27-year old righty swinging Rickie Weeks was finally starting to live up to his potential last season before a injury cut it short. The Brewers hope that last season was a glimpse of what Weeks is going to do for them in 2010. Weeks played in 37 games for the Brewers last season and he was 40 for 147 (.272 avg, .857 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 9 homers, 24 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Weeks made 6 errors in 27 games at 2B last season and that is way too many while showing average range. The Brewers have been waiting for Weeks for a long time so they need him to pay them back for the patience they have showed in him in 2010.

39-year old lefty swinging Craig Counsell had one of his best seasons of his career in 2009 and that is why the Brewers decided to bring him back for 2010. Counsell played in 130 games for the Brewers last season and he was 115 for 404 (.285 avg, .765 OPS) with 61 runs scored, 4 homers, 39 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Counsell played in 50 games without making an error at 2B last season while showing outstanding range. He is also more than capable at either SS or 3B.

31-year old lefty swinging Joe Inglett was a late addition to the Brewers this winter. He played in 36 games for the Blue Jays last season and he was 25 for 89 (.281 avg, .695 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 6 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Inglett played in 3 error-free games at 2B last season while showing above average range. Inglett can play all over the field and he is a pesky hitter so he will have a good chance of making the Brewers this spring as a bench player.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2B IN 2010: C

The Brewers have designated 26-year old righty reliever Tim Dillard for assignment to make room on the roster for Marco Estrada. Dillard pitched in 2 games (0 starts) for the Brewers last season and he was 0-1 with a 12.46 ERA and a 2.77 WHIP. He has now pitched in 15 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 0-1 with a 6.27 ERA and a 1.88 WHIP.

The Brewers have claimed 26-year old righty starter/reliever Marco Estrada off waivers from the Nationals. He pitched in 4 games (1 start) for the Nationals last season and he was 0-1 with a 6.14 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. Estrada also pitched in 27 games (25 starts) in AAA-ball last season and he was 9-5 with a 3.63 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. He has now pitched in 15 games (1 start) in his major league career and he is 0-1 with a 7.20 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. Estrada has some talent so it is worth it for the Brewers to take a chance on him.

Lefty starting pitcher Mike Caldwell was a solid pitcher in his time with the Brewers. He pitched 8 seasons with the Brewers and he appeared in 239 games (217 starts) in which he was 102-80 with 2 saves, a 3.74 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. His best season with the Brewers was 1978 when he finished 2nd in the voting for the Cy Young Award. Caldwell pitched in 37 games (34 starts) with the Brewers in 1978 and he was 22-9 with 1 save, a 2.36 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. Caldwell is the Brewers’ all-time leader in complete games with 81. He is also #4 all-time in Brewers’ history in games started (217), #2 in wins (102), #7 in ERA (3.74), #2 in shutouts (18), #2 in innings pitched (1,604 2/3) and he is #10 in strikeouts (540). Caldwell wasn’t a flamethrower but he got the job done for the Brewers and that’s the bottom line.

Sure, 25-year old lefty swinging 1B Prince Fielder could afford to lose a few pounds but the extra weight he has really has never hurt him in his career. He played in all 162 games for the Brewers last season and he was 177 for 591 (.299 avg, 1.014 OPS) with 103 runs scored, 46 homers and 141 RBIs. In his first four full seasons in the majors, Fielder has averaged 95.0 runs scored, 39.5 homers and 110.8 RBIs per year. There is no reason to think that Fielder will slow down any time soon. He made 7 errors in 162 games for the Brewers at 1B and that’s not too bad.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 1B IN 2010: A+