Milwaukee Brewers

In acquiring the 2009 AL Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke, Milwaukee Brewers GM Doug Melvin signaled to his team and fanbase that he has extremely high hopes for the 2011 season. The move not only solidified a greatly improved rotation, but assured Prince Fielder will remain in Milwaukee and not be traded.

Are the Brewers now the class of the NL Central or just one of several contenders for the division crown?

Even before Zack Greinke was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers, he was an interesting player to evaluate from a fantasy perspective. 

Last year he disappointed in the follow up season to his 2009 Cy Young campaign.  He won only 10 games (16 in ’09), had a 4.17 ERA (2.16 in’09), and struck out 7.40 batters per nine innings (9.50 K/9 in ’09). 

Well it seems things are changing in Brewer-land. The powers that be have, once and for all, determined that starting pitching may just be the way to win games and possibly even championships. Apparently, it took the San Francisco Giants winning big to hammer that point home.

So now that Zack Greinke is a Brewer, what makes it a good fit? You see it all the time where free-agents or traded players struggle in their new surroundings.

When the Milwaukee Brewers traded four prospects for CC Sabathia in 2008, they knew they were getting a player who could propel them into the playoffs but also one who may elect not to sign an extension.

With Zack Greinke going to the Brewers, it now looks like the National League is now the pitching power of the majors. The American League took a hit when Cliff Lee went to the Phillies and now Greinke is a Brewer, there's no telling whether or not Carl Pavano is going to the National League as well.

With that in mind, it's only fitting to rank the Top 10 best pitchers of the National League. Which I'm sure will include Greinke.

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Move over Cliff Lee, because this move will make more of an impact than Lee going back to Philadelphia. Zack Greinke was dealt to the Milwaukee Brewers Sunday morning and this shifts the entire outlook of the National League.

The Brewers finished third in the National League Central last year, 14 games back of the Cincinnati Reds. Milwaukee was not light in hitting, but struggled mightily on the mound. They finished 12th in runs scored, but were 26th in ERA.

As my previous article about the Oakland A’s described the recent activity of these traditionally small-market and to some extent '80s-competitive “super” power teams, because I discussed the A’s in that article I will omit them from this one, their moves notwithstanding.

Zack Greinke, Milwaukee Brewers and Sunday's Latest MLB News.

Zack Greinke became the newest member of the Milwaukee Brewers today when he was traded from Kansas City.

This move is sure to lead to more moves this offseason by teams that are trying to get better. The Yankees and Rangers were both mentioned as possible landing places for Greinke after both franchises whiffed on Cliff Lee.

Yesterday afternoon, I talked about the potential trade destinations for Kansas City Royals’ ace Zack Greinke. One of the teams that I thought could be a possibility for Greinke were the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Milwaukee Brewers pulled the trigger on a big-time trade Sunday, and no it wasn't the much talked-about Prince Fielder move, as they acquired disgruntled Kansas City Royals ace Zack Greinke.

That begs the question, where does Greinke fall in amongst the best of the National League? Between the St. Louis Cardinals duo of Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright, the Philadelphia Phillies "Big Four" and the San Francisco Giants duo of Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain, among others, the NL is not short on great starting pitching.