Although the MLB regular season does not start for about another month, spring training is still underway and the Brewers are currently in second place in the National League. Thus far, the Brewers have won 8 of their 14 games, and have had several players excel during that span.
Here are some bright spots in Milwaukee’s spring training roster:
1. Lorenzo Cain
On January 26, the Brewers made major headlines when they acquired star outfielder Lorenzo Cain in free agency. The Brewers unloaded a lot of money at Cain as he signed an $80 million deal over five years. So far this spring, Cain looks right at home with the Brewers and has been destroying the ball at the plate. Cain currently has a .409 batting average along with nine hits. Cain also has an OBP of .435 which is well-above the league average. Although the pitching in spring training is a lot worse than the pitching in the regular season, it is still a good sign for Brewers fans that Cain is seeing the ball this well at the plate.
2. Junior Guerra
Last season, Guerra started in 14 games and only had a 1-4 record to show for. In addition to the inadequate record, Guerra also had an earned run average of 5.12 while giving up a ridiculous 18 home runs in over 70 innings. However, Guerra has looked amazing so far in 2018. Although he has not registered a win in any of his starts, Guerra has a 1.80 earned average and looks a lot more confident at the mound. He has also struck out eight batters in only ten innings of work which hopefully carries over once the regular season is underway. If the Brewers plan on being competitive in the NL Central, their starting rotation will need to be on point and Guerra will need to have a bounce back season.
3. Manny Piña
Last season, Piña started in 107 games and played extremely well for the Brewers in his fourth MLB season. In those 107 games, Piña had a batting average of .279 and hit nine home runs along with 43 runs batted in. Once more, Piña is projected to be the starting catcher and will be an important cog in Milwaukee’s lineup. This spring, Piña has a .375 batting average along with two home runs and four runs batted in. Although it is not the regular season, one has to assume that Piña’s excellence thus far is a good sign of things to come for April.