Milwaukee Brewers

While Jason Heyward and Stephen Strasburg may be receiving more notoriety entering this season, the Brewers have their own super prospect in Alcides Escobar.

Heyward and Strasburg will get all the national press and be touted as the next big things, but Escobar is the one that could very easily win the NL Rookie of the Year and amaze fans around the league this year.

Escobar has been compared defensively to fellow Venezuelan great, Omar Vizquel. He has the speed and range to get to any ball hit in the hole, and his arm is as strong as any shortstop in baseball.

The neon baseball-themed clock at Miller Park reads 2:30 on a warm July day in Milwaukee. At this time, most of the players are either reporting to the stadium or in the clubhouse or batting cages, taking a few swings.

But the oldest of them all is out on the field, shirt off, and iPod on full blast, undergoing intense abdominal and strength workouts that most of us could not do at the age of 26.

In my quest to post an article related to every Milwaukee Brewers player that I felt had a legitimate shot at making the 25-man roster to begin 2010, I knew this day would inevitably arrive.

The Milwaukee Brewers have had a lack of top prospects at several positions in the organization over the last few years for a variety of reasons.

Through trading away a couple of upper-echelon players (i.e. 1B Matt LaPorta and OF Michael Brantley), having a few guys rise quickly through the system (i.e. Ryan Braun, Alcides Escobar, etc.) or just some late-round draft choices proving why they were late-round draft choices, the Brewers haven't had many true roadblocks set up at the big league level.

No player on the Brewers' roster had more of a breakout season in 2009 than Casey McGehee.

He went from a completely unknown commodity in spring training to finishing fifth in NL Rookie of the Year voting.

McGehee finished the year with a .301 average, 16 home runs, and 66 RBI while playing in only 116 games. In fact, he only started two games in the first six weeks of the season. Prior to May 19, he had only 16 at-bats.

On May 19, McGehee started for the injured Rickie Weeks at second base, and his remarkable season began.

No player in recent memory for the Brewers has come under more fire and criticism than Jeff Suppan.

After he signed a four-year, $42 million deal in December 2006, expectations from most fans were for Suppan to become a very good No. 2 starter behind Ben Sheets.

He was the hot name in free agency, winning the NLCS MVP award for the Cardinals.

So the plan was to write this series of articles as the days ticked down to Opening Day. With the schedule that I was to commit to, an article on Chris Narveson should have been written a mere five days following my last posted article and 11 days ago. Suffice it to say that real life got in the way of this hobby, and I fell behind.

But fear not, loyal readers. I will catch up over the next couple of days and be right back on track.

With that said, allow me to discuss the aforementioned Chris Narveson and tell you my opinion on his prospects for the 2010 season.

2009 was a tale of two seasons for Dave Bush. Prior to June 4, he was a solid middle-of-the-rotation pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers. After June 4, he spent the remainder of the season injured and quite ineffective on the mound.

On that fateful early June day, Bush took a line drive off his pitching arm from Marlins' star Hanley Ramirez.

Although he made his next three starts, it was quite clear that there was something not right with his arm. An MRI on his arm revealed a micro-tear in his right triceps, and Bush spent the next two months on the disabled list.

Ryan Braun is good.

While that is hardly breaking news to hardcore, or even casual, baseball fans, what may surprise most people is just how good Braun is.

The 26-year-old Braun is already historically good. He is all-time great good. With the power stats he's posted in his first three seasons in the majors, his name easily sits next to others like Pujols, Mathews, Kiner, and DiMaggio.

The most important trait Brewers' GM Doug Melvin was looking for this winter in trying to rebuild his pitching staff was durability.

The Brewers were devastated last season due to injury and ineffectiveness by their starters, and Melvin needed to find pitchers he could count on to make every start, while still giving the team a shot to win.