Milwaukee Brewers 2017 Season: Projecting Offensive History

Win or lose in 2017, the Milwaukee Brewers are designed to put together an incredibly rare season.

With the Milwaukee Brewers current roster construction, they are poised to reach historical significance. This group has the tools, mentality and ideal circumstance to be just the 2nd team in MLB history to accomplish this particular feat.

If you count records back to 1876 – when the original National League was founded – this will be season 142 for organized, professional baseball. Finding one’s way into the history books is terribly impressive.

Perhaps this is enough of a tease for you. They will become only the 2nd team to display a certain amount of power and speed in the same season.

The 2017 Milwaukee Brewers are going to hit at least 200 home runs and collect at least 200 stolen bases this year. They were rather close by the end of last season, too.

Only the 1996 Colorado Rockies have turned the trick in MLB history. That club hit 221 home runs and had 201 steals. The Rockies were in just their 4th year of existence when they became the first team to reach those marks simultaneously.

Broxton stole 23 bases in 27 attempts – or roughly one steal every 3 games he played. At that clip, should he play in 150 contests, Broxton would tally 50 thefts in 2017.

Now it’s the Brewers turn to be etched into the annals of MLB lore. The players that GM David Stearns has put together fit the mold of a 200-200 team. Milwaukee has a unique mix of skill, experience, balance and depth to pull this off.

Milwaukee led MLB with 181 stolen bases in 2016, with Jonathan Villar owning a league-best 62 of them. Adding another 19 thefts in 2017 is well within reach for a few reasons.

For one, the Brewers play an aggressive style encouraged by manager Craig Counsell. Part of this is to help create runs scored, which Milwaukee struggled with last year. It’s also due to the fact that the Brewers aren’t expected to win a whole lot, making the risk of base stealing a worthy venture.

They also have plenty of guys with skill set to push the total over two bills. Villar’s stolen bases shouldn’t see any major dip. In fact, he may tack on a few more this year if he becomes more efficient. Villar was caught stealing 18 times.

Hernan Perez will continue to see more playing time. He had 34 steals in 41 attempts last season. Another regular, Ryan Braun, still knows how to pick his spots. He was 16-for-21 in steals last year as well.

Newcomer Eric Thames is expected to bring more production on the bases. While he will be judged mostly for his bat and power, he did steal 40 bags in Korea two years ago. He went 64-for-78 on steal attempts in his three seasons overseas. That’s terrific output from a first baseman, and he’ll certainly top Chris Carter‘s 2016 total of 3 stolen bases.

But the biggest key to success in the quest for 200 thefts will be the full-season availability of Keon Broxton and Orlando Arcia. This duo played in 75 and 55 games respectively thanks to a combination of performance, injury and Arcia’s start in the minor leagues.

Veteran Ryan Braun leads the Milwaukee Brewers offense once again. Photo Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports /

Broxton stole 23 bases in 27 attempts – or roughly one steal every 3 games he played. At that clip, should he get into 150 contests, Broxton would tally 50 thefts in 2017. Then add Arcia who was 8-for-8 in steals last season. Arcia had 71 stolen bases in his last 356 minor league games – about one every 5 contests. At 150 games, that puts Arcia at 30 swipes on the year.

Those might all be peak numbers, but there’s plenty of wiggle room to make sure they also become the 2nd team in franchise history to reach 200 steals. The 1992 club is currently the only one to top the 200 mark with 256 stolen bases.

As for the power side of this equation, Milwaukee had 194 home runs in 2016. The Brewers lost Carter’s NL-best 41 home runs and replace him with uncertainty in Thames. He won’t hit 40, but hitting around 25-30 homers is reasonable – especially with the short porch in right field helping the lefty.

Speaking of new left-handed bats, Travis Shaw should see a power boost moving away from Fenway Park. Boston is horrible for power-hitting lefties, while Miller Park is one of the best. Shaw hit 16 home runs last season, so getting over 20 homers should be expected.

Then it’s a matter of how much the outfield trio will contribute. Braun blasted 30 dingers in 2016 and appears poised for that total again. Santana has the power to hit 20-25 homers, particularly with his fantastic stroke and pop to right field. He too may steal a few taters on that short porch.

Broxton may be the most intriguing of the three. He took off at the plate once he made adjustments to his stance last year – namely his hand placement. Upon his return, there was a noticeable increase in bat speed and power.

Broxton hit 6 home runs in his last 22 starts before the wrist injury. During that time, he posted a .518 slugging percentage.

An exciting consideration for both Broxton and Santana is their fantastic exit velocity. Logically, the quicker the ball jumps off the bat, the harder it goes and the farther it may fly. Santana had the 3rd-best exit velocity in baseball last season (91), while Broxton finished 7th (90.2). For reference, Miguel Cabrera and Nelson Cruz were the top two (91.3).

Villar, Perez and Jesus Aguilar will be three wild cards in the chase for 200 home runs will be . Perez and Villar combined for 32 home runs last season, which isn’t outrageous by any means. That total should be repeatable between the two.

Aguilar will get his chance off the bench and occasionally starting at first base. His minor league track record looks great on paper, too. He hit 30 home runs in Triple-A last season and has been a

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consistent power threat in his career. Aguilar impressed the Brewers a ton in spring as well, blasting 7 home runs and slugging around .900 in 23 games.

Add up all of the pieces – even with some regression from a few players – and there is plenty of pop to push the Brewers over 200 home runs, too.

Even if the Milwaukee Brewers don’t find a way to put together a winning season, watching them sprint and slug to rare levels would be fascinating entertainment.

Baseball always finds ways to be interesting. Seeing just the second 200-200 season in history will be fun.

Next: Brewers' Pina Finally Earns Opening Day Spot

In the end, 200 home runs and 200 steals will at least help them win a few more games. Some people – well, one person – is even predicting them to reach 80 or more wins in 2017. It will be an interesting year that is hopefully just the start of something special in the long run.

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