Despite Haudricourt's obvious PR job article on Wednesday, this survey leaves me scratching my head

A little after 11 am cst on Tuesday an email popped into my inbox telling me the Brewers would love my feedback:

Dear Nicole,

To help us deliver the best fan experience, we are asking you to complete a survey and tell us what you really think about Major League Baseball and the Milwaukee Brewers. With Spring Training now underway, this is a good time to offer your opinions about the sport, the team, and the baseball experience in Milwaukee.

Your opinions and answers will remain strictly confidential -- and it will only take about eight minutes to complete.

Unfortunately for the Brewers, the questions were so hilarious I couldn't keep them to myself, so I decide that strict confidentiality didn't apply back to them.

One has to wonder about the reaction to this survey, as a full 24-hours after it was e-mailed to season-seat-holders (SSH), Journal-Sentinel Brewers beat writer Tom Haudricourt posted to his own blog with an explanation about the questions and contents of the survey.

Apologies in advance for the "screen-shots" - it's better than Microsoft Paint!

The survey starts with demographic info and then asked the level of my fandom. It wanted to know how important I consider them to my daily life during the regular season, how many days a week I get news on them from the internet and social media, what sources I get that news from, if I am a currently partial or full SSH, how many games I went to last year and how many I plan to attend this season and whom I normally attend games with.

From there, it asked if I thought the team was going in the right or wrong direction, my overall opinion of the team and if I expected them to do better or worse this season compared to last. Next it asked about my opinion of the off season roster changes and if I thought winning this season or long-term, year after year success was more important.

From here, let's move into some screen shots

Ok, not so bad.

Initially, this next question didn't set off my radar, but it should have.

What has been the biggest disappointment or decline regarding the Brewers over the past FIVE YEARS? Pick your top three in order of importance to you?

One of my options: The character and conduct of the players
This is a harbinger of questions to come. But moving on ...

At the time I first took the survey, this was the first photo I took and I thought it would be the only one (little did I know there was so much more hilarity to come). This question made me roll my eyes, laugh and generally wonder what the heck the purpose of the survey was. It also made me double-check the survey hadn't come from either the Cardinals or the Diamondbacks.

Other than talent, which of the following factors should play the biggest role in drafting/acquiring a player for the Brewers? Pick your top three in order.

The second to last option on that list? Respect for the game

This is a question that's asking the fans of an MLB team what they would like the team to consider OTHER THAN TALENT when acquiring talent. For the most part, there isn't much else I'd like them to consider, but looking at that list, I'd hope that the player's statistics goes without saying (or asking). If the Brewers aren't considering those or somehow consider those outside the realm of "talent," we've got bigger problems.

But even more nebulous are the rest of the items on this list. The Brewers would like to know what other completely undefinable and unquantifiable things their fans would like them to consider when looking to acquire new players. "Grit," "heart," "veteran leadership" and "good clubhouse guy" may as well all be on this list.

The next question asked me to pick two 2014 Brewers who are my favorite. Bob Uecker was on the list.

The next questions were about fan experience at Miller Park. I was to rank my view of it's favorability, choose from a list of possible improvements (I chose better connectivity/WIFI and faster exit from the parking lots) and choose ways for the Brewers to make me feel more valued as a fan (no, guys, the answer is not MORE bobblehead days).

And again we get more interesting. The survey now purports to be giving me blogger statements.

Which sports blogger statement about the Brewers is MOST persuasive that the Brewers will have a good season in 2014?

I'd love to hear feedback from anyone that remember seeing anything remotely approaching those sentences on any local blog recently. Do any of the ones we all read even call the team "we"? I do love that now that it's supposedly bloggers talking, we can go ahead and use "grit," though.

The next question is for the "trolling Rickie Weeks" fans out there.

Which sports blogger statement makes you feel most confident about the Brewers this year?

Next we move on to the "temper expectations, don't expect too much out of us" question

And now we get to the money questions ...

Briefly, we’d like to get your opinion of Ryan Braun...

Overall, do you have an ... opinion of Ryan Braun?

In some respects, I understand the organization asking their fans about Braun - as far as I know, they had not yet done so. Getting the gauge of their season seat-holding fanbase on this isn't the worst idea.

But I also think that two days before Spring Training games and about a month before Opening Day might be a little late to be gathering and analyzing this data. If it comes back overwhelmingly different than their expected outcome, it'll be very late and very obvious when they have to adjust PR, marketing and advertising campaigns.

This next question is the most bluntly stated of the Braun questions - do you think he needs to keep apologizing or can he move on are the basic choices here.

I do wish that I could have chosen the "already apologized enough" option without having to also label him as defensively gifted ...

This next question is incredibly interesting because I would absolutely swear it wasn't on the survey when I initially took it. Based on the pictures I sent out and the eyebrows I raised, you can be sure this question would have been captured and distributed had I seen it.

I happened to be in my inbox when the email arrived and took the survey pretty much immediately upon receiving it, which means it was amended at some point between about 11:30 am on Tuesday and Wednesday evening. Did the receive initial survey feedback that showed Braun responses were skewed one way or another and felt they needed a further clarifying question? Do you feel this question further clarifies anyone's stance on Braun?

These next two questions just made me laugh because I wonder about what kind of data one learns from the response to this. Does Mark A need a lot of validation?

As a stickler for grammar, etc ... this one bugs me because it's not English ...

In general, do you feel you the Milwaukee Brewers reach out to you as a fan to provide information about the team, upcoming games, special fan events, etc.?

And that's really about it. From here there's some more demographic info and questions about where I get my Brewers news.

Let's kickstart spring with the first baseball game of 2014.

Good afternoon, Brewers fans. and welcome to one of the best days of the year.

Today at 2:05 your Milwaukee Brewers take the field for the first time this spring when they send Marco Estrada (3.87 ERA, 3.86 FIP in 2013) to the mound to take on the A's at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. Estrada is likely to win a spot in the Opening Day rotation after a hot finish to the 2013 season, where he posted a 2.15 ERA over nine starts in August and September after coming off the DL.

Getting off to a strong start is something Estrada has struggled with throughout his MLB career. Through six MLB seasons he has a career 5.05 ERA before the All Star Break and a 3.35 mark after. That can be at least partially attributed to the fact that he's allowed a career 1.7 home runs per nine innings in first halves. Estrada's velocity was down a bit in 2013 but his fastball still sat around 90 with a pretty heavy emphasis on his changeup and curve.

Estrada did face the A's once during the regular season in 2013 and was roughed up, allowing five runs on nine hits over just four innings on June 3 in his final start before going on the DL. No current A's have faced him ten times or more.

Estrada will likely pitch a maximum of two innings in his first outing of the spring today. He's expected to be followed to the mound by Wily Peralta, Zach Duke, Will Smith, Rob Wooten and Donovan Hand.

He's expected to face lefty Tommy Milone (4.14 ERA, 4.30 FIP in 2013), who is opening his third season as a member of the A's. Milone made 28 appearances (26 starts) for Oakland a year ago but did not appear in a postseason game. He's 27 years old and joined the A's in the December 2011 Gio Gonzalez trade.

Milone has experienced some success in the majors despite having a fastball that sits around 87, and managed to strike out over seven batters per nine innings for the first time in 2013. He typically keeps his walk rate down (1.9 per nine innings for his career) but is prone to home runs, allowing 1.4 per nine innings last season. He relies heavily on a changeup (almost 30% of all pitches) and also throws a curve and cutter.

Milone also faced the Brewers on June 3 of last season, picking up the win by holding the Crew to two runs on five hits over seven innings with no walks and four strikeouts. No current Brewers have faced him ten times or more, although Rickie Weeks has homered off of him.

The extra pitchers listed on Oakland's lineup card for today appear to be right handers Arnold Leon, Matt Buschmann, Phil Humber, Dan Otero, Paul Smyth, Zach Neal and Jim Johnson.

As of this writing the Brewers (8:24 am) had not posted their lineup for today. If you've seen it, please drop it in the comments.

The weather, as you might expect, is beautiful for the first contest of the spring. Expect a game-time temperature around 74 to climb into the upper 70s as the afternoon goes along, with winds blowing out at less than 10 mph.

Enjoy the game!

Why Kole Calhoun and Khris Davis have effectively been kicked out of the sleeper category already this year and how they could (still) provide some value for your team in 2014.

There comes a point in any fantasy draft season whereby certain players are hyped so much by so many different experts that it becomes unfair to label them a sleeper. The word is out and the cat has already been let out of the bag. Sure in a very casual public-universe-auto-draft selected redraft league you may sneak up on one of these guys, but in any self-respecting league with managers in-the-know, they've already adjusted accordingly. So now the question becomes whether or not you truly believe the hype or no.

With that in mind today I want to focus in on two outfielders that are your classic sleepers-but-no-longer sleepers of 2014: Kole Calhoun and Khris Davis. Back when I inherited my deep league dynasty team that I shared with you back in November, both of these guys were sitting on waivers. It took a desperate manager like me, whose team currently sat 18^th out of 20, to roll the dice on two guys who had just come up and were getting some more playing time. Luckily, even after dropping and adding Calhoun about three times, I decided that they had shown me enough to keep them through the offseason (that and the fact that I truly had no better alternatives). Now, I have for no cost at all acquired two starting outfielders who have gotten crazy amounts of hype this offseason.

This is the perfect situation to be in-I've invested nothing into either player but get to reap whatever benefits may come. For you, though, getting these guys on your roster now (if they aren't already) will cost you. Should you pay the going price? Let's find out:

First, let's start with Calhoun. The 26-year old outfielder has displayed an above-average walk rate and kept the strikeouts under 20% throughout his entire minor-league career. He's shown power and speed combinations at every level, with ISO rates above .200 at every stop and a middling stolen-base success rate (which is to say, not-that-great). It's difficult to put much stock into minor league numbers other than to say high walk rates tend to mitigate bust-rate potential, even when K-rates are high. So, for our purposes we can at least say that Calhoun has a fighting chance to produce at the MLB-level. His 222 plate attempts last year back up our data as he swatted 8 home runs and two stolen bases while slashing .282/.347/.462 (.311 BABIP, 10% BB, 19% K).

However, two bits of information this offseason moved Calhoun from fringe bench piece to "sleeper." First, the Angels traded Peter Bourjos to the Cardinals in order to acquire the "services" of David Freese-a trade that was widely panned by critics, but that is another story for another post. This effectively made it possible to open up a starting gig for Calhoun in RF. The Angels brass must have seen enough in Calhoun's bat (because his -3.3 UZR probably didn't inspire a lot of confidence) to give him a shot because at no time did they seem to seriously go after a free agent or pursue trades to bring someone else in to fill that slot. Second, the news came (and is still coming) that there's a good chance Calhoun could hit leadoff this year for the Angels against righties. It's one thing going from fringe-outfielder-bench-piece to starting right fielder and lead off hitter in front of Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, and Josh Hamilton. Granted, Pujols and Hamilton are coming off of terrible seasons (by their standards), but provided Calhoun can get on base, there's really nothing "sleepy" about his status on draft day any longer.

I'd expect that you can still pick him up in the middle rounds of drafts, but he will not be discounted. He has a good shot at 15-17 home runs and double-digit stolen bases. Just for sake of argument, Alex Gordon (in 700 PAs last year), hit 21 home runs, stole 11 bases, walked 7.4%, struck out 20% of the time, and slashed .265/.327/.422 (.310 BABIP). These numbers are not dissimilar to the numbers that Calhoun could conceivably reach given a full slate of plate appearances atop a superior lineup in 2014. At any rate, Calhoun has value but it all depends on how much helium he is riding in your league right now. There are going to be over-eager managers who are expecting uber-great things from him so I'd have no hesitation trading him for the right offer as his value will probably never be higher than it is right now.

As for Khris Davis the numbers bear out similarly with Calhoun. This is a guy that has shown evidence of having a good understanding of the strike zone, posting high walk rates (as well as high K-rates) throughout his minor-league career. He's 26-years old, like Calhoun, has shown outstanding power numbers so far, and middling speed as well. It's hard to believe he could keep up the .316 ISO mark he displayed in his short cup of coffee last year, but he's certainly got it in him to muscle out 25 HR in Milwaukee (108 park factor for homers for righties). If he can keep his walk rate up and his strikeouts around 20% he certainly won't kill you in batting average or OBP, as he slashed .279/.353/.596 with a .293 BABIP last year. The front office must see something as they shifted Ryan Braun to RF to accommodate "Khrush" this offseason. Fantasy is sometimes equal parts ability and opportunity, and certainly with Ryan Braun returning, a healthy Aramis Ramirez, Jean Segura, criminally underrated Jonathan Lucroy, and (gulp!) Mark Reynolds, Davis could have ample opportunity to acquire counting stats. He's not going to win you over with speed, so expect a few SBs in there, and the 29% HR/FB rate is probably unsustainable, but there's value in what he is.

The question is, though, where the value actually lies. Neither one of these guys will come discounted this year (most likely) unless you play in that league with a bunch of unsuspecting slugs who still think B.J. Upton is star-material (oops, did I just say that out loud). So, it all comes down to the chicken game on draft day-who's going to flinch and go after these guys early? If they do, they wreck all the "sleeper" value that these guys supposedly have right now. However, if you're lucky enough to acquire either Calhoun or Davis on the cheap(er) then you should have reason to enough to believe they will be assets on your roster this year. At this point I'd give the slight nod to Davis as I believe more in his upside power potential and lineup/park factors than Calhoun, but the case could be made the other way as well.

I'm just happy I snagged them off of waivers last year!

Feel free to opine below or continue the conversation by following me on Twitter (@agape4argentina).

Sources:

Fangraphs

Minor League Central

Stat Corner

It's back! I'm with Wily on this one.

W: Who cares?
L: One of the Athletics

HR: Braun (1), Francisco 2 (2), Haniger (1)

Gameday/Box Score

Spring training has officially begun -- that means unfamiliar names, botched double plays, wild pitches, and lost-in-the-sun lazy fly ball singles. This one felt a lot like spring training.

For one Ryan Braun at-bat in the first inning, it felt a bit like 2013. Not sure how I feel about that.

But Marco Estrada diffused the slightly uncomfortable deja vu with something of a shaky start (as shaky spring starts go), walking the first two batters and surrendering a 2 RBI double to Jed Lowrie in the bottom of the frame.

The Brewers broke the tie quickly in the top of 2nd with a wind-aided homer from platoon-disadvantaged Juan Francisco (off LHP Tommy Milone), and after Estrada settled in for a clean 2nd inning, extended the lead with a two-out RBI single from Khris Davis to make it a 4-2 game.

Thursday's Frosty Mug: Cue the Cactus

Peruse Kyle's daily fix of all things Brewers baseball. And regular baseball.

The middle innings featured the first broadcast mention of Hank the Dog and corresponding dog humor, two scoreless innings from Wily Peralta, a second solo homerun from Juan Francisco, and a diving catch in CF by some mustached guy named Kevin Mattison. If you had no idea he played for the Milwaukee Brewers, you are not alone (he was picked in the minor league portion of the rule 5 draft -- and more interestingly, his twitter handle is @stachemaster4.).

Good things continued to happen off the bat of Juan Francisco: a tailor-made double play ball scooted under the glove of Eric Sogard with the bases loaded in the top of the 5th, leading to two more Brewers runs, extending the lead to 8-2.

The Brewers got more scoreless work from Zach Duke, Will Smith (2 innings), and Donovan Hand. Jean Segura had a double, a bunt single and a walk in the leadoff spot, Rickie Weeks added two singles, and Khris Davis singled twice, adding a stolen base. Mitch Haniger, our #4 Brewers prospect here at Brew Crew Ball, cracked a solo homer in the top of the 9th.

When all was said and done, the Brewers finished off the win with a convincing 11-3 final tally.

Breaking BSOHL News: My inside source in Maryvale informs me that both Lyle Overbay and Ron Roenicke look "skinny." Post theories in the comments.

It was an excellent result on the scoreboard for the Brewers, but even excellenter for those of us who have spent the last four months with our crystal-snotted noses buried in scarves, patiently tolerating lowest-common-denominator offseason PED bickering and unenthusiastic farm system commentary with a yearning eye on the calendar, eagerly anticipating spring and the game which inspires me to write prolonged, unnecessarily fanciful sentences.

Baseball games are back. It's been long awaited.

You can listen to Yovani Gallardo take on the Giants on WTMJ tomorrow afternoon at 2:05 CST.

More from Brew Crew Ball

Follow @BrewCrewBallFollow @SBNationMLB

• Spring Training Game Preview and Thread #-31: Brewers (0-0) @ A's (1-0)
• Brewers send out fan survey with dubious questions
• Thursday's Frosty Mug: Cue the Cactus
• BCB Community Prospect Rankings: Vote for #12
• 2014 MLB Vegas Odds: Brewers got a win better in late February

The Indians signed John Axford to give the bullpen a sense of dependability that was lacking for much of last season.

After releasing former closer Chris Perez at the end of the 2013 season, the Indians had a hole in their bullpen that needed filling. The team acted quickly and picked up right-handed reliever John Axford on a 1-year deal worth $4.5 million, which could grow to $6.25 million if incentives are met. It wasn't a blockbuster signing, but it did address a serious need. Too long were Tribe fans made to suffer in the ninth inning, when Perez would leave us chewing our nails off as he veered dangerously close to blowing saves (and near the end, often "succeeding" at that).

Now that the reins have been handed over to Axford, what can we expect? He didn't exactly enjoy a great amount of success in 2013. Take a quick glance at his numbers: a 4.02 ERA, zero saves all year after being booted from the Brewers' closer role just four games into the season, four games in which he surrendered 9 runs in just 3.1 innings of work, with 4 home runs providing most of the damage.

However not everything is what it seems. There are a few reasons his numbers don't tell the whole story, and there's evidence to suggest he was an unlucky man last year.

First of all, if you remove those first four games from Axford's 2013 numbers, his ERA for the season is a much more respectable 2.92. Some of those early season struggles may be attributable to his participation in the World Baseball Classic, which seems to have had a negative effect on his pre-season preparations (Vinnie Pestano can relate). His fastball had lost some of it's velocity after the tournament, averaging around 91-92 mph, way off his 95-96 mph heat from previous years. "Those four games, it just didn't feel like that was me out there on the mound," Axford has said.

Secondly, Axford was significantly better once he moved to the St. Louis Cardinals in late August. In 16 innings spread over the regular season and the playoffs, he posted a 1.69 ERA, including 20 strikeouts and just 7 walks, with only 1 home run allowed. Part of Axford's success in St. Louis can be credited to the Cardinals pitching coaches, who spotted a flaw in his delivery that enabled hitters to know what he was throwing. After making the necessary adjustment to correct the problem, Axford enjoyed a level of success he hadn't experienced for years.

It's true that his time in St Louis was short and we all know to be wary of the dreaded small sample size, but you have to admit the numbers are encouraging. Enough so that the Indians were convinced to bring him aboard and hand him the closer's role.

Despite Cody Allen possessing the skills to be a fixture in the Tribe bullpen, and looking like the team's closer-in-waiting, Axford is set to see the bulk of late-inning action in 2014. He brings some of that veteran leadership the coaches and managers love to talk about, and if he can pitch at a level similar to what he produced for the Cardinals, we'll finally have a reliable and steady presence in the 9th inning. With all due respect to Perez's many saves, I think it's safe to say the outcome very rarely felt in the bag the last 2 or 3 years. Axford also has the potential to stick around should he prove effective, since he's still arbitration-eligible for 2015 and 2016, potentially keeping him on the club for some time without an extended commitment.

Axford has only been with the club a short amount of time but he's already establishing himself as one of my favorite players. He comes across as a very down-to-earth guy and has a clever, witty social media presence (unlike our former closer). Plus, nobody can dislike a guy who rocks the high socks and has interesting facial hair.

A short drink of news around yesterday's Brewers game and more in today's late morning Mug.

Kyle, as said yesterday, is off in Arizona enjoying spring training (more to the point, he's enjoying spring, lucky dog) so I'll be preparing the Mug today. I haven't done one since Google Reader closed. It's harder than I thought.

The Brewers kicked off the 2014 Cactus League season with a bang yesterday, defeating the A's 11-3. Fred has the recap, in case you missed it. There were four home runs in this game, a game that also featured three of the potential first base candidates in the starting lineup (obviously all not at first base) and three other first basemen filling in later, only one at first base. In related news, Tommy Milone still has a fly ball problem.

Camp news:
Adam McCalvy's notebook from yesterday evening includes items about the rotation, Segura batting leadoff, and a potential rainout on Saturday.
The Arizona State students working for the J-S this spring followedBrewersfans to Phoenix Municipal Stadium for yesterday's game.

Over at Disciples of Uecker, Curt Hogg has three reactions to yesterday's opener.

David Wright has won that ridiculous Face of MLB contest, which means everyone's Twitter feeds can calm down. I didn't realize just how many A's people I followed until this week. Someone was even tweeting "vote for Sogard" stuff in French. Also, MLB, next time don't end a contest involving silly votes and AL West players at 5 AM Pacific time.

Tis the season for broken pitchers: The Mariners' Taijuan Walker has been shut down for a week due to shoulder inflammation.

Today in former Brewers: CC Sabathia is making Best Shape of His Life news, but hasn't pitched in a game yet.

Transactions around baseball:
Athletics: Obtain infielder Jake Elmore from the White Sox for cash and designate infielder Andy Parrino for assignment.
Orioles: Release pitcher Chris Jones.

Via the B-R Birthday page, today's Brewers (sort of) birthdays:
2010 Nashville Sound Trent Oeltjen turns 31.
1977-79 Brewer Jim Wohlford turns 63.

Wohlford's 5th on Plunk Everyone's list of most-hit batters born on February 28th.

Have you noticed that ordinary wall art is better when you add Futurama references?

Drink up.

Following up on my previous financial works, I compare the Brewers payroll, and the ways that money is allocated, with the other NL Central teams.

Earlier this week Wendy Thurm over at FanGraphs released her two part piece on payrolls across MLB. In the first part she lists each clubs projected opening day payrolls. Then, in the second part she breaks down each payroll by where the money is going. If you haven't read her work yet, I strongly encourage you to read that before you finish reading this article. What she does is actually pretty close to what I did in my Brewers specific payroll article. I was actually working on an article much like what Thurm has produced. In fact, her article is pretty much exactly what I was working on, so I'm just scrapping that article. Instead I’ll just compare the Brewers’ percentages compared to the rest of baseball and specifically the NL Central based on her figures.

Before that, I need to explain about a few discrepancies between her figures for the Brewers and mine. She has the Brewers total payroll at $100.5 million. I have them at $96.375 million. We both used Cot’s Contracts for our salary information, but she relied heavily on their payroll obligations spreadsheet for 2014-2019. From what I can tell, she added up the guaranteed salaries and then assumed the rest of the 25 man roster would be filled out by pre-arb players. That’s exactly what I would have done since it’s really hard to know how a club one is unfamiliar with is going fill out all the nooks and crannies of the bullpen and the bench.

However, in the case of the Brewers, this leaves Mark Reynolds out. Because I follow the Brewers very closely, I know that he’s almost a lock to make the roster. She also factors Aramis Ramirez’s full $16 million salary into her projection. However, $6 million is deferred. This is either an understandable oversight or simply a different viewpoint that deferred money should be factored in. Finally, I included incentives in my payroll projection. When all of these things are factored in, her total payroll projection and mine are actually pretty close to each other.

When comparing our salary figures for the different team roles you’ll notice a large difference for the starting position players and the bench. As I mentioned before, Thurm uses Ramirez’s full salary while I discount his deferred amount. She also includes Rickie Weeks with the starters. I have Scooter Gennett as my starting second baseman. More importantly, I used a simple formula to account for the platoons at first and second. The strong sided platoon members (Gennett and Juan Francisco) have 70% of their salary count for the starting position players and 30% towards the bench. The inverse is true for the weak sided platoon members (Rickie Weeks and Mark Reynolds). That’s why my bench numbers are so much higher than hers. In her projection the bench is made up entirely of players making league minimum.

I’ll be using my figures and percentages for the Brewers to compare them to the rest of baseball. I think my numbers specific to the Brewers are more accurate, but I want to make one thing clear. I’m not at all suggesting Thurm did anything poorly or inaccurately. It’s important to understand that she was dealing with 30 different clubs and well over 700 players. If I were to write an article on the same subject matter I would have done it exactly as she did. That’s why I’ll be using her numbers for the rest of baseball. My Brewers substitutions are reflected in the "Rank Among MLB" sections. It should be noted, the Cubs percentages add up to around 75%. This is because the Cubs are still paying $14 million to Alfonso Soriano. Anyway, here are the comparisons:

Who is the #13 prospect in the Brewers organization?

We're into the home stretch in our project to rank the top 17 players in the Brewers organization, with Nick Delmonico receiving the honors at #12 on Thursday. Here's where we stand today:

1. Jimmy Nelson (57% of the vote)
2. Tyrone Taylor (65% of the vote)
3. Victor Roache (40% of the vote)
4. Mitch Haniger (39% of the vote)
5. Orlando Arcia (34% of the vote)
6. Devin Williams (37% of the vote)
7. Johnny Hellweg (52% of the vote)
8. Hunter Morris (24% of the vote)
9. Taylor Jungmann (23% of the vote)
10. David Goforth (33% of the vote)
11. Clint Coulter (42% of the vote)
12. Nick Delmonico (43% of the vote)

Here are your choices for #13:

(For a full explanation of what we're doing here, check out the first post in the series.)

Jed Bradley, LHP
Age: 23
Top level reached in 2013: A+

2013 stats:

Brevard County (A+): 78.1 IP, 4.14 ERA, 1.532 WHIP, 39 BB (4.5 BB/9), 58 K (6.7 K/9)

Highest position in other rankings:

David Denson, 1B
Age: 18
Top level reached in 2013: Rookie (Arizona)

2013 stats:

Arizona (Rookie): 161 PA, .244/.385/.449, 6 HR, 2 SB, 2 CS, 29 BB, 45 K

Highest position in other rankings:

Jorge Lopez, RHP
Age: 21
Top level reached in 2013: A

2013 stats:

Wisconsin (A): 117 IP, 5.23 ERA, 1.436 WHIP, 48 BB (3.7 BB/9), 92 K (7.1 K/9)

Highest position in other rankings:

Damien Magnifico, RHP
Age: 22
Top level reached in 2013: A+

2013 stats:

Brevard County (A+): 26.2 IP, 6.08 ERA, 1.838 WHIP, 17 BB (5.7 BB/9), 17 K (5.7 K/9)
Wisconsin (A): 54 IP, 3.83 ERA, 1.389 WHIP, 24 BB (4.0 BB/9), 46 K (7.7 K/9)

Highest position in other rankings:

Tucker Neuhaus, SS/3B
Age: 18
Top level reached in 2013: Rookie (Arizona)

2013 stats:

Arizona (Rookie): 219 PA, .231/.311/.303, 0 HR, 6 SB, 3 CS, 23 BB, 56 K

Highest position in other rankings:

Ariel Pena, RHP
Age: 24
Top level reached in 2013: AA

2013 stats:

Huntsville (AA): 142.1 IP, 3.73 ERA, 1.363 WHIP, 79 BB (5.0 BB/9), 131 K (8.3 K/9)

Highest position in other rankings:

Michael Reed, OF
Age: 21
Top level reached in 2013: A

2013 stats:

Wisconsin (A): 539 PA, .286/.385/.400, 1 HR, 26 SB, 10 CS, 71 BB, 108 K

Highest position in other rankings:

Yadiel Rivera, SS
Age: 21
Top level reached in 2013: A+

2013 stats:

Brevard County (A+): 524 PA, .241/.300/.314, 5 HR, 13 SB, 8 CS, 32 BB, 80 K

Highest position in other rankings:

Jason Rogers, 1B
Age: 25
Top level reached in 2013: AA

2013 stats:

Huntsville (AA): 549 PA, .270/.346/.468, 22 HR, 7 SB, 2 CS, 59 BB, 86 K

Highest position in other rankings:

Tyler Wagner, RHP
Age: 23
Top level reached in 2013: A

2013 stats:

Wisconsin (A): 148.2 IP, 3.21 ERA, 1.244 WHIP, 56 BB (3.4 BB/9), 116 K (7.0 K/9)

Highest position in other rankings:

As spring training matchups go, Yovani Gallardo v. Madison Bumgarner isn't a bad one.

The Brewers opened up the spring with a nice win, but can they keep the momentum going today?

Today at 2:05 they'll face 24-year-old lefty Madison Bumgarner (2.77 ERA, 3.05 FIP in 2013) in his first start of the Cactus League season. Despite being about two months younger than Wily Peralta, Bumgarner has already pitched in five MLB seasons and has been named the Giants' Opening Day starter (over Matt Cain) in 2014.

It's tough to tell what kind of arsenal a pitcher will bring to the mound in his first spring start, but during the regular season Bumgarner is one of baseball's heaviest slider users. He throws the pitch about 38% of the time, only slightly less than he throws his low-90's fastball. Throwing a slider this often at a young age probably doesn't bode well for his long-term health, but he's thrown over 200 innings in each of the last three seasons.

The Brewers beat Bumgarner on August 7 of last season, plating four runs (three earned) on five hits over seven innings against him. Four current Brewers have faced him ten times or more:

He'll face Yovani Gallardo (4.18 ERA, 3.89 FIP), who turned 28 yesterday and has something to prove in 2014 following his worst MLB season. Gallardo posted an ERA over 4 for the first time in 2013 and has likely been bumped from the "ace" role in the Brewers rotation by Kyle Lohse. He's also entering the last year of his contract, although the Brewers hold a team option for 2015.

It's too early in the spring to get too worried about it today, but Gallardo's velocity is likely to draw a lot of attention over the coming month. His average fastball speed has dropped from 92.7 in 2011 to 91.8 in 2012 and 90.7 in 2013, and that's been widely claimed as a factor in his somewhat diminished effectiveness. His strikeout numbers also dropped dramatically in 2013: After four consecutive seasons recording more than 200, he had just 144.

Gallardo beat the Giants on April 18 of last season, holding them to a single run on five hits over six innings with six strikeouts. Four current Giants have faced him ten times or more:

As of this writing today's lineup has not been posted. If you've seen it, please drop it in the comments.

The weather in Arizona could be a factor in tomorrow's games, but today everything looks good. Expect a game-time temperature around 73 in Scottsdale with light winds blowing out to left field.

The Brewers followed up their runaway victory on Thursday with a clunker this afternoon.

W: Vogelsong
L: Thornburg

HR: Minicozzi (1), Gindl (1)

Gameday/Box

If yesterday's game didn't get you back into the spirit of baseball, perhaps tuning in to hear Bob Uecker proposing catcher ice shanties as an alternative to baseball's new catcher collision rules - if you can knock it down, you get the run - did the trick.

Today the Brewers returned to the airwaves behind Yovani Gallardo, who matched Madison Bumgarner for two scoreless frames in the first inning. Joe Block seemed impressed, for what it's worth:

Yovani Gallardo's reinvigorated curveball looks good

— Joe Block (@joe_block) February 28, 2014

The contact play took its first victim of the preseason in the top of the 3rd: after leading off the inning with a triple, Jeff Bianchi got cut down at the plate after on a sharp grounder by Scooter Gennett. Any thoughts, Yuni?

The Giants made a bit of noise facing Tyler Thornburg in the 3rd, scoring two runs on a solo homerun by Mark Minicozzi and a sacrifice fly from Angel Pagan, which drew a throw from Khris Davis, who according to Block, has improved his arm; again - for what it's worth. Thornburg continued his fly ball-inducing tendencies in the following inning, allowing a double to Hunter Pence and getting two outs on fly balls to end the inning. It's too early to determine anything about anything, but it's a bug that's bit Thornburg in the past. Something to watch.

Caleb Gindl cut the lead in half with his first spring homer in the 5th. Brandon Kintzler worked around a couple singles in a clean 4th. Lyle Overbay missed an opportunity to tie the game with a bases-loaded strikeout in the top of the 6th, and Gindl grounded out to 1st to end the threat.

Brandon Kintzler and Michael Blazek worked scoreless innings in the 5th and 6th, but Jose De La Torre ran into some control issues in the 7th, walking two and plunking one, allowing two runs on an error and another sac fly. De La Torre needed help from Dustin Molleken to finish the inning, and the Brewers had two innings to make up three runs, heading to the 8th trailing 4-1.

Alfredo Figaro pitched a squeaky clean 8th to keep the deficit at 3, and the Brewers made it interesting with a couple of runs courtesy of RBIs from Hector Gomez and Matt Pagnozzi, but the rally fell just short when Kevin Mattison popped out to end it at 4-3.

There was no other individual performance that would have any effect on the roster bubble (I would hope, anyway). Mark Reynolds started and had the prototypical 3TO kind of game: 2 strikeouts and a walk. Elian Herrera played 6 innings at shortstop and went 0-3; Jeff Bianchi handled 3rd and went 1-3 with the aforementioned triple; Irving Falu walked in his only AB; Sean Halton flew out; Juan Francisco struck out.

The Brewers split up and play two tomorrow: split squad team A hosts the Brewers' first game in Maryvale tomorrow at 2:05 - which will be broadcast on FSN Wisconsin - and split squad team B heads to the Salt River Fields at Talking Stick to face the Diamondbacks five minutes later at 2:10 - to be broadcast on WTMJ (for the entire spring broadcast schedule, click here).

More from Brew Crew Ball

Follow @BrewCrewBallFollow @SBNationMLB

• BCB Community Prospect Rankings: Vote for #13
• Comparing NL Central payrolls
• Friday's Frosty Mug: Brewers undefeated
• Brewers send out fan survey with dubious questions

This week's lessons include how spring can exist in frigid weather, the breakdown of an official survey, and (of course) more projections.

Temperatures can be hovering around 0 and it can still feel like spring.

It's March 1, and that means winter is coming to an end. While the winter weather just won't go away in Wisconsin, spring is in full swing in Arizona. All players are in camp now (with one exception), and the games have begun. We heard a Brewers broadcast for the first time this year on Thursday, and Bob Uecker made his return to the Brewers broadcasts yesterday. If you just ignored the weather in Wisconsin, it would feel exactly like spring. Today we will get the first split-squad day, as well as the first TV broadcast. It's official, spring is here.

The Brewers care about what the fans think, but their method of collecting this information is unusual.

It's important for an organization like the Brewers to collect as much information as possible to make sure they are providing the best possible experience for their fans. Surveys can be a good way to collect this information, but they can also just confuse people and provide tainted results. A survey like this was sent out to some fans earlier this week, and Nicole Haase was one of those fans that received a survey. It ended up confusing her more than anything else, and she took the chance to break down the survey page by page. From confusing questions to bad grammar, she looked at it all. It is important to collect this information, but the execution is just as important as the collection.

Of course, it's still the preseason, so there's still more projections coming out.

Until Opening Day is here, we will be seeing more projections coming out each week for the upcoming season. This week is no exception. The projections started from within this week, as Jordan continued his projections for the 2014 season. This week, he moved on to the outfielders. There's some security in two of the positions, but the third is more of a wild card. Overall, there's a lot to be positive about in the outfield.

At the end of the season, what it all comes down to is the win total. Can the Brewers put together enough wins to make the playoffs, or will they fall under .500 for the second straight season? For what it's worth, Vegas thinks that the Brewers will just fall short of the .500 mark. Maybe Vegas is right, but the Brewers will have to prove them wrong on the field.

Cram Session

- What could have been if Matt Garza didn't sign with the Brewers? We hard that the Angels made an offer to Garza that he passed on because he was on vacation, and now a report has come out that the Twins made an offer to Garza as well. Maybe the Brewers would have pursued Ubaldo Jimenez or Ervin Santana. We will never know.

- Most of the major signings for the 2014 MLB season are done. We can now take a good look at the projected payroll for 2014, for the Brewers as well as the rest of the NL Central. Derek Harvey analyzed the payroll situation in the NL Central, breaking down the teams by positions.

- Who is the face of MLB? According to MLB Network, it is David Wright. SB Nation has their own opinion of who the face of MLB is, and it's a more literal interpretation of it. They looked at 30 candidates for the face of MLB, completely based on attractiveness. It might not be the deepest question out there, but at least it's honest.

- The Brewers have been on both sides of the DH situation by playing in both the American League and the National League. Whenever the topic comes up, there are strong opinions on both sides. On SB Nation, an ad got Grant Brisbee to revisit the DH argument. There's a lot to it, and it's not going away anytime soon.

Reviewing the BCB Community Prospect Rankings

Vote for #10 (David Goforth)
Vote for #11 (Clint Coulter)
Vote for #12 (Nick Delmonico)
Vote for #13 (In Progress)

The Box Scores

2/27/2014: Brewers 11. Athletics 3 (Game Thread/Preview)
2/28/2014: Giants 4, Brewers 3 (Game Thread/Preview)

The Collection of Mugs

2/24/2014: Stretching and selfies
2/25/2014: An intrasquad opener
2/26/2014: Intrasquad insinuations
2/27/2014: Cue the cactus
2/28/2014: Brewers undefeated

More from Brew Crew Ball

Follow @BrewCrewBallFollow @SBNationMLB

• Recap: Giants 4, Brewers 3
• BCB Community Prospect Rankings: Vote for #13
• Comparing NL Central payrolls
• Brewers send out fan survey with dubious questions
• Friday's Frosty Mug: Brewers undefeated

GLENDALE -- The Dodgers have a scheduled game on Saturday afternoon in Maryvale against the Brewers, but rain threatens to potentially change those plans. The Dodgers have moved their morning workouts mostly under the roof of the batting cages.

But if the game gets underway, Dan Haren will start for the Dodgers against Kyle Lohse of Milwaukee. Manager Don Mattingly said Haren would pitch a simulated game somewhere if the Dodgers get rained out, just to remain on schedule.

"He wants to throw today. He likes his schedule right now," Mattingly said. "He'd do enough throwing today to simulate that game today."

Carl Crawford is back in the lineup after missing two days with tightness in his right quad. Crawford won't play the field though, as he is the designated hitter.

One day after starting in left field, utility man Chone Figgins starts in center field for the Dodgers, batting second. Regulars Hanley Ramirez, Andre Ethier and Adrian Gonzalez won't make the trip to Maryvale.

Old friend Elian Herrera is starting at shortstop for the Brewers, batting ninth.

Scheduled reserves for the Dodgers include Joc Pederson in center field, Nick Buss in right field, Clint Robinson at first base, Tim Federowicz at catcher, Justin Turner at second base and Miguel Rojas at shortstop.

Scheduled to pitch after Haren for the Dodgers are Brandon league, Paco Rodriguez, Chris Reed, Javy Guerra and Jose Dominguez.

Here's an update, about 3½ hours before game time:

Tarp coming off here at Maryvale Baseball Park. pic.twitter.com/JmTJzRGh2s

— Todd Rosiak (@Todd_Rosiak) March 1, 2014

Weather permitting, we've got double-barreled action on tap today.

I hear it's still cold and snowing in Milwaukee, so I'd assume fans in Arizona won't get much sympathy if they complain about today's weather in Phoenix. It's already rained here for the first time since December, and that could impact today's planned split-squad doubleheader.

Assuming they do play today, the Brewers are projected to open their Cactus League home schedule at Maryvale at 2:05 with Kyle Lohse (3.35 ERA, 4.08 FIP in 2013) on the mound for the first time this spring. Lohse is probably the most likely candidate to serve as the Brewers' Opening Day starter despite the fact that he wasn't on this team a year ago at this time.

Lohse officially signed with the Brewers on March 25 of last year, had an abbreviated spring training (although he had, of course, been working out on his own) and ran into a bit of a wall in May and June, posting a 6.15 ERA over six starts and missing some time with elbow issues. It'll be interesting to see if having a full camp to prepare changes his outlook for the early portions of 2014.

Lohse faced the Dodgers on April 28 of last season, allowing two runs on five hits over seven innings but picking up the tough-luck loss in a 2-0 Dodgers win. Six Dodgers have faced him ten times or more:

He's scheduled to face 11-year MLB veteran Dan Haren (4.67 ERA, 4.09 FIP) in his Dodgers Cactus League debut. Haren was a member of the Cardinals, A's, Diamondbacks and Angels before joining the Nationals last year and making 31 appearances (30 starts). There were questions about his health heading into the season and he made a brief stop on the DL with shoulder weakness, but finished strong with a 3.29 ERA from July-September.

It's hard to tell what Haren will throw in a spring training environment, but during the regular season in 2013 over 55% of his pitches were either cutters or split finger pitches. His fastball sits in the upper 80's and, according to FanGraphs, was actually his best pitch a year ago.

Haren shut out the Brewers for seven innings on August 3 of last year, holding them to four hits and two walks while striking out six. Aramis Ramirez is the only Brewer who's faced him ten times or more, and has a career .300/.364/.400 line against him in eleven PAs.

Assuming that game is played today, it'll be seen live on FS Wisconsin. Since I'm assuming that's the game most of you will be watching, I'll stick to bullet points for the road game against the Diamondbacks:

For the Brewers:

• Mike Fiers was originally scheduled to start this game, but when the threat of rain came up the Brewers announced he was going to pitch in an intrasquad game yesterday.
• Fiers made just eleven appearances (three starts) for the Brewers a year ago before being sent back to AAA and having his season end when he was hit by a comebacker.
• He faced the Diamondbacks in his first start last season, allowing six runs on nine hits over five innings on April 6. No current D-Backs have faced him ten times or more.

For the Diamondbacks:

• Trevor Cahill (3.99 ERA, 4.26 FIP) is scheduled to spend his 26th birthday taking the mound for Arizona today. This is the start of his sixth MLB season, and he'll be looking to bounce back from a 2013 season where he missed over a month with a hip contusion.
• Cahill throws up upper-80's fastball with a pretty even distribution of sliders, changeups and curves. FanGraphs and Pitchf/x both agree that the changeup was his best pitch last season.
• He's never faced the Brewers in a regular season game.

As of this writing the lineups for both games had not yet been posted. If you've seen them, please drop them in the comments.

The weather is the X-factor today, as scattered storms are moving across Arizona. Scattered showers could interrupt today's contests or lead to cancellations if the teams don't want to play on wet fields this early in the spring. Assuming the teams do play, look for game-time temperatures in the mid-60's with relatively light winds.

The Brewers split the action today between the Dodgers and the Diamondbacks

Brewers vs Dodgers(Maryvale)

Game Day/Box Score

Kyle Lohse would start the game for the Brewers. He was excellent, only needing 28 pitches for 2 perfect inning. The Brewers would back him up by scoring first. Ryan Braun came to the plate to heavy booing and responding with a two out walk off Dan Haren. He would advance to second on a base hit by Jonathan Lucroy. Carlos Gomez would then send him home with a line drive double. That would be it for the inning.

Lohse was replaced in the third inning by Ariel Pena who provided a stark contrast. Pena struggled with command in both innings he pitched. In his first inning of work he gave up a walk to Mike Baxter who would steal second base and advance to third on an error by Jason Rogers, which also allowed Dee Gordon to reach base who would also steal second base! Pena would then walk two straight batters to score a run for the Dodgers. Yasiel Puig would then fly out to drive in the second run of the inning. Those 2 runs were unearned due to the error. Pena settled down in the fourth inning only allowing 1 walk and no hits.

Kevin Shackleford pitched two scoreless innings. Then in the 6th inning Mitch Haniger would drive in Jason Rogers and Elian Herrera. Hector Gomez would come in to bat for Jonathan Lucroy and drive in Haniger.

David Goforth would come in to pitch the 7th inning. He got three quick outs. His next inning didn't go as smoothly. In the 8th inning Goforth gave up a walk and three straight hits to allow the Dodgers to score twice.

The Brewers would also score in the 8th. Don't ask me who it was because the announcers didn't even know. Gotta love Spring Training! They would go on to win by a score of 6-5.

Brewers @ Diamonbacks (Talking Stick)

GameDay/Box Score

The game was initially delayed 45 minutes due to rain. When it finally did begin, Trevor Cahill took the mound for the Diamondbacks. Logan Schafer drew first blood with a scorching triple. Mark Reynolds then drove him in with a single. Sean Halton would end the inning with a ground out.

The Brewers sent out Hiram Burgos to start the game. He would get through the first inning relatively unscathed giving up 2 hits but not allowing a run to score. In the second inning he gave up a leadoff home run to Mark Trumbo and nothing else.

That would be all for Burgos as he was replaced by Michael Olmsted in the third inning. Olmsted gave up a base hit to Tony Campana but he was erased by a double play by Micah Owings. The Diamondbacks would take a 2-1 lead after Paul Goldsmidt drew a walk and was driven in by a double from Miguel Montero.

That score would hold out as the game was called in the bottom of the fifth inning due to rain. Apparently there is a Cactus League rule that states a game may be made official after 4 1/2 innings if the home team is winning. Gotta love Spring Training!

Bad weather wreaked havoc across much of the Cactus League this afternoon. At Salt River Fields, the start was delayed, and a halt was eventually called in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Record: 3-2. Change on 2013: +1/2.

I'm not certain if this contest even counts, as it didn't quite get through the mandatory five full innings. However, I think the fact that we reached the middle of the fifth with the home team (us) ahead, means it's good enough. Not that spring training numbers are meaningful, but this game did include Mark Trumbo's first home-run as a Diamondback, so it would kinda suck if that was erased from the record books due to a passing weather system.On the other hand, that also means there's no rain-check for the 8,198 in attendance, who barely got to see half a game.

Obviously, this will be a short report for exactly the same reason. Trevor Cahill got the start, after a 36-minute rain delay, and continued the streak of slightly-longer appearances by D-backs, working 3.1 innings. He allowed two hits and a walk, with an impressive four strikeouts. The two hits were both in the first, and led to the run when former Diamondback Mark Reynolds, trying to make the Brewers as a first-baseman, singled home the opening score of the game. However, that was it off Cahill. Josh Collmenter worked the remaining 1.2 innings, keeping the Brewers off the board the rest of the way.

After we stranded two men in the first, Trumbo tied things up for the Diamondbacks with a home-run to left-center, leading off the second inning. In the third inning, there was some two-out magic after Chris Owings hit into a double-play, to wipe Tony Campana off the bags. Paul Goldschmidt worked a walk, and then Miguel Montero doubled to right field, with Goldie coming all the way around from first to score the go-ahead run. Singles by Jake Lamb and Ender Inciarte with one out in the fourth showed promise, but Lamb was picked off. We had men on second and third with one down in the fifth, after Owings' second hit and the third Goldwalk of the day, when the game was called.

We're back at Salt River Fields in an hour and a half, and hopefully the weather will be a little better for the nightcap against the Cubs, which sees Archie Bradley make his first appearance of 2014. We'll be re-using the same Gameday Thread for that one, in our bid to help the rain forest. Or something.

The Dodgers fell to the Brewers 6-5 on a rainy Saturday at Maryvale Park in Phoenix. Dan Haren allowed one run in two innings in his Cactus League debut.

GLENDALE -- The Dodgers have a scheduled game on Saturday afternoon in Maryvale against the Brewers, but rain threatens to potentially change those plans. The Dodgers have moved their morning workouts mostly under the roof of the batting cages.

But if the game gets underway, Dan Haren will start for the Dodgers against Kyle Lohse of Milwaukee. Manager Don Mattingly said Haren would pitch a simulated game somewhere if the Dodgers get rained out, just to remain on schedule.

"He wants to throw today. He likes his schedule right now," Mattingly said. "He'd do enough throwing today to simulate that game today."

Carl Crawford is back in the lineup after missing two days with tightness in his right quad. Crawford won't play the field though, as he is the designated hitter.

One day after starting in left field, utility man Chone Figgins starts in center field for the Dodgers, batting second. Regulars Hanley Ramirez, Andre Ethier and Adrian Gonzalez won't make the trip to Maryvale.

Old friend Elian Herrera is starting at shortstop for the Brewers, batting ninth.

Scheduled reserves for the Dodgers include Joc Pederson in center field, Nick Buss in right field, Clint Robinson at first base, Tim Federowicz at catcher, Justin Turner at second base and Miguel Rojas at shortstop.

Scheduled to pitch after Haren for the Dodgers are Brandon league, Paco Rodriguez, Chris Reed, Javy Guerra and Jose Dominguez.

Here's an update, about 3½ hours before game time:

Tarp coming off here at Maryvale Baseball Park. pic.twitter.com/JmTJzRGh2s

— Todd Rosiak (@Todd_Rosiak) March 1, 2014

On paper he looks like a pretty nice upgrade at first base.

The Brewers have half a dozen first basemen in camp this spring but apparently they're still on the lookout for other options. They have a scout following the Red Sox to watch first baseman/outfielder Mike Carp, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (via MLB Trade Rumors).

Carp is 27 years old and this is his sixth MLB season. He's a career .267/.337/.444 hitter and improved to .296/.362/.523 last season, but has never appeared in more than 86 games in an MLB campaign. He's a left handed hitter and the Red Sox used him almost exclusively against right handed pitchers in 2013, getting him just 28 plate appearances against same-handed pitching.

Carp has played 111 of his 259 MLB games at first base, so he has some experience over there, but can also play left field and would give the Brewers an option to pair with Khris Davis if the young slugger should struggle or need a day off.

The Brewers' current candidates to start at first base include incumbents Juan Francisco and Sean Halton, minor league free agent signees Mark Reynolds and Lyle Overbay and minor leaguers Hunter Morris and Jason Rogers.

The Brewers greet an old friend today in their fourth road contest of the spring.

After a deluge of rain yesterday, the skies have cleared up in Scottsdale for the Brewers' second trip to Salt River Fields in as many days.

Today they're out there to face Jorge De La Rosa (3.49 ERA, 3.76 FIP) and the Rockies at 2:05 Central time. JDLR has long been plagued by injury issues, but made 30 starts last season for the first time since 2009. He's on the second and final option year of a two-year, $21.5 million contract he signed before the 2011 season.

De La Rosa struck out just six batters per nine innings last season, and Michael Hurcomb of CBSSports.com says it's because he learned to pitch to contact instead of relying on K's. As a result his walk rate also dropped a bit, coming down from 4.2 per nine innings for his career to 3.3 last season. He throws a low 90's fastball but relies heavily on his changeup and also uses a slider and curve.

De La Rosa was a member of the Brewers from 2004-06, and more recently he faced them as a member of the Rockies in the second game of the season in 2013. He pitched 4.1 innings in that game and allowed four runs on five hits and three walks, and Ryan Braun homered off of him. Two current Brewers have faced him ten times or more, and both would probably be excited to see him again:

Mike Carp Rumors: Brewers monitoring 1B/OF, per report

The Brewers continue to monitor other options for first base, and this isn't a bad one.

Meanwhile, the big story from today is likely to be the Brewers debut of Matt Garza (3.82 ERA, 3.88 FIP in 2013), the Brewers' most notable acquisition of the offseason. Garza finished the 2013 season with 13 starts with the Rangers after spending two and a half years with the Cubs. He's a Brewer for the next four years, where they're hopeful he'll be healthier than he's been in recent years.

Garza has pitched just 259 innings in 42 starts over the last two seasons, losing roughly half a year to injury. What's lost in that fact, though, is that he made 30 or more starts each season from 2008-2011. His velocity has also still looked good in recent years, with his fastball remaining in the 92-94 range. He pairs that heat with one of baseball's best sliders, and a curve and changeup.

Garza did not face the Rockies during the regular season last year, and hasn't seen them since 2011. Three current Rockies have faced him ten times or more:

As of this writing the Brewers haven't posted a lineup for today's game. If you've seen it, please drop it in the comments.

The weather shouldn't be a factor in today's contest. Expect a game time temperature in the mid-60's with light winds.

Jorge De La Rosa had an incredible 2013...and now it's time for him to see if he can repeat that performance again in 2014 at age 33.

When Jorge De La Rosa signed his 4 year, $42.5 million contract with the Rockies after the 2010 season, it was seen as a risky move for a 28 year-old pitcher who had just shot past the 130 IP mark for the first time at the MLB level in 2009 - De La Rosa had thrown 185 innings of 4.38 ERA, 108 ERA+ ball - accruing 2.6 rWAR along the way in that season. He was coming off of a 2010 campaign in which he was again limited to just 121 innings pitched, though he was more effective on a rate basis in those innings (4.22 ERA, 110 ERA+, but only 1.6 rWAR).

Since signing that deal, De La Rosa was unfortunately affected by a serious injury that cut short a promising 2011 start for him. On the bright side, that injury also meant that he didn't have to stick around much for 2012 either. Therefore, it was a pretty big surprise that De La Rosa was not only able to return and stay healthy last year, but also that he was the most effective that he's been in his career (3.49 ERA, 127 ERA+, 4.3 rWAR over 167 innings).

Entering this season, De La Rosa has produced 4.7 rWAR over the last three years while being paid $31 million to do so ($6.6 million per WAR). If he'd been healthy, that would almost assuredly have been a different story, but alas he was not. If De La Rosa can repeat 2013 in his contract year, that contract certainly won't look so bad and De La Rosa just might stay here in Colorado.

All of which is a long way of saying the Jorge De La Rosa will be making his Spring Training debut today against the Milwaukee Brewers. Godspeed Jorge. Godspeed.

Rockies Lineup

Here's the #Rockies lineup for today's @cactusleagueaz home opener vs. #Brewers. 1st pitch scheduled for 1:10pm MT. pic.twitter.com/e2RZI2uamr

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) March 2, 2014

Looks like quite a few regulars scheduled for action today. That is, if the grounds crew can get the field ready in time:

Riddle of the day. How many men does it take to fix an infield? #Rockiespic.twitter.com/Mmvp015ZMH

— Patrick Saunders (@psaundersdp) March 2, 2014

Game thread will be up at 1.

Matt Garza makes more money than Jorge De La Rosa but was nowhere near as good as Jorge in 2013

Radio: 850 KOA

GAMEDAY LINK

Lineups - looks like somebody's giving Tom Runnells a run for his money in the penmanship category

Brewers

Today's #Brewers lineup vs. Colorado at Talking Stick. First pitch 2:05 CT. Webcast on http://t.co/zg3WAmjtKu. pic.twitter.com/T5Dji4HuFb

— Mike Vassallo (@MikeVassallo13) March 2, 2014

Rockies

Here's the #Rockies lineup for today's @cactusleagueaz home opener vs. #Brewers. 1st pitch scheduled for 1:10pm MT. pic.twitter.com/e2RZI2uamr

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) March 2, 2014

Player safety first in practice based ball.