Quick lessons this week, including the Opening Day starter, a mysterious injury, and the first tracking poll of the season.

Hey everyone. I'm not feeling well today so it's going to be a quick one.

Roster Cuts

A lot of cuts this week, here is the complete list:

Released
- P Michael Olmsted

Outrighted
- P Jose de la Torre

Returned to minor league camp
- OF Kentrail Davis
- SS Hector Gomez
- IF Taylor Green
- OF Mitch Haniger
- P David Goforth
- OF Kevin Mattison
- C Matt Pagnozzi
- IF Eugenio Velez
- P Dustin Molleken

Optioned to Triple-A Nashville
- 1B Hunter Morris
- 1B Jason Rogers
- P Jimmy Nelson
- P Ariel Pena
- P Johnny Hellweg
- P Mike Fiers
- 1B Sean Halton
- P Hiram Burgos

Optioned to Double-A Hunstville
- P Brooks Hall
- P Kevin Shackelford

Cram Session

- For the fifth straight year, it will be Yovani Gallardo making the Opening Day start for the Brewers. It is a Brewers record for number of consecutive Opening Day starts, though Ben Sheets made six nonconsecutive starts.

- The first Brewers tracking poll of the season came outQuick lessons this week, including the Opening Day starter, a mysterious injury, and the first tracking poll of the season.. Voters preferred Mark Reynolds to serve as the primary first base starter, keeping Will Smith on the roster as a reliever, and a soft platoon at second base.

- We have our first freak injury of the spring. Francisco Rodriguez stepped on a catcus barefoot and missed some time due to it. Good luck figuring out how that happening. In other news, Adam McCalvy learned that cacti have spines, not thorns.

The Box Scores

3/8/2014: Brewers 7, Royals 6 (Game Preview/Thread)
3/9/2014: Cubs 10, Brewers 8
3/9/2014: Indians 4, Brewers 2
3/10/2014: White Sox 6, Brewers 3 (Game Preview/Thread)
3/12/2014: Angels 12, Brewers 2 (Game Preview/Thread)
3/13/2014: Brewers 8, Padres 0 (Game Preview/Thread)
3/14/2014: Brewers 9, Diamondbacks 8 (Game Preview/Thread)

The Collection of Mugs

3/10/2014: Inching closer
3/11/2014: A quiet day to reflect
3/12/2014: Back from the links
3/13/2014: Garza gives up more
3/14/2014: Ovetures on Opening Day

***

A chance to get back to .500?

Remember .500? The Brewers haven't been there since Saturday. They could get back there today.

They'll attempt to extend their two-game winning streak today with Tyler Thornburg (5.00 ERA this spring, 2.03/3.11 ERA/FIP in 2013) on the mound. Thornburg received an extra day of rest after his start on Sunday, when he held the Cubs to two runs on three hits over four innings. He walked none and struck out three in that outing. He has yet to issue a walk in nine innings this spring.

What we learned this week: March 15, 2014

Quick lessons this week, including the Opening Day starter, a mysterious injury, and the first tracking poll of the season.

The Brewers are pretty close to needing to make a decision on Thornburg's 2014 role. With five starters more or less locked into the Opening Day rotation, it's going to become increasingly difficult to find opportunities for him to start Cactus League games. If the Brewers want to keep him stretched out, they'll need to send him down to the minors. Otherwise, it might be time to start getting him used to life as a reliever. This week's BCB Tracking Poll showed that 55% of voters would prefer he start in the minors.

Thornburg made two relief appearances against the Reds last August. One of them was a perfect inning and the other one was a disaster, as he walked five batters and allowed two runs in just 1.2 innings of work. No current Reds have faced him more than twice.

He'll face David Dewitt "Homer" Bailey (4.00 ERA this spring, 3.49/3.31 ERA/FIP in 2013) in his fourth start of the spring. Bailey faced the Rangers on Monday and worked four innings, allowing two runs on three hits and recording five strikeouts.

Bailey allowed a home run on Monday and has given up two in nine innings this spring. The long ball is one of the more significant weaknesses in his game, as he's allowed about one per nine innings in his seven MLB seasons. Some of that can, of course, be attributed to his home park. He throws a mid-90's fastball with a slider, splitter and curve.

Bailey made five starts against the Brewers in 2013, posting a 4.54 ERA over 33.2 innings. Nine current Brewers have faced him ten times or more:

Khris Davis is also 4-for-8 against him with a walk and two home runs.

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

Temperatures were a little cooler in Phoenix this morning, but it'll still be nice and warm by game time. Expect a temperature around 78 at first pitch to climb into the 80's as the afternoon moves along.

Today is alternatively known as "Pitch Like Matt Garza Day."

W: Brett Marshall (2-0)
L: Tyler Thornburg (0-2)

HR: Chris Heisey (5), Neftali Soto (2), Roger Bernadina (1), Chris Nelson (1)

Box Score

If you skipped today's game to do something else, anything else, you didn't really miss much.

This one was over early as the Reds plated three runs in the first, three more in the second and another in the third against Tyler Thornburg, who lasted just 2.2 innings. Only four of those seven runs were earned, but it was more than enough to seal the Brewers' fate for today.

The Reds weren't done, however. They also scored five runs in the seventh inning against Donovan Hand and three in the eighth off Rob Wooten. Not all the Brewers pitchers struggled today, though: Wei-Chung Wang pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, Brandon Kintzler worked a perfect frame and Francisco Rodriguez, making his spring debut, pitched what would have been a 1-2-3 inning if not for a foul pop up that was dropped. He responded by allowing a solo home run.

The best news for the Brewers today might have been two-hit games for both Ryan Braun and Aramis Ramirez. Khris Davis also had a double for the second consecutive day and drew a walk.

The Brewers head to Salt River Fields tomorrow to take on the Diamondbacks at 3 pm Central time. Yovani Gallardo is scheduled to take on Trevor Cahill.

New approach? Cool approach.

Chris Heisey continues his torrid start at the plate, and the Reds scrub lineup decided to follow suit.  A spring training game is pretty boring, and this one was no different.  However, if you want to watch a Reds spring training game, this would be the one to watch.  We were given the privilege to see the Reds bring out the boom sticks, and we got to see a variety of players do awesome things.

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

This one is easy.  The spring training Reds have been carried by the Chris Heisey show.  He's always been a favorite of mine.  I have a thing for players that don't have the tools, are low picks, but somehow make it work.  We know the guy has power, but he lacks the skills that make sabermetricians drool.  Is sabermetricians a word?  Oh, well.

Heisey went 2 for 3 with a doodle and a double.  He did pop out to the catcher, but that isn't fair to judge.  We all can't be Joey Votto.  But, if Heisey could turn into half a Joey Votto and patroled left field like we know he can, that would be totes sweet.  Fay has some quotes about Heisey's new batting stance.  Apparently, he has tinkered with his stance ten times in the past four seasons.  He has work with this one and is going to stick with it.  He is keeping his hands low, which probably helps with his timing and his load when it comes to his swing.  That's just speculation because I don't know anything about the mechanics of hitting.  Read more from Fay here.

Key Plays

This could get lengthy.  The Reds played really well, and a lot of that had to with the Brewers pitching not looking good.  This is the first full spring training game I have watched, and I'm probably a bit behind on what I think is good baseball or not.  The Brewers pitchers were really laying it in there for the Reds batters.

Neftali Soto, Roger Bernadina, and Chris Nelson all hit Homer Simpson's.  The ball was being Doh'd all over the place.  Really, Neftali Soto should be the player of the game.  He was 4-4 and looked pretty good at the plate.  He is currently hitting .438 this spring, and if he's found his stroke I may not hate it if he is called up when a hitter goes down.  Power bench bats are nothing to hate.  He is two years removed from hitting 30 homeruns in the minors.  We know the talent is there, but it is completely dependent on his contact ability.

I'm also hoping that there is someway, somehow, that Bernadina could be the 25th man.  He should tell Price that he can play in the infield.  Otherwise, we'll be hoping that Skip gets hurt, even though he is having a good spring, too.

I also want to give Brett Marshall a shout out.  He pitched very well.  I noticed that his secondary pitches looked good.  His fastball looks very average, but his changeup had some good action to it.  He was striking guys out, and that's always good to see.  The Brewers have a pretty good lineup.  He also had an RBI single on a solid liner to center field.  I could be wrong, but I think he was from the Yankees?  He probably isn't used to picking up the lumber, and he looked pretty excited to get the hit.  I wouldn't mind him being one of the first guys up from AAA to get starts, or the long man out of the pen if Simon has to make starts.

Weirdness

Todd Fraizer, our Todd is an awesome Todd, played some shortstop today.  I'm sure it had more to do with getting Santiago some reps at 3B, but it still happened.  I know that RR, and myself, have argued that Todd could be the emergency SS.  It's probably not a good idea, and that's why Santiago will make the club.  However, it was something to see.  I wasn't really paying attention, but I think Frazier had an error on a ball he didn't charge and took a bad hop.  I just don't see him being able to do it.  It isn't that one play, I just think he will probably have jitters being thrown into SS.  There is a reason why the Reds moved him and horrible hitting shortstops continue to find jobs.  It isn't an easy position to field.

Doggies

I think only Angeeh and myself were actually watching the game, or we were the only people commenting.  The commentators were from the Brewers feed, and I really didn't like them.  It makes me miss Chris Welsh.  Hard.  The only weird thing is they kept talking about a dog.  They had t-shirts and kept talking about it.  sMarty was even wearing a t-shirt, and he has apparently taken to having short hair.  He looks funny.  But, they had the little doggie on the broadcast, and he was held by their pretty field reporter.  I was thinking, wouldn't it be cool if the Reds had a resident clubhouse dog?  Not so much like Marge's St. Bernards, but like a clubhouse puppy.  A little basset hound that goes on the road and just hangs out.  They pet him for good luck and his ear are cute and floppy.  Him and Joey Votto are best friends, and Chapman plays fetch with him.  Jonathon Broxton and him see who can eat the most dog bisquits.  He wears a Mr. Red cape and runs around with his tongue hanging out.  That kind of thing.

I'm an idiot.

Grafs for my doods.

via img.izismile.com

Other notes.

• I wrote too much because I don't know how to do recaps.
• I've drank too much because I can.
• Get well Homer.  Relax that groin.  Maybe try some kegels?

Tunes?

The control-challenged righty will head back to AAA for one more season.

Before Sunday's matinee against the Diamondbacks the Brewers made another roster move, optioning right-handed reliever Michael Blazek to AAA Nashville. Blazek had made five relief appearances for the Crew in Cactus League play, allowing six runs on five hits and eight walks in just five innings. Today is also his 25th birthday.

Blazek joined the Brewers in the John Axford trade late last season. He made his MLB debut in 2013 with the Cardinals and posted a 5.71 ERA over 18 appearances between St. Louis and Milwaukee, walking 13 batters and striking out 14 in 17.1 innings of work. Control has become a major issue for him in recent years, as he walked 5.1 batters per nine innings in AAA last year and has given out nearly four free passes per nine in his seven minor league seasons.

This is Blazek's final option year. The Brewers can bring him back up to the majors and send him back down as often as they'd like in 2014, but in 2015 he'll either have to make the Opening Day roster or be exposed to waivers.

The Brewers are now down to 35 players in MLB camp, including 16 pitchers. They're likely to carry 12 pitchers on the Opening Day roster, and Tom Haudricourt speculates that Zach Duke, Alfredo Figaro, Donovan Hand, Tyler Thornburg and Rob Wooten are competing for two spots.

Take a moment today to wave goodbye to the Diamondbacks, who the Brewers won't see again until May.

The Brewers and Diamondbacks meet three times in the 2014 Cactus League. Arizona won the first one, 2-1 on March 1. The Brewers got revenge at home, winning 9-8 on Friday.

The spring series is on the line today when the Brewers meet Trevor Cahill (9.82 ERA this spring, 3.99/4.26 ERA/FIP in 2013) at 3:05 Central time. Cahill is making his fourth start of the spring and his first since Tuesday, when he was roughed up by the Indians. He allowed five runs on nine hits over 4.2 innings in that game, walking one and striking out two. Despite his 9.82 ERA, he's recorded ten strikeouts in eleven innings this spring.

It's likely we'll see most of the Diamondbacks regulars today in their final Cactus League game before heading over to Australia. They'll open the MLB season over there on Saturday in a game scheduled to start at 3 am Central time. Cahill is expected to pitch the second game of that series, so this is his final pre-season tuneup. He throws a 90 mph fastball with a slider, changeup and curve. The changeup is his most effective pitch.

Cahill faced the Brewers earlier this spring and worked 3.1 innings on March 1, allowing a single run on two hits, a walk and a hit batsman. He did not face the Brewers during the regular season in 2013. No current Brewers have faced him ten times or more, but Elian Herrera is 2-for-6 against him.

He'll face the Brewers' Opening Day starter, Yovani Gallardo (1.13 ERA this spring, 4.18/3.89 ERA/FIP in 2013) in his fourth of what's likely to be six spring outings. Gallardo is lined up to pitch the season opener on normal rest, assuming he works on four days' rest on Friday and again on Wednesday, March 26. He pitched 3.2 shutout innings against the White Sox on Monday, allowing just two hits and a walk while recording three strikeouts.

Efficiency may be something to watch for from Gallardo again today. He's been lifted mid-inning from each of his last two starts because he's run into his pitch count. He still has plenty of time to stretch out before Opening Day, but has yet to record more than ten outs in a game this spring.

Gallardo faced the Diamondbacks twice in 2013 and was unspectacular in both outings, allowing a combined seven runs on 13 hits over 12 innings while recording just six strikeouts. I prefer to remember his pair of starts against them in the 2011 NLDS, when he held them to two runs over 14 innings. Four current D-Backs have faced him ten times or more:

Mike Vassallo has today's lineup:

Today's #Brewers lineup vs. Arizona at Talking Stick. First pitch 3:05 CT. Webcast on http://t.co/zg3WAmjtKu. pic.twitter.com/K4l9Ab9R1n

— Mike Vassallo (@MikeVassallo13) March 16, 2014

This is where I usually mention that the weather in Arizona is awesome and, as you might expect, it's awesome again today. Expect a game-time temperature in the mid 70's to climb up to around 80 with light winds.

It was their second walkoff loss of the spring.

W: Kyle Winkler (1-0)
L: Zach Duke (2-1)

HR: Khris Davis (2), Caleb Gindl (2)

Box Score

A non-televised Brewers game on selection Sunday for the men's NCAA basketball tournament probably didn't draw much attention today. If you were somewhere else instead of catching the late innings of this game, you missed the Diamondbacks scoring three in the ninth inning to hand the Brewers a 6-5 loss.

Today's game did have some fun offensive highlights: Khris Davis, whose bat appears to be warming lately, hit a solo home run in the second inning. Yovani Gallardo also had an RBI single, and Caleb Gindl gave the Brewers a 4-3 lead in the seventh with his second home run of the spring.

Unfortunately the wheels came off in the ninth inning, and in the process they may have derailed Zach Duke's bid to make this team. He faced six batters in what would have been his second inning of work and retired none of them, allowing four singles, a walk and an RBI fielder's choice as the Diamondbacks walked off with the win. Ron Roenicke was ejected from the game after the tying run scored.

The other pitchers in the game had somewhat better days: Yovani Gallardo allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits over five innings in his longest outing of the spring and recorded seven strikeouts, while Will Smith pitched perfect frames in both the sixth and seventh.

Following today's game the Diamondbacks headed off to Australia to open the 2014 regular season next weekend. The Brewers will stay behind in Arizona and host the White Sox at 3:05 Central time tomorrow, with Kyle Lohse pitching against Felipe Paulino.

Three runs in the ninth saw Arizona clinch late victory in their pre-season finale before heading off to Australia. The local insects clearly wanted to wish the team farewell, with another bee delay.

Record: 11-9-3. Change on 2013: +1.5.

This game was nip and tuck for much of its length. The Diamondbacks struck first, scoring two runs in the bottom of the first, on an RBI double by Martin Prado, who was then driven in by Miguel Montero's single. But the lead was lost in the very next inning, as the Brewers scored two runs of their own off Trevor Cahill, tying the game up on a hit by Milwaukee pitcher Yovani Gallardo. Undaunted, Arizona regained the lead in their half of the second, Gerardo Parra singling home A.J. Pollock. But that lead lasted no longer than the first one, a wild pitch by Cahill proving costly, as a runner advanced to third and came home on a groundout, making the score 3-3.

There was no more scoring until the seventh inning, which was good to see from our starting pitcher, since Cahill had seemed to struggle a bit with his location over his previous three outings. This was definitely his best appearance of spring, as he allowed two earned runs (plus an unearned one) over his five innings, scattering seven hits and a walk, but with an impressive seven strikeouts. Most of the hits came on ground balls, but he did receive some help from his defense: Montero threw our a runner to end the first and Pollock nailed a runner at home trying to score on a sacrifice fly. There were also a pair of wild pitches, but compared to previous outings, this was an improvement.

Left-handed relievers Oliver Perez and Joe Paterson combined to work a scoreless sixth, but Will Harris let the Brewers take the lead with a home-run leading off their seventh inning. Jess Todd loaded the bases with no-one out in the eighth, then looked like he might get out of it, getting the next Milwaukee hitter to line into a double-play. However, a wild pitch gave the visitors an additional insurance run. Kyle Winkler worked the ninth for Arizona: he uncorked another WP - Arizona's fourth of the day - on a third strike to let the runner reach, but got a double-play and put up a zero to set the stage for the bottom of the ninth.

The Diamondbacks faced a familiar face, in Zach Duke, whom you might remember from our 2011 roster [it's okay if not, however], and took full advantage of the opportunity. It was our turn to load the bases with no-one out, as Cliff Pennington, Shelley Duncan and Steve McQuail (no, me neither - I'm half wondering if the official scorer was just making names up at this point) all singled. A wild pitch scored one run, a fielder's choice scored another, and after Matt Tuiasosopo was walked, Tony Campana singled, to score McQuail and send the record Salt River Field crowd of 12,871 (not counting the swarm), home happy,

Pollock had a pair of hits for the Diamondbacks. Also worth mentioning, Cody Ross had his first at-bat of spring in a proper game, striking out as a pinch-hitter in the seventh. Oh, yeah. The bees. Or, rather: "not the bees!" They arrived in the second inning, initially in right-field,. then moved across and took over the left-field bullpen, which emptied out of Arizona relievers in a hurry for a bit. Previous spring training incidents have revolved around coconut hair gel - no word yet on which D-back uses a similar product.

After the game, the team made some more roster moves: Joe Paterson was optioned to Triple-A Reno, while. reassigned to minor league camp were Shelley Duncan, Mike Jacobs, Blake Lalli and Andy Marte. The next game will be on Friday (Sydney time) against Team Australia. Wow. Feels very strange to be writing that!

Ray breaks down his Top 20 shortstops for NL only leagues. Check out who I ranked at #1, and where I ranked David Wright, Pedro Alvarez, Nolan Arenado and others.

Now that we have completed our consensus position rankings for 2014, it is time to address rankings for those of you in AL only and NL only leagues. I will publish league specific position rankings each day, addressing one position at a time, starting with the NL only position rankings.

In case you missed them, below you will find links to all of our consensus position rankings and projections that we have published to date:

Catcher: Part 1| Part 2

First Base: Part 1| Part 2

Second Base: Part 1| Part 2

Shortstop: Part 1| Part 2

Third Base:Part 1| Part 2

Outfielders:Part 1| Part 2| Part 3

Starting Pitcher: Part 1| Part 2| Part 3

The third base position in the National League is not as strong as in years past. Once you get past David Wright, the rest of the third baseman bring some questions for fantasy owners.

Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman has been a steady performer over the last few seasons, but has been very streaky in doing so. He is already dealing with soreness in his right shoulder, even after having surgery on it last offseason. I think he provides more power than Wright, but Wright offers the better batting average and double digit stolen bases, to go along with the 15-25 home runs. I don't see either getting back to the 30 home run level going forward.

I thought about ranking Pedro Alvarez at #3 in my rankings, but Matt Carpenter might be the best leadoff hitter in the NL, so he got the nod here. He will hit for a high average, score 90+ runs and offers double digit power as well, and he still has second base eligibility.

I love power hitters, and Alvarez is one of the best in baseball, but he certainly won't help you in the batting average category. Alvarez doesn't make enough contact to hit for even a .250 average, and he will have to improve his 30% strikeout rate to do so. Even with all the warts, Alvarez is one of the top 3-4 power hitters in the National League, but there is risk that comes with the power.

Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado is the one third baseman on this list that has the potential to move into the top 5 at the position by seasons' end. He didn't hit for much power last season, but I see him doubling his 2013 home run total this season. Hitting in Coors Field certainly helps.

The sleeper on this list is Brewers corner infielder Mark Reynolds. He brings the same risk as Pedro Alvarez and has the potential to hit 25 home runs this season, and should be available very late in most drafts.

NL Only Third Base Rankings for 2014

Fantasy Rundown

If you are looking for more fantasy rankings or just daily fantasy news and information, check out Fantasy Rundown. Fantasy Rundown offers you links to the best fantasy baseball, and football, content on the net every day.

MondoLinks: A recap of baseball happenings over this past weekend...and...this week's One Big Idea:

• Mike Trout: Oh, wow! This Mike Trout kid turns out to be pretty damned good! Who knew THAT?? In other news, it might be that Trout is ready to start leveraging his experience and getting after pitchers earlier in counts, and earlier in games. This could prove interesting...

• C.J. Wilson: Wilson got blown up in the 1st inning yesterday, and then managed to settle down and get in 5 innings of work. The result is that his team-leading WHIP was pushed up to 1.19, which would rank him 14th best in the AL among qualifiers this spring. That's three places behind Jason Vargas.

• Josh Hamilton: Hambone should finally start reckonin' on all getting all that potential ready for 2014...today. Of course, he is going to be facing Tim Lincecum, so don't panic if he fails to go 3 for 3 with 12 RBI or something.
  

• Joe Blanton: Also...today...baseball life hangs in the balance. Blanton takes the mound, and the Halo staff is eager to see which one shows up. Is it the one that we know, who blows chunks? Is it the one who is the 2014 CYA winner, who we saw just last week? Or is it the one that Dipoto wants to see, trade bait that can bring back farm stock and prevent Scioscia from doing something stupid over and over and over again for the next three months

• Patrick Corbin:Ex-Halo Corbin is breaking down. Completely unfortunate. Maybe no 2014, and maybe Tommy John surgery. Maybe this makes room in the D'backs rotation for...Blanton?

• Boston Red Sox...it's in their DNA.

_____________________

[3/15/2014 Change of Art Answers: 1-Mound raised...2-More creases at right knee...3-Left sleeve extended...4-Logo missing from left sleeve...5-Cap logo turned upside down...6-Extra jersey button, just below logo...7-Left pant leg shortened...8-First base lengthened...9-Lowered right arm slot.]

_____________________

Lets' assume that you are a little lost and confused by this whole "Dodgers in Australia" thing, and need some clarification. So let's clarify. Today is March 17th, National Corned Beef and Cabbage Day, when every Gaelic themed bar yearns to be an Irish pub in much the same way that every Johnny Rockets yearns to be a real 50's diner (at least, as imagined by one of Stephen Spielberg's fantasies).

In five days the 2014 regular season is going to start. Five days. Five. That's the whole number between four and six. 5.

That's right. This upcoming weekend, the same days when the Angels will be playing ST games against the Brewers and Indians. And the Angels will then play another ST game each and every day thereafter out until March 29th. That's 6 more ST games AFTER the Official MLB 2014 Opening Day. And the last three of those Spring games will be against the Dodgers. The same Dodgers who will already have shut down their Spring and played two regular season games.

So the regular season is going to begin right in the middle of Spring Training, and two of the teams will be playing Spring Training games after they have played regular season games. In another country, half way around the world. And Budweiser wants to make this a National Holiday?

If this predicament were ours, and we would be trying to figure out how to play practice games after we had lined up our roster and rotation to play real games, would you be spitting nails? Would you be worried that your team had lost 7 whole days at the end of ST that almost all the other teams took advantage of? Has MLB gone too far trying to get too cute to as they reach too hard to further entrench the existing globalization of the sport? And what if the Dodgers or the D'Backs finish this season one game out of the playoffs?

Opening Day in Australia. Different. Cute. Lame.

We're counting down to Opening Day and more in today's roundup of all things Brewers.

Some things to read while learning to open doors.

Today is the 31st day of spring training and the slow march towards Opening Day continued on Sunday as the Brewers suffered a walkoff loss at Salt River Fields against the Australia-bound Diamondbacks. We've got the recap, if you missed it.

Meanwhile, this weekend's biggest news was another round of roster cuts as the Brewers continue to trim down towards a 25-man Opening Day roster. Seven players were sent out on Friday, as Sean Halton, Hiram Burgos and Mike Fiers were optioned to Nashville and non-roster invitees Kevin Mattison, Matt Pagnozzi, Eugenio Velez and Dustin Molleken were returned to minor league camp. One more player was cut yesterday, as Michael Blazek was optioned. I had previously mentioned that this is Blazek's final option, but he actually has one more (h/t @Mass_Haas).

While pitchers continue to trickle out of Brewers camp, Rule 5 pick Wei-Chung Wang is having an impressive spring and seems to have a solid chance to win a job. Ron Roenicke talked to Adam McCalvy about the challenges of evaluating a player with a small sample size and a language barrier

Wang is one of 16 pitchers remaining in MLB camp, and 12 will likely make the Opening Day roster. @Haudricourt speculates that Zach Duke, Alfredo Figaro, Donovan Hand, Tyler Thornburg and Rob Wooten are competing for the final two spots in the bullpen.

Other notes from camp:

• Ron Roenicke was ejected in the ninth inning of Sunday's game for arguing that the runner who scored the game-tying run was out of the baseline.
• Sunday's game had a brief delay in the second inning due to a swarm of bees in the outfield and Diamondbacks bullpen. (h/t @Todd_Rosiak)
• Despite the bees, 12,871 fans paid to see Sunday's game at Salt River Fields. That's a new ballpark record.
• Looking back another day, Francisco Rodriguez made his spring debut on Saturday but said his sore foot is still painful.
• Chris Gabel of MLB.com has stories on Lyle Overbay's effort to make the team and Jim Henderson's new changeup.
• Michael Anderson of AztecPressOnline recommended Maryvale Baseball Park as a stop for local (to Arizona) college students on their spring break.
• If they hurry they might get to see Robin Yount: He's making his annual appearance in camp as a special instructor.
• Those spring breakers will miss Hank, though. He made his first trip to Milwaukee on Sunday to settle into his new home, and a welcoming committee was at the airport to meet him. Jess Lemont of The Brewers Bar has a cartoon depicting what it might have looked like if the Brewers had let Hank fly the plane.
• Before his departure, the Brewers put a camera on Hank so we could see spring training from his perspective.
• All this excitement over Hank has Red Reporter talking about getting a dog...or a cat.

The Brewers return home to host the White Sox today, but another member of the Opening Day rotation will be across the parking lot. Kyle Lohse will get the start in the Cactus League game, while Matt Garza will also pitch in a minor league game. You may recall that Lohse and Garza also pitched on the same day last week.

Speaking of Garza, he recently talked to Gordon Wittenmeyer of the Chicago Sun Times about his departure from the Cubs. Here's the money quote:

"And I wish them the best," he said. "But I like where I'm at, and I'm going to try to kick their teeth in every time I get a chance."

Carlos Gomez will also likely be back in action today after sitting out on Sunday. Over at Cream City Cables, Nate has a preview of the reigning Gold Glove Award winner's 2014 season.

Jean Segura was also off on Sunday but is still tied for second on the team with ten hits this spring. He talked to Todd Rosiak about looking for a rhythm after taking the winter off. Meanwhile, discussions about a possible contract extension still appear to be in the "something we might talk about" stage.

Khris Davis' bat is starting to heat up, as he homered Sunday and now has an extra base hit in three consecutive games. He's also back on Twitter as @khrisdavis2.

Davis was also one of five Brewers profiled as The Brewer Nation caught up on their "Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers" series. Caleb Gindl, Aramis Ramirez, Jonathan Lucroy and Juan Francisco were the others.

Ramirez stole a career-high nine bases in his first season as a Brewer in 2012, but was caught in his only attempt in 2013. Nick Ashbourne of Beyond the Box Score has a look at how stolen base totals from third basemen have diminished in recent years.

In the minors:

• There was a report over the weekend that the Brewers had traded infielder Hector Gomez to the Angels, but it turned out to be false. Gomez was in uniform and played in a minor league game yesterday.
• Brad Krause of Miller Park Prospects has pictures from Sunday's minor league action.
• Chris Mehring of Rattler Radio has a look at efforts to clear snow off the field in Wisconsin with Opening Day less than three weeks away.
• Meanwhile, Nashville is a year away from opening their new stadium, but the Brewers may get bumped out by their AAA affiliate if another organization makes a better offer. NJ.com has the latest look at the Mets' rocky relationship with their affiliate in Las Vegas.

If you weren't around the site this weekend, you might have missed JP's weekly look at what we've learned over the last seven days. The Opening Day roster is starting to take shape as we approach the home stretch of spring training.

Around baseball:

Dodgers: Designated reliever Javy Guerra for assignment.
Nationals: Acquired infielder Brandon Laird from the Royals for a PTBNL or cash.
Tigers: Shortstop Jose Iglesias will open the season the DL and could miss much of the season with a shin injury.
Twins: Signed reliever Glen Perkins to a four-year, $22.175 million contract extension with a club option for 2018.

Meanwhile, a handful of teams may be holding their collective breath this morning. Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish has the latest on six young pitchers that may require Tommy John surgery. Jaymes Langrehr is preparing precautionary measures in our Tweet of the Day:

We're one more young pitcher elbow injury away from me demanding Wily Peralta be placed in a bubble.

— Jaymes Langrehr (@JaymesL) March 16, 2014

Today in former Brewers:

• Roch Kubatko of MASN has a story on Alex Gonzalez's efforts to make the Orioles.
• Pinstripe Alley has a Sporcle Quiz dealing with the unlikely length of Yuniesky Betancourt's MLB career.

Today's quintessential spring training story comes from White Sox camp, where pitcher Jose Quintana almost missed his start on Friday because he was stuck in traffic.

Quintana still had a better weekend than the Yankees, who went all the way to Panama to get no-hit by the Marlins.

Finally, with help from the B-Ref Play Index, we'd like to wish a happy birthday to Jean Segura. He turns 24 today, and we covered his birthday in Today In Brewer History last year.

Today is also the fourth anniversary of Derrick Turnbow being released by the Marlins in 2010, effectively ending his playing career. We noted that event in Today In Brewer History two years ago.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to find that CD.

Drink up.

This week's topics include Yovani Gallardo, first base, Wei-Chung Wang and more.

The Brew Crew Ball Tracking Poll will remain open through the day Tuesday, with results scheduled to be posted on Wednesday. As always, please vote once.

Today with extra green.

Today is St. Patrick's Day so, per tradition, baseball will be played in green uniforms.

The Brewers will take the mound in green at 3:05 Central time today with Kyle Lohse (3.60 ERA this spring, 3.35/4.08 ERA/FIP in 2013) on the mound. Lohse pitched in a minor league game the last time his rotation spot was due up, so this is his first MLB game since March 6. He pitched three innings in that one, allowing two runs on three hits with no walks and no strikeouts.

Forget luck of the Irish, a lot of pitchers would love to have the "luck" of Kyle Lohse. He's outperformed his expected outcomes as predicted by FIP (Fielder Independent Pitching) and xFIP (Expected Fielder Independent Pitching) in each of the last three seasons:

As a longtime member of the Twins, Lohse has 23 career appearances against the White Sox. The last one, however, came in 2006. Two current members of the team have faced him ten times or more:

Monday's Frosty Mug: Two weeks away

We're counting down to Opening Day and more in today's roundup of all things Brewers.

He'll face 30-year-old righty Felipe Paulino (9.72 ERA this spring, did not pitch in majors in 2013), in camp with the White Sox as a reclamation project. Paulino hasn't pitched in the majors since June 6, 2012 and has undergone both Tommy John and shoulder surgery since then. He faced the Giants on Wednesday and allowed two runs on five hits over 3.2 innings.

The White Sox would be Paulino's fourth MLB team, as he's been a member of the Astros, Rockies and Royals since 2010. He has a career 4.93 ERA over 93 outings and has walked over three and a half batters per nine innings over that time. He throws a mid-90's fastball but relies heavily on a slider while also mixing in the occasional curve and changeup.

Paulino has a career 7.52 ERA in seven appearances against the Brewers, but hasn't faced them in a regular season game since 2011. Two current Brewers have faced him ten times or more:

Mike Vassallo has today's lineup:

Today's St. Patrick's Day lineup vs. White Sox in Maryvale. First pitch 3:05 CT on @fswisconsin&@620wtmj. #Brewerspic.twitter.com/zFPmRbivXl

— Mike Vassallo (@MikeVassallo13) March 17, 2014

The weather in Phoenix remains spectacular for baseball, although the wind has picked up a bit today. Expect a game-time temperature around 79 with winds blowing out around 10 mph.

Felipe Paulino looks to get back on track against Milwaukee.

Another MLB.TV broadcast only game. For those lucky few who have already ponied up the monies for the subscription can watch FSN-Wisconsin call the game. For those that are at work or within the blackout area, follow via the Gameday.

The White Sox starting line-up:

White Sox lineup today at Brewers. pic.twitter.com/vIZZ8IA7Xg

— Colleen Kane (@ChiTribKane) March 17, 2014

The Brewers starting line-up:

CF Carlos Gomez
SS Jean Segura
RF Ryan Braun
3B Aramis Ramirez
C Jonathan Lucroy
2B Rickie Weeks
1B Mark Reynolds
LF Logan Schafer
P Kyle Lohse

Milwaukee will be donning green jerseys for the game. Should be...an interesting look.

Tomorrow: Less green, more winning.

W: Felipe Paulino (1-0)
L: Kyle Lohse (0-1)

HR: Josh Richmond (1)

Box Score

Spoiler alert: There is almost no good news here.

Actually, let's lead with the good thing: Jean Segura, who entered play with just one extra base hit on the spring, had a triple today. The bad news: It was one of just three Brewers hits in a 9-0 blowout loss to the White Sox.

Kyle Lohse looked good through three innings today, but the wheels came off in the fourth as he faced seven batters and gave up two hits, two walks, a hit batsman and a sac fly as three runs came around to score. The walks were the first two he's allowed in a game this spring.

Four of the five Brewers relievers had nice outings today: Rob Wooten recorded four outs without incident in relief of Lohse, Francisco Rodriguez worked a scoreless sixth, Wei-Chung Wang worked around a double while throwing a scoreless eighth and Alfredo Figaro kept Chicago off the board in the ninth. The only aberration was Jim Henderson, who gave up four runs on four hits in the seventh.

The Brewers will try for a home win again tomorrow when they host the Rangers at 3:05 Central time. Marco Estrada will take on Martin Perez.

An old Don Cooper trick is a new pitch for the newest White Sox starter

Watching Felipe Paulino throw five scoreless innings against the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday, Edwin Jackson came to mind. In both cases, their fastballs have enough juice and life to get away with a lack of precision. Even when he missed the mitt, and even when the Brewers were looking for his fastball, Paulino got popouts.

In the third inning, Jean Segura hit a one-out triple to bring Ryan Braun to the plate. Braun entered the game hitting over .500 this spring, and he anticipated a first-pitch fastball from Paulino. He was correct in doing so, but...

...that's all he could do.

Paulino's challenge fastball did a lot of the heavy lifting against the Brewers, but he's working on giving opponents a different look with an additionwe know well:

"We worked on a new pitch which is working great, the cutter. Happy with that. We work on that last week with (pitching coach Don) Cooper. … I got a couple popups with that so that helped me get out quick." [...]

"He gives me that confidence, Cooper gives it to me, to let me throw it in the game," Paulino said. "I'm glad with how it's coming. But it's a long season. I want to see how it responds every time. It's something I can add when something is not working I can add it to myself."

I looked for those cutters on MLB.tv, and here's where PITCHf/x would've come in handy. It's hard to get a read on Paulino for a few reasons:

1. We haven't spent much time watching Paulino.
2. The broadcast didn't carry radar-gun readings, and spring cameras tend to be at severe offsets.
3. Paulino threw his fair share of bad sliders, so I'm not quite sure how his cutter sizes up against good sliders.
   

But hey, for whatever reason, his backup, front-door slider game was working for him, too:

That said, I think I found a couple of those cutters. He grabbed strike one on Aramis Ramirez in the first inning:

Ramirez thought he was getting another one on the next pitch, and he instead chased a fastball around his shoulders for strike two:

Another cutter lured Carlos Gomez into one of those popups Paulino talked about:

New cutters are exciting, but we can't quite call him the second coming of Esteban Loaiza quite yet. His control sputtered early on, which has been a trademark of his spring so far. He walked Braun after getting ahead 0-2, and his four straight balls weren't particularly tempting. Ramirez came to the plate next, and Paulino followed up those two strikes seen above with a fastball that was lower and over the plate (Ramirez singled sharply).

But he's also coming off a year and a half of inactivity, first from Tommy John surgery and then another surgery to clear out a cyst in his shoulder. It shouldn't surprise anybody if he's far from sharp with his entire arsenal. It'd be more troubling if he didn't have his velocity, but watching him attack the Brewers, his fastball certainly seems like a handful.

That's encouraging, and it's even better than he and Cooper have some trust in each other early on. That's another reason Jackson came to mind. Jackson joined the Sox battling big-time walk and inefficiency issues with the Diamondbacks, but Cooper had him stand tall and get a better plane on his fastball, which made his strikes more effective, and pretty much immediately. He never added a cutter, but he had the velocity and stamina to use a fastball-slider approach like a six-inning reliever.

Paulino doesn't have Jackson's durability, but he's shown a similar kind of heat. If his fastball is that difficult to square up, two different fastballs might be a simple-ish way to get him back in a groove until he gets the rest of his feel back. He doesn't need to even be Jackson-good to earn his salary, but whenever a reclamation project enthusiastically takes to a cutter, it's easy to dream big.

More from South Side Sox

Follow @SouthSideSoxFollow @SBNationMLB

• The Tour to End All Tours: A 10-year retrospective
• White Sox catching situation could look awfully familiar, unless...
• Podcast: South Side Sox Hangout, Episode 9

We're moving on from another ugly loss in today's roundup of all things Brewers.

Some things to read while making a stop on the way.

Today is the 32nd day of spring training and the Brewers didn't have much luck on St. Patrick's Day yesterday, losing 9-0 to the White Sox. We've got the recap, if you missed it.

A rough inning doomed Kyle Lohse yesterday, as he issued two walks, two hits and a hit batsman while failing to complete the fourth. Meanwhile, Matt Garza had his best outing of the spring in a minor league game. Pitching for AAA Nashville he completed six innings and allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits, striking out five and walking none.

Back in the big league game, Francisco Rodriguez worked a scoreless sixth with a pair of strikeouts in his second outing of the spring. He's still pulling spines out of his foot nearly a week after stepping on a cactus.

The Brewers were shut out and held nearly hitless for five innings yesterday by veteran journeyman pitcher Felipe Paulino. Joey Nowak of MLB.com reports that Paulino, who hasn't pitched in the majors since suffering an elbow injury in 2012, is working on adding a cut fastball to his repertoire and threw the pitch eight times yesterday.

Other notes from the field:

• The Brat, clad in green for St. Patrick's Day, won the sausage race.
• Hank has only been gone for a couple of days, but @AdamMcCalvy reports that a cat has already been spotted in the Brewers dugout.

The Brewers are back in Maryvale at 3:05 today to host the Rangers. This contest could have been a fun reunion with new Ranger Prince Fielder, but apparently he's staying back in Surprise with the other half of the split squad. We will see Marco Estrada, though, pitching against Martin Perez.

While Fielder has secured a job with Texas, the Brewers' first base competition may be entering its final week. Yesterday Adam McCalvy reported that Lyle Overbay can opt out of his minor league contract if he's not added to the 40-man roster by Saturday, and Mark Reynolds has a similar clause for Monday. Meanwhile, Juan Francisco is out of options.

Elsewhere in roster battles, the bullpen is starting to take shape. Wei-Chung Wang pitched another scoreless inning yesterday and is likely to make the roster as a Rule 5 pick, and Ron Roenicke told Adam McCalvy the team is strongly considering keeping Tyler Thornburg as a reliever. Assuming Jim Henderson, Brandon Kintzler, Francisco Rodriguez and Will Smith are also in, that would leave one available spot.

Aramis Ramirez was back in the Brewers lineup yesterday and had one of the team's four hits. MLB.com scout Bernie Pleskoff was in attendance and offered this insight:

After off season surgery, #Brewers Ramirez looks very fit. Short swing with some backspin on the ball. Nice, easy approach. Compact. Strong.

— Bernie Pleskoff (@BerniePleskoff) March 17, 2014

Jeff Bianchi had the last of four Brewers hits on Monday, a pinch-hit infield single in the eighth inning. He's also the subject of the latest edition of The Brewer Nation's "Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers" series.

Khris Davis was off yesterday, and might have been the only likely Opening Day starter that wasn't in the lineup. Adam Wieser of Disciples of Uecker has a positional preview for Davis and the Brewers' other left fielders.

Davis has certainly shown enough at the plate to merit a spot on the Opening Day roster, but in the field he's still a bit of a question mark. He's one of the players featured in Ron Roenicke Stole My Baseball's "Major League" themed preview of the 2014 season.

With the Brewers at home today, a few more fans may get a chance at their first Maryvale Baseball Park experience. Jeff Hatton, a guest poster for OnMilwaukee.com, visited the Brewers' facility for the first time this spring and offered some thoughts on the experience.

In the minors:

• Brewerfan.net has the details on three international players who have officially joined the Brewers organization: 17-year-old Panamanian pitcher Carlos Luna, 17-year-old Dominican pitcher Ken Paredes and 19-year-old Dominican catcher Dilson Fernandez.
• While three new players check in, one is headed out: The Brewers have released catcher and 2009 tenth round pick Tyler Roberts. (h/t @Mass_Haas) Roberts is still only 23 but appeared in just 33 games for Wisconsin last season.
• Brad Krause of Miller Park Prospects was in minor league camp again yesterday, talked to infielder Alfredo Rodriguez and took a bunch of pictures.

Looking ahead, get out your calendar this morning or you may wish you had in August: The Brewers' Wednesday, August 27 game against the Padres has been moved from 9:10 to 8:10 pm Central time (h/t @AdamMcCalvy). In the middle of a west coast road trip we'll probably all need that extra hour of sleep.

If you haven't yet, please take a moment today to vote in our BCB Tracking Poll. It will remain open through the day today and results will be posted tomorrow.

Around baseball:

Athletics: Pitcher Jarrod Parker will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the 2014 season.
Braves: Pitcher Kris Medlen will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the 2014 season.
Phillies: Acquired catcher Koyie Hill from the Nationals for a PTBNL or cash.

The Dodgers and Diamondbacks are already in Australia this morning (where I believe it's Wednesday by now) getting ready to open the 2014 season on Saturday. They're playing at the Sydney Cricket Ground, and SBNation.com has a time-lapse video of the work that's been done to transform the facility into a baseball park.

Once the Dodgers and Diamondbacks return from down under, though, it's all Yankees and Red Sox all the time for the national media. Craig Calcaterra of Hardball Talk notes that between ESPN, MLB Network and Fox Sports 1 the Yankees will make 17 national TV appearances in April alone, and the Red Sox will get 15 more.

Today in former Brewers:

• Jeff Passan of Yahoo has a story on Prince Fielder's adjustment to his new team in Texas.
• nullacct profiled Cal Eldred as the Face of the 1992 Brewers.

While we're continuing to focus on baseball here, by the end of the week nearly everyone's attention will be on their brackets as the NCAA men's basketball tournament tips off. If you're looking for one more bracket pool to join before then, GoldenFrank has set up the BCB competition. If you enter, you're almost certain to beat me.

Finally, with help from the B-Ref Play Index, we'd like to wish a happy birthday today to:

• 2005-06 Brewer Tomo Ohka, who turns 38. We covered his birthday in Today In Brewer History last year.
• 2003-04 Brewer Scott Podsednik, who also turns 38. We covered his birthday in Today In Brewer History two years ago.
• 1980-81 Brewer Rickey Keeton, who turns 57.
• 1961 and 1964-65 Milwaukee Brave Chi-Chi Olivo, who would have turned 86.

Plunk Everyone notes that Ohka's 34 career hit batsmen are the second most ever for a pitcher born on March 18, and Podsednik's 25 plunkings are the third most ever for a position player born on this date.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to apply another coat.

Drink up.

With teams scrambling to pick up even passable first basemen, let's look at how the position has fared historically.

It's hard to remember in March, but there was a time when you weren't that sick of the offseason. Oh, you passed along that Rogers Hornsby quote on Facebook, and you complained a little bit about baseball leaving, but the offseason was wide open. Your team could do anything. The Astros almost signed Masahiro Tanaka. Your team could do anything.

Anything …

Anything …

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The Pirates could have used a first baseman. The Brewers desperately needed a first baseman. Both teams stuck with internal options and non-roster dreams for now. Behind the scenes, there's a mad scramble for Ike Davis and Mike Carp: Loser gets Rico Brogna if they're lucky. They had the entire offseason with unlimited possibilities. Here they sit, broken hearted.

Theory #1: We should all laugh at the Pirates and Brewers for being unimaginative.

Hold on, though. The Tampa Bay Rays had to fight all of those teams off with a rake to give James Loney one of the bigger deals in franchise history, a three-year deal for $21 million. The Rays are smart. They spend significant money on James Loney. On purpose, no less. Maybe there's something to the dearth of options at first base.

Theory #2: This is a historically lean time for first basemen.

It would explain why the Loney deal a) happened and b) made sense. In this slugger-bereft era, no one's been harder hit than the first basemen, who are now a mishmash of toothpick-swinging ne'er-do-wells. When teams are willing to trade for Prince Fielder and Adrian Gonzalez when the milk's still fresh but the expiration date has passed, that's because there's just nowhere else to find a first baseman.

Except we can use stats to prove this one. We'll use adjusted OPS (OPS+) because a) it's adjusted for era and b) easily searchable in Baseball-Reference.com's Play Index. Over 100 is above-average, though not necessarily for a first baseman, so let's use a range of results. Apologies for the technical jargon in the graph titles.

There are peaks and valleys from year to year, but there's nothing really different about the modern era of first basemen, at least when compared to the league average. If you want an era free from first-base sluggers, check out 1949, when Johnny Mize was Mike Trout compared to his peers.

(If you're wondering about the 120-percent mark in the first graph, it's because two players on the same team can play more than half their games at first, while still qualifying for the batting title.)

With the stats in hand, we need to throw the second theory out. There are plenty of good first basemen out there. This is not a historically bereft time for first basemen. Now we need to figure out if we should go back to laughing at the Brewers and Pirates.

The raw numbers are helpful, but let's actually see who made up that group of "good" first basemen last year.

If a team wanted a "good" first baseman this offseason, they needed Mike Napoli. If they couldn't get Napoli, the second option was to swallow a chunk of Prince Fielder's contract. If that wasn't an option, all that was left was to call the Blue Jays and see if they were willing to sell high. They probably were not.

That's what's behind the Loney scramble and the Mike and Ike scrum. It's not that there aren't any good first baseman; it's that there aren't any available. That, combined with our ever-adjusting expectations in the post-PED era, makes it seem like there isn't a lot of talent at first right now. Marc Normandin figures this is behind the Braves' decision to pay Freddie Freeman like a star, even if we're not sure he can keep that up yet.

Don't laugh at the Brewers and Pirates. They were just caught in a game of musical chairs, and when the music stopped one of them was sitting in Juan Francisco's lap. The other one was getting something from the fridge, I think. When it comes to first base right now, it's develop or die, and the minor leagues aren't exactly overflowing with first base prospects. It could be like this for a while.

Can the Brewers beat half of one of the Cactus League's worst teams?

The Brewers haven't won often lately, but today they get to play half the Rangers. Texas is 5-10 on the spring, and most of their regulars are likely staying home to take on the Cubs tonight.

As such, you have to like the Brewers' chances of winning with Marco Estrada (3.86 ERA this spring, 3.87/3.86 ERA/FIP in 2013) on the mound. Estrada had the best outing of any Brewer this spring in his last start on Thursday, pitching 5.2 scoreless innings against San Diego. He gave up five hits in that game but did not walk a batter and recorded three strikeouts.

Estrada issued two walks in his Cactus League debut in February, but has not issued a free pass in his three appearances in March. Yesterday I mentioned roughly the same thing about Kyle Lohse, and a few hours later he walked the ballpark.

Estrada faced the Rangers on August 13 of last season and held them to a run on four hits over six innings. No current Rangers have faced him ten times or more, but Geovany Soto and Mitch Moreland have each homered off of him.

He'll face 22-year-old lefty Martin Perez (4.50 ERA this spring, 3.62/4.23 ERA/FIP in 2013) in his fourth start of the spring. Perez started 20 games for the Rangers as a 21-year-old in 2013 and posted a 3.62 ERA, finishing sixth in the AL Rookie of the Year voting. He pitched three innings against the Giants on Thursday and allowed a run on three hits and two walks.

For a relatively young pitcher, Perez has a very well-developed changeup. He throws it almost 25 percent of the time to keep hitters from sitting on his low-to-mid 90's fastball.

Perez has never faced the Brewers during the regular season, and no current Brewers have faced him before.

As of this writing I haven't seen today's Brewers lineup. If you have, please drop it in the comments.