Brewers: 3 Reasons Fans Should Be Excited About The 2023 Season
The 2023 Brewers regular season is finally here! The offseason has been long but it has come to an end and we have meaningful baseball back in our lives once more.
After the way the 2022 season ended, the offseason felt incredibly long and many fans may not feel quite as excited about the 2023 season given how last year ended. But there's plenty of reasons to be optimistic and overall excited about this year.
Here are three reasons to be excited about the Brewers 2023 season.
Reason to be excited #1: "The Freshmen"
The Brewers have been putting out their video series called "The Freshmen" following top prospects Garrett Mitchell, Brice Turang, Sal Frelick, and Joey Wiemer. These four hyped prospects will be making up the core of the Brewers lineup for years to come and they are finally arriving.
Garrett Mitchell first arrived late last season and he enters the 2023 season as the starting centerfielder. Brice Turang was added to the 40 man over the offseason and has made the Opening Day roster. He will figure into the second base mix prominently and could backup at shortstop and even centerfield.
Sal Frelick and Joey Wiemer didn't make the Opening Day roster, but it shouldn't be too long before we see them make their debuts as well.
These aren't just your run of the mill rookies, these guys are the cream of the crop of the Brewers farm system. They are tooled up across the board. Mitchell and Frelick bring excellent defense in centerfield, Wiemer is outstanding in right field, and Turang is as good as it gets in the middle infield. Wiemer will hit moonshot home runs, Mitchell has some big raw power as well, and Turang has improving power. Sal Frelick could be a .300 hitter and the leadoff man for the next several years.
On top of all that, every one of these guys has blazing speed. Every single one stole 30 or more bases. With the new rules in place at the big league level this year aimed to increase stolen bases, they will be running all over the place, adding another dimension to the Brewers offense.
These are exciting young hitting prospects arriving all at the same time like Brewers fans haven't seen since the mid-2000s. Brice Turang is the highest ranked Brewers prospect to make the Opening Day roster since JJ Hardy.
Reason to be excited #2: The new faces on offense
There was quite a bit of turnover on the Brewers offense over the winter. Kolten Wong, Hunter Renfroe, Andrew McCutchen, Omar Narvaez, and Keston Hiura are now gone. Hiura is still in the organization but he is off the 40 man roster and is unlikely to return quickly.
Replacing Narvaez in the lineup is William Contreras. That's a massive upgrade. Contreras was an All Star last season with an exceptional hit tool and 20+ HR power as well.
Replacing McCutchen in the lineup as the DH is Jesse Winker. Winker had a down year last season while he was dealing with injuries but he's back at 100% this season and had never had a season below a .830 OPS prior to last season. The 29 year old's as good a bet to have a bounce back season as anyone in the league and he's not on the downswing of his career like McCutchen was. He's dominated at American Family Field and is comfortable hitting in the division. This is an improvement.
Luke Voit has replaced Keston Hiura on the roster. He'll fill that backup 1B/DH role and brings legitimate power and solid hitting ability. While he strikes out at a high clip, it's still far less than how often Hiura was punching out and he gets on base more consistently. That's an improvement.
Replacing Wong will be filled with a combination of Luis Urias, Owen Miller, and one of the freshmen, Brice Turang. While Wong was a productive member of the offense last year and not really part of the problem, the Brewers should be able to replicate or even improve upon his production with this group.
Reason to be excited #3: This rotation still shoves
This is the best starting rotation in baseball. Led by Corbin Burnes, who will be setting out to dominate after the Brewers misguided approach to his arbitration hearing. He'll be out to prove he's worth every dollar he wants. He's going to take out his frustration on opposing hitters and his stuff is still just stupid good. He's a Cy Young favorite just by walking in the building.
He's followed by Brandon Woodruff, the Big Woo. Woodruff flies a bit more under the radar because Burnes takes most of the spotlight, but Woody is just as dominant and nasty on the mound. They're the best 1-2 rotation punch in the big leagues. Hitting coaches lose sleep at night when they see these two coming up on their schedule.
Freddy Peralta would be the Opening Day starter that leads the rotation for most ballclubs. For the Brewers, he's third on the depth chart. He'll be the 4th starter in the rotation because the Brewers want to split up their lefties and not have them back to back, but he's the #3 in this group. When healthy, he has #1 type stuff, he can be unhittable when he's on.
Then there's the lefties, Eric Lauer and Wade Miley. Lauer had a solid season last year and has looked really strong in spring training. He threw the most innings of his career last year and is poised for an even bigger leap in 2023, Ever since leaving the Brewers after the 2018 season, Wade Miley has been a very productive pitcher wherever he's gone. He was great for the Reds in 2021 in a very hitter friendly ballpark and is back in a place he feels comfortable and had the best season of his career.
Other teams salivate over the idea of having a rotation as good as this one. They are green with envy. They want what the Brewers have. A rotation this strong makes things a lot easier on the offense since they won't need to score as many runs to win games. With the improvements made on offense as previously mentioned, the Brewers are sitting pretty with their recipe for success in 2023.
The NL Central is there for the taking. The Cardinals didn't do much to improve at all this offseason. It's a new year. Opening Day is special because it brings the hope and excitement and wonder of a new season. A fresh 162 games. Last year doesn't matter. A new year begins. Anything can happen. It's time for baseball!