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Starting pitching is perhaps the biggest question mark for the Milwaukee Brewers heading into 2013, but left-handed veteran Tom Gorzelanny could be a major key to the rotation.

Gorzelanny signed a two-year, $5.7 million contract with the Brewers last month. Although he most recently has pitched as a reliever, his role could be filling in where he is needed most in Milwaukee—the starting rotation.

With right-handed ace Yovani Gallardo being the only lock for Milwaukee’s rotation, questions have swirled about how the team will address the rest of the unit.

MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy recently detailed who he believes will compete for the four spots behind Gallardo. Candidates include returners Marco Estrada and Chris Narveson; youngsters Wily Peralta, Mike Fiers and Mark Rogers; and the newly signed Gorzelanny.

A veteran of eight major league seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs and Washington Nationals, Gorzelanny has a career 44-45 record with a 4.41 ERA in 193 games (111 starts). His best season came in 2007 with the Pirates, when he went 14-10 with a 3.88 ERA.

Gorzelanny struggled with consistency earlier in his career but has been much more consistent of late. Since 2010, pitching both as a starter and in relief, he has a combined ERA of 3.79 and averaged 7.9 strikeouts per nine innings.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Tom Haudricourt, Milwaukee’s general manager Doug Melvin likes the potential Gorzelanny brings to the pitching staff:

He’s versatile. He has pitched in a larger role, can give you some innings. He can also start if you need him to. He protects you in a couple of areas. And he’s familiar with the division, having pitched for the Pirates and Cubs.

Melvin indicated that Gorzelanny is currently slotted for the bullpen. However, given the team’s lack of solid starting pitching, allowing him to compete for a rotation spot would be a smart move.

In a separate article, Haudricourt wrote that the necessity of finding diamonds in the rough for the rotation comes from Melvin’s reluctance to give free-agent starters longer contracts because of previous signings that did not work out.

McCalvy reported that the Brewers had targeted Ryan Dempster earlier in free agency, but turned to finding more economic options after he rejected their offer and reached a two-year deal with the Boston Red Sox.

The 30-year-old Gorzelanny isn’t a power pitcher, with FanGraphs.com indicating his fastball has averaged 89.7 mph for his career. However, he gets good movement from his two-seamer, and also throws a slider and changeup to keep hitters off-balance.

Starting experience in one of Gorzelanny’s best attributes. In his 111 career starts, he is 35-42 with a 4.61 ERA. The pedestrian nature of those numbers is influenced from having only played on two teams with winning records in his career.

He has also had success against some of the best players in the NL Central. Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips, Yadier Molina and Carlos Beltran have combined for just 13 hits in 67 at-bats against him,  a matchup that could come in very handy in the competitive division.

Nobody should expect Gorzelanny to be an ace, but that’s not what Milwaukee needs. If the southpaw can earn a spot and pitch effectively at the back end of their rotation, he will go a long way in shoring up the Brewers’ most glaring need.

Statistics via BaseballReference

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Although the Milwaukee Brewers have a relatively deep farm system, they lack a true impact prospect. On the other hand, most of their top talent is ready to contribute in the major leagues in either 2013 or 2014.

The organization’s prospect pool is highlighted by a slew of right-handed pitchers in Wily Peralta, Tyler Thornburg, John Hellweg and Taylor Jungmann. After the graduation of Jean Segura to the major leagues late last season, the Brewers also lack a legitimate position prospect.

They do have a couple big bats in Hunter Morris and outfielder Victor Roache, though the system is devoid of legitimate power prospects. However, two of their top-10 prospects, Scooter Gennett and Clint Coulter, have the potential for an above-average hit tool. 

Here’s a look at the Milwaukee Brewers’ top 10 prospects.

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The Milwaukee Brewers failed in 2012.

There’s no need to sugarcoat it or try to make light of a dark season.

The fact is—the Brewers underachieved.

Coming off a trip to the National League Championship Series in 2011, expectations soared even higher entering this season. Those expectations were quickly put to bed.

With injuries stacking up, as well as blown saves and losses, the Brewers shipped Zack Greinke to Los Angeles for highly touted shortstop Jean Segura. Milwaukee started winning shortly after and eventually became in contention for the second wild card spot.

They came up short and finished the season with a 83-79 record, good enough for third in the N.L. Central. Without the injuries and the lack of a solid bullpen, Milwaukee’s season might have ended on a different path.

Here are my grades of the Milwaukee Brewers offense, starting pitching and bullpen in 2012.

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There’s a certain stigma attached to Ryan Braun‘s name following last year’s PED controversy, however, that shouldn’t stop the writers from giving him a much deserved, second straight NL MVP Award.

Now before you jump to conclusions, I’m a Reds fan and have no bias favoring Braun. The fact of the matter is that Braun’s numbers are far and above every other player in the National League.

In 139 games, Braun is batting .312/.387/.602/.989 with 40 HR, 103 RBI, 95 runs, 30 doubles and 24 steals.

According to ESPN’s projections, Braun is expected to finish the year at .312/.387/.602 with 44 HR, 114 RBI, 105 runs 33 doubles and 26 steals. If by some miracle Braun steals six bases between now and the end of the season, he’ll be just the 11th player in in MLB history to reach the 40-30 mark.

Braun’s numbers truly speak for themselves. His 40 home runs give him a commanding lead in the National League, while his 95 runs, 103 RBI and .312 batting average are good for second, second and fifth respectively.

Braun’s 103 RBI are second only to Chase Headley’s mark of 104. Additionally, when MVP voting begins, Braun’s .312 batting average will likely be viewed as fourth best, considering the fact that suspended outfielder Melky Cabrera leads the National League.

Braun could easily lead two of the three Triple Crown categories by the time the season ends, which that won’t go unnoticed.

In addition to the basic slash line, RBI and home run totals, Braun’s .602 slugging percentage and .989 OPS are both NL bests.

Though it’s lower than the value he posted last year, Braun’s 6.5 WAR is just .02 behind the NL leader Andrew McCutchen. He and McCutchen are also tied for the NL lead in runs created at 126, giving them a sizable 19 run lead over Buster Posey’s 107.

Braun isn’t just an offensive juggernaut though, his 2.8 defensive WAR is good for second behind Cubs second baseman Darwin Barney. Although it doesn’t make a huge difference to writers, whose decisions are based largely around offensive performance, it is worth noting.

Perhaps what’s most impressive about Braun’s 2012 campaign is that he’s produced these numbers without the protection of Prince Fielder. Many people, including myself, wondered and/or doubted whether Braun could produce equally impressive numbers without Fielder.

Those doubts quickly were stifled in 2012.

There’s no doubt that Braun’s name and performance carries a stigma, but it’s hard to believe that if he was using this season, he wouldn’t get caught.

What’s really helping Braun’s case is his team’s performance down the late-season stretch. The Brewers have won 20 of their last 26 games and find themselves just 2.5 games out of the second NL Wild Card spot.

The Brewers being in the playoff hunt, puts the spotlight on Braun and his impressive season. However, he really deserves the award no matter how the Brewers finish in 2012.

Need your own proof? Take a look at Baseball-Reference’s listing of the National League batting leaders.

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With his next home run, Ryan Braun will become the sixth player in Milwaukee Brewers history to hit 200-plus HRs as a Brewer. The current 200-HR club for the franchise: Robin Yount (251), Prince Fielder (230), Geoff Jenkins (212), Gorman Thomas (208) and Cecil Cooper (201).

If you add in Braun’s 119 career stolen bases with the club, he will become only the second player in Brewers history to have 200 home runs and 100 stolen bases with the franchise. Yount is currently the only member of that group with his 251 home runs and 271 steals.

Could there be any other current players who might be joining Yount (and Braun) in the near future on the 200-100 list?

There are two possibilities: Corey Hart has 151 home runs and 83 stolen bases with the Brewers, and second baseman Rickie Weeks has the 100-100 tag on his resume with 126 homers and 112 steals. Longevity, staying healthy and staying with the team will determine whether or not they join Yount and eventually Braun in the Brewers 200-100 club.

The following are the franchises that have players who collected 200-plus HRs and 100-plus stolen bases with the franchise.

Baltimore Orioles: Brady Anderson

Boston Red Sox: Carl Yastrzemski

Detroit Tigers: Lou Whitaker, Al Kaline

Kansas City Royals: George Brett

Milwaukee Brewers: Robin Yount

Minnesota Twins: Kirby Puckett

New York Yankees: Bernie Williams, Babe Ruth, Alex Rodriguez, Mickey Mantle, Derek Jeter, Lou Gehrig

Oakland Athletics: Reggie Jackson, Jose Canseco

Seattle Mariners: Ken Griffey, Jr.

Atlanta Braves: Dale Murphy, Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones, Hank Aaron

Chicago Cubs: Sammy Sosa, Ryne Sandberg

Cincinnati Reds: Frank Robinson, Eric Davis

Colorado Rockies: Larry Walker, Dante Bichette

Houston Astros: Jimmy Wynn, Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell

New York Mets: David Wright, Daryl Strawberry

Philadelphia Phillies: Mike Schmidt

San Francisco Giants: Willie Mays, Barry Bonds

St. Louis Cardinals: Ray Lankford

Washington Nationals: Vladimir Guerrero, Andre Dawson

If we move the criteria to 200-plus home runs and 200-plus stolen bases, there are only 13 players in MLB history that have reached those numbers with a franchise. The members of the 200-200 club with a franchise are:

Player, Team, Home Runs/Stolen Bases

Brady Anderson, Baltimore, 209/307

George Brett, Kansas City, 317/201

Robin Yount, Milwaukee, 251/271

Derek Jeter, N.Y. Yankees, 254/348

Hank Aaron, Atlanta, 733/240

Ryne Sandberg, Chicago Cubs, 282/344

Eric Davis, Cincinnati, 203/270

Craig Biggio, Houston, 291/414

Jeff Bagwell, Houston, 449/202

Willie Mays, San Francisco, 646/336

Barry Bonds, San Francisco, 586/263

Ray Lankford, St. Louis, 228/250

Andre Dawson, Washington, 225/253

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Mat Gamel has fallen upon some bad luck this season.

A torn ACL ended his highly-coveted 2012 campaign, and the emergence of Corey Hart at first has all but assured Gamel’s departure.

Although the 27-year-old was batting a mere .246 before his injury, Gamel is still an interesting trade candidate. He has considerable power and is capable of hitting 20-25 home runs in a full season.

He can also hit for a decent average with consistent playing time. In 2011 with Triple-A Nashville, the left-handed hitter posted a .310 average. His success hasn’t translated over to the majors, but he has hardly had the chance to prove himself. He only saw action in 21 games before he tore his knee up.

I fully believe Gamel can be an All-Star in the big leagues if given the chance to play every day, and if his knee is fully healed. However, it might not be with the Crew.

The Brewers have found their future first baseman in Hart—depending on if they sign him to an extension. The brass will need to make that decision soon, as his contract is up at the end of the 2013 season.

Moving Gamel to the outfield is an option for Milwaukee, but their depth is already overwhelming. With Logan Schafer and Khris Davis making waves in the minors, there simply isn’t any room for the once-promising prospect.

After Aramis Ramirez’s contract expires, replacing him with Gamel could be a possibility. But he would almost be 30 by then, and his shoddy defense makes him more suited for first base.

Placing him on the bench and using him in spot starts and as a pinch-hitter isn’t among consideration. Gamel would be less than thrilled, and his poor attitude would affect his performance. The Brewers would trade him before making him a bench player.

Besides Gamel, Milwaukee doesn’t have much else to offer teams. He has become their greatest trade bait.

The Philadelphia Phillies may be interested in Gamel. If Ryan Howard’s demise continues, the Phillies may be forced to give up on him, despite paying him a fortune. Gamel could be the next Howard with a little less power.

In return, Milwaukee may be asking for a third base prospect, as the Brewers have none in their minor-league system.

Through almost no fault of his own, Mat Gamel’s time in Milwaukee may be over. His season-ending injury cost him his job.

Hopefully, Milwaukee can get someone promising in return for Gamel’s service.

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Michael Bourn is a prototypical leadoff hitter. If a world-class architect were to create the perfect leadoff man, Bourn would be the finished product.

The Milwaukee Brewers are in desperate need of a true leadoff hitter, and Bourn would be the perfect pick.

In January of this year, Bourn signed a one-year, $6.85 million contract with the Atlanta Braves. After the 2012 season concludes, he will be a hot commodity among free agents.

With Scott Boras as his agent, Bourn will most likely look for a five- or six-year contract. Dealing with Boras is never easy, but Milwaukee has a history with the powerful and greedy Boras—they drafted his son last year.

Besides being a tremendous leadoff hitter, Bourn is an elite center fielder with top-notch speed. He has swiped 37 bags as of August 31.

Bourn would give the Brewers even more speed on the basepaths. With Bourn joining the likes of Ryan Braun, Rickie Weeks and Carlos Gomez, catchers would forever be on their toes.

The 29-year-old is batting .285 with nine home runs and 55 driven in. His 154 base hits rank third in the National League. He is the leadoff hitter the Brewers have been dying for. Plus, he is already comfortable with the National League Central, after having played with the Houston Astros for three-and-a-half years.

Milwaukee’s leadoff hitters in 2011 have been shameful.

The “Rickie Weeks leadoff hitter experiment” has failed miserably, and Corey Hart is best suited for the middle of the order. Norichika Aoki has performed very well in the role, but he only has one more year left on his contract, and I doubt Milwaukee views him as a long-term option.

Milwaukee should open its checkbooks and do whatever it takes to sign Bourn. With Bourn, Braun and Gomez patrolling the outfield, the Brewers would have no trouble tracking down fly balls.

The chances of the speedy Bourn coming to Milwaukee are slim. As insane as it is, the Brewers still believe Weeks can command the leadoff spot and may not want to spend the dollars it’ll take to woo Bourn.

Still, the acquisition of Bourn would make the Brewers instant contenders.

Losing Prince Fielder was a big blow for Milwaukee’s offense, but inserting Bourn would relieve some of that damage.

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Back on February 23, 2012, Ryan Braun saw his 50-game suspension for testing positive for synthetic testosterone overturned.

Suddenly, he was acquitted and able to start the 2012 season on time.

The key word there is “acquitted.” An acquittal is not proof of innocence. In fact, it’s proof of nothing more than insufficient evidence to convict, nothing more.

This is a hard fact that looms over the head of Braun this season. He’s done his proclamations of innocence on numerous occasions, yet those words are falling on deaf ears.

Braun is having himself a fine season. That much is true. The problem is due to the discourse of events occurring after the conclusion of the 2011 season, his numbers are seemingly insignificant to most baseball fans outside of Milwaukee.

Sounds a lot like when Barry Bonds was chasing the home run record, does it not?

This season, Braun is tied for 11th in the National League with 128 hits. However, 32 of those hits are an NL best in home runs. His 77 runs scored are fifth in the league while his 81 RBI are tied for second with Matt Holliday, only two behind the league leader, Carlos Beltran’s 83.

In addition to his 32 dingers, Braun has added 21 doubles and two triples for a total of 55 extra-base hits.

That said, he leads the NL in isolated power (ISO) numbers as well, with a .285 average. This is a category he leads by no small margin: .19 points, which is just about double the largest gap (.10 points) through the rest of the ISO leader list.

Surprisingly, his BABIP (batting average on balls in play) has him ranked 23rd with a .323 average, especially considering his .301 AVG has him tied for 10th with David Freese.

Additionally, Braun’s .380 OBP ranks him ninth, however, his .586 SLG is third in the NL, second if you exclude a DL-stricken Joey Votto. His .966 OPS is second to only Andrew McCutchen.

Lastly, his 5.7 WAR is third among NL stars, behind David Wright’s 6.0 and McCutchen’s 6.4 respectively.

Clearly, Braun is a top-tier player in all of baseball, let alone the National League, yet writers and fans alike look at him quite differently this season.

In the course of just a few short months, he has gone from being a fan favorite to a player fans no longer trust.

Follow @THEChrisBenvie

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When the Milwaukee Brewers offered Zack Greinke to the highest bidder, they were looking for a shortstop for the future. Since J.J. Hardy and Alcides Escobar were sent away, shortstop has been a gaping hole for the Crew.

By acquiring Jean Segura, the Brewers found their man.

Before the 2012 season started, Segura was ranked as the 55th-best prospect in baseball by Baseball America and was the Angels‘ No. 2 prospect behind Mike Trout. With the Brewers, he has easily become the top prospect.

Segura, 22, has all the tools to be the next great thing to come through the Brew City. Even though Ryan Braun owns Milwaukee, Segura has a chance to become a fast fan favorite. With time and development, he will be an All-Star for years to come.

The former Angel is very skilled defensively. In 30 chances, Segura has yet to commit an error in the major leagues. Many believe he is more fitted for second base, but with Rickie Weeks manning the position for the Brewers, Segura will remain at short.

Segura is most known for his bat. He has impractical power for being as undersized as he is. He hit seven home runs for the Angels’ Double-A squad before being promoted and then traded. The Brewers aren’t looking for long balls out of him, though. They are hoping that their young phenom reaches base with abundance and unleashes his speed.

With above-average speed, Segura stole 33 bases in the minors. He was caught 13 times. Milwaukee is not know for its base-stealing, but maybe with him in the lineup, things will change.

After hitting .433 in eight games with Double-A Huntsville, the Brewers promoted Segura to the majors, waiving Cesar Izturis. His two-month audition will show the Brewers if he’s truly ready for the next step. 

During his limited time with Milwaukee, Segura has shown signs of greatness. In six games, Segura has managed a .286 average and has driven in three runs. His range at shortstop has been impeccable and even better than advertised.

Plagued by a hamstring injury in 2011, Segura still needs some time to develop. Considering that the Brewers’ playoff hopes have been flushed away, there’s no better way to develop Segura than now with the big league club.

With Segura’s rare arsenal of speed, bat strength and defensive skills, he will finally be what the Brewers need: a dominant all-star shortstop. At only 22 years old, the young man can only improve to what is already an extraordinary set of skills.

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John Axford recorded 46 saves in 2011, which began a streak of 49 in a row—second most all-time. Axford’s magical run ended this year and it has been a struggle for him to even record a save. Axford has done so poorly that he even cut off all his hair to remove the jinx on his performance.

It didn’t work.

Eventually, manager Ron Roenicke removed Axford from the closing role and replaced him with former closer Francisco Rodriguez. That move ended up being disastrous for the Brewers. Rodriguez blew two of his three save opportunities and failed to record a full inning in three straight appearances.

Because of the underwhelming performance by his late-inning men, Roenicke announced a closer-by-committee routine. Save opportunities now vary from Axford to Rodriguez, though neither of them really deserve the chance.

Axford has blown seven saves while Rodriguez has blown six. They both have ERAs above 5.00 and have a hard time finding the strike zone. In a combined 94 innings, they have issued 52 free passes.

Roenicke must determine who his closer is going forward. Using a different closer every night breaks up players’ routines and uncomfortableness sets in. Being uncomfortable while playing baseball is almost guaranteed failure. Taking away the closing role from Axford and Rodriguez has surely stung their confidence, which has contributed to their late-inning failure.

The question is, who should close for Milwaukee for the remainder of the season?

Axford and Rodriguez have had their shot. It’s time for new blood to taste the most thrilling inning in baseball. For the rest of the season, Jim Henderson should command the closing role.

After posting a 1.69 ERA in 48 innings, striking out 56, and closing out 15 games for Triple-A Nashville, Henderson was promoted to the Majors. His 10 years spent in the minors seems to have finally paid off. Although he has only pitched six innings for Milwaukee, his lights-out stuff has transferred from the minors to the bigs and it is apparent that he belongs.

In his six innings of work, Henderson has struck out eight while just allowing one earned run. His confidence is uncanny—a trait that Axford and Rodriguez have lost. 

His above-average fastball is complemented by his swooping breaking stuff. If Henderson locates his breaking pitches as he’s done so far (zero walks), success should come with it.

In all likelihood, Rodriguez will be gone after the season and Axford will be placed back in the closer role to start 2013. But for now, Henderson has been the only bright spot in Milwaukee’s subpar bullpen and deserves the nod.

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