, it was Travis Shaw, Domingo Santana, and Eric Thames. In 2018, it was Shaw, Jesus Aguilar, and Christian Yelich.

This year, the Brewers will double that number and will have six players with 30+ home runs.

Shaw, Aguilar, and Yelich are all good bets to repeat their 30+ home run performances. Ryan Braun used to hit 30+ home runs in a season regularly, and with his swing change this offseason that emphasizes launch angle, Braun is looking to get back to his 30 home run ways in 2019. Health is the most important factor for Braun reaching this total, but his swing change should help him make the most of his time on the field.

Mike Moustakas had 28 home runs last season and 20 of those came with the Royals. He played in a ballpark that suppressed left handed power. Now he’s going to spend a full season in Miller Park and that should help boost his home run totals. He knocked 38 home runs in 2017 and we could see him do that again in 2019 in a more friendly ballpark.

Yasmani Grandal also has a ton of power, especially coming from the catcher position. Even though he’s a switch hitter, most of Grandal’s power comes from the left side of the plate, and that makes Miller Park a great place for him. He hit 24 home runs last season and that was while playing in the pitcher-friendly ballparks of the NL West. By putting him in the NL Central with more hitter-friendly stadiums and the large number of right handed pitchers in this division, and this should be a career year for Grandal.

Should all these players stay healthy, there’s no reason to believe any of them can’t hit 30 home runs. Six players with 30 home runs is probably some kind of record for this franchise, possibly the league. They can do this.

Bold Prediction #5

The Milwaukee Brewers are World Series champions

You can call this a bold prediction, or you can say it isn’t bold at all based on how the team is constructed and what we witnessed last year. But believe it or not, it’s a bold prediction.

Winning a World Series is extremely difficult, and we know the Milwaukee Brewers have never won one. It’s difficult enough to make the World Series as we learned last season. It takes a lot of things to go right over a 162 game season to even make the playoffs. No matter how well your roster is set up for October, players are still human and bats can go cold and pitchers can get tired.

Despite all the possibilities for things to go wrong, the Milwaukee Brewers and their below-league average payroll will end up on top at the end of the day and will win the World Series. We’ll have a parade in Milwaukee this year.

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?

Repeating as World Series champions is extremely difficult, and the Boston Red Sox have lost their closer Craig Kimbrel. Their bullpen can’t match the stuff the Brewers bullpen has. The lineups are both dominant and the rotations have great potential.

The National League is extremely deep this year. Three teams are pushing to win the NL West, four teams in the NL East are pushing to win that division, and all five teams in the NL Central are going to be competitive and are pushing for the title. If the Brewers can get out of the mess that is the National League, they can defeat whichever team the AL puts up.

The Milwaukee Brewers have the lineup to outscore anyone. The Brewers have the bullpen to shut down anyone when they have the lead. The Brewers have the depth in the starting rotation and possible studs in Corbin Burnes and Jimmy Nelson to lead them. This is a complete team.

While the Brewers may not get the national respect and attention as World Series contenders, that’s because they look down on the Brewers because of their small payroll and lack of established starters in their rotation. You don’t need a $200 million payroll to field a World Series team. David Stearns has proven that you can win with half the payroll of the big market clubs.

What separates this Milwaukee Brewers team from the pack is their culture. The clubhouse culture this team has is so strong and so family oriented that it improves their play on the field. Having the right attitude and a winning culture is so important. Now that most of these players have postseason experience, the stage won’t seem as bright as it might have last year.

This group is a year older and a year wiser. The young pitchers will take more steps forward, the hitters will take more steps forward. After the NLCS, the only forward step is the World Series. And in 2019, the Milwaukee Brewers will win it all.

If the first four bold predictions come true, then there’s a very strong chance that the final bold prediction will come true as well.