Monday's Frosty Mug: Projecting Next Season

Some things to read while deciding if you can still eat the leftovers in your fridge.

We are 46 days away from pitchers and catchers reporting to Maryvale and this weekend served as a time to look forward to the upcoming season and decide what to expect from a few Brewers.  Benjamin Orr at Reviewing the Brew started making bold predictions for the upcoming season and predicted that the Brewers will have five All-Stars go to Target Field this July.

Though Orr sees Ryan Braun regaining his All-Star form this season, fellow Brew Reviewer Pete Goodchild believes Brewers fans should temper their expectations of Braun.  Goodchild worried that there are a lot of reasons Braun could struggle early in the season, including a new position, increased negativity from fans, and the fact that Braun missed over 100 games last season.

Orr also boldly predicted that the Brewers will have a new closer by the end of the season.  Orr doesn't suggest that Jim Henderson will struggle in the role, but instead that the Brewers may look to flip Henderson for some talent at some point this season because of many teams need for a "proven closer".  If the Brewers were to trade Henderson, Orr proposed that Brandon Kintzler may be the one to step into the closer role.

Last week, Jason Arndt at Brewers Farm Report suggested that Sean Halton may be the Brewers' most viable option at first base right now.  Though Halton might be the most viable option right now, he may be seen as only a stopgap and Arndt suggested that the Brewers may throw Hunter Morris into the fire at first base.  Arndt broke down Morris' minor league career thus far and suggested what one may expect from Morris at first base for the Brewers.

While some were looking forward, Curt Hogg at Disciples of Uecker took a look back at the Brewers season and gave out his 2013 Milwaukee Brewers Awards.  Hogg gave out simple awards like Most Valuable Brewer and Least Valuable Brewer, but also gave out some great awards including Least Favorite Alex Gonzalez Plate Appearance and Best Yuni B Intentional Walk.

Nick Michalski at Brewers Bar also decided to take a look back as he reread a section of Jim Boutin's book "Ball Four" and found a pretty entertaining anecdote about Mike Hegan.  Hegan passed away last week and Michalski just happened to come across a story of Hegan receiving hitting advice from his mother that she saw in golf manuals.

In the minors:

• At Brewers Farm Report, Jason Arndt took a look at the forgotten members of the package the Brewers received in trading Zack Greinke to the Angels, Johnny Hellweg and Ariel Pena.
• The Brewers selected Devin Williams with the 54th pick in this year's draft and Ryan Connor at Reviewing the Brew examined what Brewers fans should expect from him going forward.  Connor mentioned that Williams is an exciting prospect for many Brewers fans because since he is so far from the majors and so little is known about him, Brewers fans can dream of his ceiling as a top of the rotation stud.
• The guys at Reviewing the Brew were busy over the weekend as they also projected what Brewers fans might come to expect from the second ranked prospect in the Brewers farm system, Tyrone Taylor.  Lou Olsen broke down some of Taylor's game, but mentioned that he's difficult to project since he is still at least three years away from sniffing the majors.

Finally, with help from the B-Ref Play Index, we'd like to wish a happy birthday today to former Milwaukee Brave Frank Torre.  Torre turns 82 today and we covered his birthday last year in Today in Brewer History.  Torre played 514 career games for the Braves and was the starting first baseman on the 1957 World Series Champion Braves.

Saturday marked the one-year anniversary of the Brewers signing lefty Mike Gonzalez.  If you missed it, Kyle reviewed Gonzalez's unremarkable season with the Brewers a month ago.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a plane to catch.

Drink up.