Highlights & Lowlights: Brewers Batters

We did Highlights and Lowlights all year to recap the Brewers series. It was honestly fun and led me to thinking about doing more of the other Wisconsin sports. Might as well put a bow on the Brewers season and finish it the right way.   

Brightest Highlights
Carlos Gomez - There is no doubt who is the MVP of the Milwaukee Brewers season. Gomez carries a 8.3 WAR in the National League which is second to Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw who had an 8.4. Gomez also led the league in saving defensive runs on defense. Gomez deserves the Gold Glove and it will be a goddamn shame when Andrew McCutchen gets it. It will be interesting to see where the Brewers hit Gomez next year. If I had to guess, second, maybe fifth.

Jean Segura - Breakout year for the young shortstop. The Brewers will probably look to give a Ryan Braun-like extension in the offseason. I am not talking major money, but doing some sort of hometown deal as we have seen with Evan Longoria and others. Segura still needs to work on his defense a bit, but other than that, he had a real promising year. I wonder how he would feel about hitting leadoff next year although he could probably hit second if Gomez does not.

Jonathan Lucroy - He might be the most underrated catcher in the game. The National League is surprisingly loaded with great catchers (See: Yadier Molina and Buster Posey) who are better than Lucroy yet he is damn good. Lucroy has also become the supposed face of the franchise and someone who does not get much criticism with the media, also know as the Casey McGehee Honor. Lucroy will probably bat sixth next season, and I am sort of curious how he will handle not being the star of this team next season.  

Bright Highlights
Scooter Gennett - Yup. I was wrong. It happens all the time here at Sports News on Tap. Scooter played his ass off in the second stint with the Brewers.  As noted by many people, Scooter had the highest average in the National League from August 9th to the end of the season. I have no idea what is upcoming for Scooter and Rickie Weeks next season. My guess is they will try to trade Weeks in the offseason and if they cannot (Spoiler alert, they cannot), it will end up being an open platoon with Weeks batting when they face lefties plus being the first off the bench with the team still looking to trade him.  
 
Khris Davis - Like Gennett, Davis had a big second stint with the Brewers. He slugged eleven homers going .279 with an OBP of .353. I really want to see what Khris can do with a full season. If the Brewers were to get rid of Aoki, Davis will probably be the left field and Braun would move to right. My assumption knowing how Brewers management works, they will keep Aoki and make Davis their fourth outfielder even if does not make sense because Braun and Gomez are not leaving the order.

Logan Schafer - Here is why I put Schafer higher than what his numbers show this season. He can play all three outfield positions. None of the other guys can do that. Schafer will either stay on this team to help fill in when he can or find a roster with another team. The offense will improve a bit for him if he gets consistent playing time.  

Flickering Highlights
Aramis Ramirez - Frustrating year for Aramis this season. He played pretty well when he was healthy and I am convinced if Rami stayed healthy throughout the year, he is not on this baseball team as he would have likely Ramirez is playing for Boston or another playoff contender. Ramirez will be there for his final year of his contract at the ripe age of 35 for half of it and 36 for the other half of it. I wonder if Rami will retire after 2014 or try to hang on for one more season. The bat still looks like it is there if he is healthy. That's a big if.

Nori Aoki - He had a hot streak in September, but Aoki did not really have a solid finish to the season. Aoki had .a .253 in June and .261 in August which are both below what Aoki has done in his short time with the Brewers. He only had seven doubles in the span of June through August.  Aoki did a serviceable job, but with what the Brewers have right now, I fail to see why they need him for next season. He makes too many errors on the basepads and not the greatest fielder.

Jeff Bianchi - My big thing with Bianchi is I actually think he could be a good utility player for anyone honestly but he needs to improve on patience at the plate. If Bianchi can learn how to take more walks, he will become a vital part of any team's offensive plan. Could I see him starting on a low level team? Maybe, but I feel like the Brewers will keep him around to play every infield position.

Sean Halton - This is not the first base of the future. This is not the first base of the future. This is not the first base of the future. Make sure you keep saying that. Halton is a fine player, but he is not definitely a starter in Major League Baseball.  

Dim Lowlights 
Caleb Gindl -  He will be the odd man out in the equation when it comes to outfielders. He is undersized and does not play the outfield really well. Sure Gindl has a little bit of pop in his bat, but there is not much to really like about Gindl's game.

Martin Maldonado - The weird thing is I think everyone will be okay with Maldonado's production if he is keeping Wily Peralta right. He did not have a good year at the dish, but he helped Peralta rite the ship this year. It is not also like the Brewers have a catcher ready to go in the minors leagues maybe Clint Coulter at the end of the year.

Lowest Lowlights 
Rickie Weeks - Man, this is sad. I love Rickie Weeks. One of my favorite players on the Brewers and basically, his hamstring injury led to the arrival of Scooter. I have no idea where Weeks goes from here, where the Brewers relationship with Weeks as well. It will be very interesting.  

Yuniesky Betancourt - FREE AT LAST FROM YUNI. FREE AT LAST (I hope, please Uecker I hope).

Charlie.