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For those who missed my post on the Reds, I'm reviewing the offseasons of all NL Central teams except the Cubs for MLBTR. As they're published, I'll post here about three players to watch from each team in the coming season. Next up is the Brewers. You can read my review of their offseason here.
TL; DR: The Brewers had a better, bolder offseason than the Reds did and have a clearer path to future relevance. They don't figure to be particularly good in 2016, however.
-P- Domingo Santana, RF. The Brewers have their fair share of interesting outfielders, including top prospects Brett Phillips and Trent Clark. In the wake of the team's trade of Khris Davis to the Athletics, Santana will become the first of that group to get a shot at regular playing time. Like Phillips, he arrived from the Astros organization in last year's Carlos Gomez / Mike Fiers deal. Santana has huge power and could easily hit 25 or more homers this year. He'll also take his share of walks and should be productive overall. He could, however, easily whiff in a full third of his plate appearances. Between him and first baseman Chris Carter (who also comes from the Astros organization), there will be no shortage of wind at Miller Park this season. Pirates fans who miss Pedro Alvarez will enjoy watching these guys.
-P- Taylor Jungmann, SP. This guy destroyed the Pirates in four starts last season, allowing just seven runs in 26 innings. His overall numbers were decent in his rookie season, too, with a 3.77 ERA, 8.1 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9. He is, however, still a mystery. He was the 12th overall pick in the 2011 draft, but his minor-league numbers were uninspiring, thanks primarily to his underwhelming control. He made his big-league debut last June against the Pirates and I scoffed, until he essentially shut them down for seven innings. His next two months continued to go well, and he had a 2.23 ERA through August 16. He then posted a 6.98 ERA the rest of the way, allowing nine home runs over 38.2 innings and finally confirming what I thought about him all along. His excellence in his first couple months of the season can't be dismissed, though. Will Jungmann end up a rotation mainstay for the Brewers, or will he flame out? I'm not sure anyone knows at this point.
-P- Orlando Arcia, SS. Arcia is highly unlikely to break camp with the Brewers, who will probably go with Jonathan Villar at shortstop until Arcia is ready to take over. Arcia could be up sooner rather than later, though, after batting .307/.343/.457 for Double-A Biloxi last year. He's a terrific defender who should also add value at the plate, a little like Francisco Lindor last year. Speaking of Lindor, the shortstop position throughout the game could be amazing in a few years, with Arcia and Lindor joining Carlos Correa, Xander Bogaerts, Addison Russell, J.P. Crawford, Trea Turner, Dansby Swanson and perhaps Corey Seager at the position.