What we learned: April 6, 2015 (Opening Day Edition)

This Weekend's Results

Friday: Brewers 6. Indians 3
Saturday: Brewers 4, Indians 3

Highlights from the final weekend of Spring Training

• Jonathan Lucroy and Adam Lind each hit home runs over the weekend. Lucroy's home run came on Saturday and was his fifth, while Lind's was hit on Friday and was his second.
• On Friday, Wily Peralta pitched 4 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on five hits and a walk, with two strikeouts.
• Meanwhile, in his final start of the spring, Jimmy Nelson pitched 4 1/3 innings on Saturday, allowing three runs on nine hits and three walks. He did strike out seven in the start.
• To finish the spring, three of the eight projected starting position players (Ryan Braun, Adam Lind, Jonathan Lucroy) had batting averages at .395 or higher and on-base percentages of .400 or better.
• All three also finished with an OPS over 1.000, along with Carlos Gomez.
• Wily Peralta led the Brewers starting pitchers with a 3.32 ERA. No other starter had an ERA better than 4.73.
• Matt Garza led the pitchers in strikeouts with 21, followed by Michael Blazek and Kyle Lohse.

Today is Opening Day.

After months of waiting, we have finally arrived at Opening Day. It's the first day of the regular season for the Brewers, meaning the first chance to get a win, the first chance to see the full team play, and the first day to truly enjoy the baseball season. Over the next six months, the Brewers will fight for a spot in the playoffs as they look towards an ultimate goal of a World Series. We may see the Brewers in the playoffs, or we may see them out of contention by the halfway point. For now, a whole variety of possibilities is open, and that gives us the chance to dream about what could happen.

Brewers News & Notes

From BCB

• Ready to work baseball into your life for the next six months? Yesterday, we posted a guide to help you figure out how to plan your life around the 2015 baseball season.
• On Friday, Noah posted a video of players from different MLB teams reciting the speech from Field of Dreams.

Final Spring Training Notes

• Following Spring Training, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Setinel reports that Ryan Braun's thumb is feeling good and has had no issues after continuous work in Spring Training.
• Meanwhile, Jonathan Lucroy's hamstring injury turned out to not be an issue for the start of the season, as Lucroy has healed and will start behind the plate today. Adam McCalvy of Brewers.com notes that the late start for Lucroy may have been good for him.
• Jimmy Nelson had a rough end to the spring, but he isn't letting that get him down. Adam McCalvy reports that despite a rough spring for Jimmy Nelson, he is feeling confident as the season begins.
• The Brewers made one DL move before the season, placing Jim Henderson on the 15-day disabled list with right shoulder inflammation. Henderson will remain at extended Spring Training to rehab for now.

Preseason Previews, Rankings, and Predictions

• Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel ranked the Brewers at #7 in the National League in his preseason power rankings. Meanwhile, neither Brewers beat writer for the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel predicted that the Brewers will make the playoffs.
• Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel went through the 25-man roster for Opening Day and ranked each player based on how valuable they are to the team.
• The NL Central may be the toughest division in baseball this year. Mike Bauman of MLB.com makes the case that the NL Central is the best division from top to bottom in the league this year.
• Alson on MLB.com, Lyle Spencer looks at a list of impressive catchers in the NL Central this year, and what to expect from each catcher.
• Reviewing the Brew has a preview of the 2015 up on their site, as well as a prop bet preview for the season. Also, Pete Schwichtenberg thinks that Kyle Lohse and Wily Peralta have the best shot out of this year's Brewers starters to win the Cy Young Award.
• Mark Townsend of Big League Stew ranked all thirty Opening Day starters, and he placed Kyle Lohse at #26 in his list.

Minor League Update

News & Notes

• The Brewers farm system has been on the rise over the past few seasons. On Friday, Derek looked at how the system has been rebuilt since it was depleted through trades and promotions.
• Over on Miller Park Prospects, Marcus Young previews the 2015 season for the Colorado Springs Sky Sox. Also, Brad Krause has a profile of shortstop prospect Luis Aviles.
• Pete Schwichtenberg of Reviewing the Brew has a profile of minor-league infielder Tucker Neuhaus.

NL Central Update

• Cardinals 3, Cubs 0

Today's Division Games

• Pirates (Francisco Liriano) @ Reds (Johnny Cueto) - 3:10 pm
• Cardinals and Cubs have the day off.

Around Baseball

Roster News

• The Athletics announced that starting pitcher Barry Zito has accepted a minor-league assignment.
• The Astros designated RHP Alex White for assignment.
• The Blue Jays designated LHP Juan Oramas for assignment.
• The Braves released LHP Wandy Rodriguez.
• The Cardinals claimed outfielder Gary Brown off of waivers from the Giants.
• The Cubs designated outfielder Ryan Sweeney for assignment, and purchased the contract of infielder Jonathan Herrera. They also outrighted LHP Drake Britton to Triple-A.
• The Diamondbacks released outfielder Cody Ross, who is due $9.5 million combined between this season and next season.
• The Dodgers signed RHP Scott Baker to a minor-league deal.
• The Giants extended the contract of Bruce Bochy through 2019, and also promoted GM Brian Sabean to executive vice president. They also designated infielder Ehire Adrianza for assignment.
• The Indians signed starting pitcher Corey Kluber to a five-year extension. They also signed RHP Carlos Carrasco to a three-year extension worth $38 million guaranteed. Finally, they announced that pitcher Josh Tomlin will miss three to four months while recovering from shoulder surgery.
• The Marlins announced that outfielder Tyler Colvin has opted out of his minor-league deal.
• The Nationals placed six players on the disabled list, including outfielders Jayson Werth, Denard Span, and Nate McClouth, infielder Anthony Rendon, and setup pitcher Casey Janssen.
• The Orioles placed four players on the disabled list, including shortstop J.J. Hardy and catcher Matt Wieters. They also acquired RHP Michael Bowden from the Reds for cash, and announced that RHP Ryan Webb has cleared outright waivers.
• The Padres acquired RHP Craig Kimbrel and outfielder Melvin Upton from the Braves in exchange for outfielders Cameron Maybin, Carlos Quentin, and Jordan Paroubeck, starting pitcher Matt Wisler, and the 41st overall pick in the 2015 draft.
• The Phillies signed RHP Dustin McGowan to a one-year major league deal.
• The Pirates designated RHP Stolmy Pimentel and infielder Perdo Florimon for assignment.
• The Rangers designated LHP Sam Freeman for assignment.
• The Rays placed six players on the disabled list, including starting pitchers Alex Cobb, Drew Smyly, Alex Colome, and Matt Moore. They also announced that infielder Juan Francisco has opted out of his minor-league deal.
• The Royals signed starting pitcher Yordano Ventura to a five-year, $23 million extension.
• The White Sox agreed to a minor-league deal with pitcher Matt Lindstrom. They also outrighted RHP Maike Cleto and LHP Onelki Garcia.
• The Yankees designated catcher Austin Romine for assigment.

Other Notes

• Starting pitcher Ervin Santana of the Minnesota Twins has been suspended for 80 games for use of a performance-enhancing drug.
• Major League Baseball announced that Marlins pitcher Jarred Cosart has been cleared in an investigation regarding if he had bet on baseball. However, he was fined for placing bets on other sports through a book maker.
• An arbitrtator ruled that Angels outfielder Josh Hamilton will not be suspended for failing a drug test under MLB's Joint Drug Agreement. Mike Oz of Big League Stew thinks this is the best thing for Hamilton right now, but the Angels GM released a statement saying that they have serious concerns about Hamilton. However, players on the team were left speechless after hearing the GM's statement on Hamilton.
• Mark Townsend of Big League Stew reports that as Wrigley Field continues to be modernized, they are adding another element to it that is already present in every other ballpark: Batter walk-up music.
• As Opening Day arrives, Yahoo Sports has 30 things you should know entering the 2015 season.
• For those of you who like to utilize Baseball-Reference for research, the Play Index is free to use through April 15.

Today's Action

It's one of the biggest days of the year as it's Opening Day for the Brewers. To kick off the season, Kyle Lohse will face Kyle Kendrick at Miller Park this afternoon. First pitch is at 1:10 pm, and it will be available on all of the usual platforms (Fox Sports Wisconsin, MLB TV, Brewers Radio Network). Austin Laymance of MLB.com has the preview for today's game.

Also, don't forget to put your 2015 season predictions in before the first pitch of Opening Day today.