Milwaukee Brewers

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Milwaukee is prepared to play with the Cubs this season for the crown in the National League Central. Ben Sheets, Eric Gagne, and Mike Cameron are all impending free agents with a lot to gain from a big (healthy?) season, and Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder are bona fide stars. Here's how the team will look on Opening Day.

Lineup:

• 2B Rickie Weeks
• SS J.J. Hardy
• LF Ryan Braun
• 1B Prince Fielder
• RF Corey Hart
• 3B Bill Hall
• CF Mike Cameron (Gabe Gross)
• C Jason Kendall

Rotation:

• Ben Sheets
• Yovani Gallardo
• Jeff Suppan
• Carlos Villanueva
• Chris Capuano

Closer: Eric Gagne

Thoughts...

Their bullpen is really a logjam. It's hard to predict Gagne coming back and being untouchable after his implosion in Boston, but if you expect him to fail, how do you pick the backup closer? Derrick Turnbow is the logical choice, but off-season acquisitions Salomon Torres and David Riske could easily take over the role too. With this type of uncertainly, I'll probably just avoid all of them in my drafts.

ESPN tags Dave Bush as the team's sleeper, but I don't buy it. I suppose he will get starts this year, assuming Sheets will get hurt as usual, but I can't bring myself to believe Bush will do much of anything useful from a fantasy perspective. Gallardo, on the other hand, is a great snag in keeper leagues this year. I can't believe a knee injury is a sign of any future substantial injuries, and he's going to be an excellent pitcher in this league for many years.

Corey Hart is another player who could be excellent this year. ESPN has him hanging around until round 8 in a 10 team league, and I like the 25/25 potential. I'm not predicting this will happen, but wouldn't it be fantastic if Hardy struggled and Hart got moved in front of Fielder and Braun? He wouldn't stop scoring runs the entire season. Even in the six hole, he's a five category producer who looks primed to continue his growth this season.

Rickie Weeks has potential similar to Hart's. He could be the poor man's Brandon Phillips, ten rounds later, come draft day, if you are willing to risk his wrist. Considering the lack of depth at second base, that's a risk I'd be readily willing to take.

I have trouble deciding whether Ryan Braun is more valuable in the outfield or at third base. I'd say he probably looks better at third, but then again, it's easy to pair him with Cabrera at the end of round one and the beginning of round two. He's among the elite at either position, and will be a fantasy stud for years to come (especially if he continues to snag 15-20 bases per season in addition to his prodigious power numbers). 

It hurts Zach to read this, I'm sure, but the Brewers have a good mix of talented youth and motivated veterans. From a baseball perspective, they'll be good, and from a fantasy perspective, they'll be better. Any Brewer not named Kendall is draftable at some point in 2008.