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Milwaukee Brewers Roundtable: Offseason Review & 2020 Preview

By Paul Bretl

OAKLAND, CA - JULY 31: Lorenzo Cain #6 of the Milwaukee Brewers celebrates after hitting a lead-off home run against the Oakland Athletics in the top of the first inning at Ring Central Coliseum on July 31, 2019 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - JULY 31: Lorenzo Cain #6 of the Milwaukee Brewers celebrates after hitting a lead-off home run against the Oakland Athletics in the top of the first inning at Ring Central Coliseum on July 31, 2019 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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PITTSBURGH, PA – JULY 07: Corbin Burnes #39 of the Milwaukee Brewers in action during the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on July 7, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /

Who or what will you be watching closely during Spring Training?

Matt: This almost counts as another under the radar player, but my player to watch in Spring Training will definitely be Corbin Burnes. To say Burnes’s 2019 season was disappointing would be an understatement.

After bursting on to the scene in 2018 as a key bullpen piece, Burnes regressed heavily last year and had poor results both as a starter and as a reliever, which resulted in being demoted as low as Double-A Biloxi at one point. But Burnes spent some time at the team’s pitching lab in Arizona towards the end of last year and the team hopes he’ll be able to turn things around in 2020. Spring Training will be the first glimpse as to whether it looks like he’ll be able to make that happen.

Mike: I’m watching the young pitchers as a collective. Wahl, Knebel, Freddy Peralta, Corbin Burnes, Devin Williams, Ray Black, Eric Lauer, Adrian Houser, and Trey Supak are all entering the Spring with a chance, no matter how remote, of being impact big leaguers this year. And that’ s not even looking at the non-roster guys like Zack Brown, Ethan Small, Jake Faria, Drew Rasmussen, and Jesus Castillo.

And of those guys, I want to see how Peralta, Burnes, and Houser handle the events of the past year. Houser has emerged as a dependable starter who can be dominant at times. He’s locked into a spot, but needs to build off last year’s emergence. Peralta was much more volatile, alternating between unhittable and Rick Ankiel circa 2001. He was great in the Dominican Winter League, and now has added a slider to his arsenal. For Burnes, it’s about learning from last year’s struggles and then putting it behind him. His stuff is too freaky to be as bad as he was last year. He could be a massive bounce back candidate, and end up in the rotation sooner rather than later.

Kenny: The thing I’m watching most closely in spring training is the position battle at third base. Eric Sogard, Ryon Healy, and Jedd Gyorko will all be vying for the spot. Luis Urias could also be an option, but he is injured and will be ready possibly for Opening Day, but not for spring training.

None of the options are inspiring, but guys that come in under the radar can take Major League spots and have big years. Wade Miley came in on the outside looking in just two years ago and was one of the top pitchers on a NLCS team by the end of the season. Hopefully, one of these guys can do something like that.

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