With the National League Central being weak again this season it would make perfect sense to bet the over. But, the Brewers always have high expectations and they always seem to fall way short of them. I would bet the under until the Brewers prove they are a good team on the field instead of just on paper.

26-year old righty swinging Corey Hart is likely to have a breakout season in 2008 for the Brewers. He played in 140 games last season for the Brewers and he was 149 for 505 (.295 avg, .892 OPS) with 86 runs scored, 24 homers, 81 RBIs and 23 stolen bases. Hart also brings a good glove to RF with him. He played in 113 games there and he only made 1 error while showing outstanding range.

28-year old lefty swinging Gabe Gross could also get some P.T. in RF this season. He played in 93 games for the Brewers last season and he was 43 for 183 (.235 avg, .766 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 7 homers and 24 RBIs. Gross played in 45 games in RF for the Brewers last season and he made 2 errors while showing above average range.

Tony Gwynn Jr. played in 10 games in RF for the Brewers last season and he didn’t make any errors while showing outstanding range there. Gabe Kapler could also get some P.T. in RF and he has an outstanding arm.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: B+

35-year old righty swinging CF Mike Cameron will get off to a slow start this season as he will miss the first 25 games of the season because of a suspension for use of a banned stimulant. He played in 151 games for the Padres last season and he was 138 for 571 (.242 avg, .759 OPS) with 88 runs scored, 21 homers, 78 RBIs and 18 stolen bases. Look for his power to return as he won’t be playing 81 games at Petco Park this season. He made 5 errors in CF last season in 150 games but he showed slightly below average range.

25-year old Tony Gwynn Jr. will likely pick up a lot of playing time while Cameron is serving his suspension. He played in 69 games for the Brewers last season and he was 32 for 123 (.260 avg, .643 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 0 homers, 10 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. He played in 27 games in CF last season and he made 1 error while showing poor range.

32-year old righty swinging Gabe Kapler did not play last season due to injury but the Brewers are banking on him being healthy in 2008. He has played in 850 games in his major league career and he is 655 for 2,425 (.270 avg, .749 OPS) with 362 runs scored, 64 homers, 302 RBIs and 68 stolen bases. He might get some P.T. in CF until Cameron is ready to return.

27-year old lefty swinging Laynce Nix will start the season in AAA ball but he could get a call from the Brewers at some point of the year. He played in 10 games for the Brewers last season and he was 0 for 12 (.000 avg). Nix also played in 99 games in AA+AAA ball last season and he was 97 for 358 (.271 avg) with 62 runs scored, 25 homers and 80 RBIs.

Gabe Gross could also get some playing time in CF for the Brewers until Cameron returns, but he might not have enough range for CF.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: B

24-year old righty swinging Ryan Braun will move to LF this season after playing horrible defense at 3B last season. Braun played in 112 games at 3B last season for the Brewers and he made 26 errors while showing awful range. The Brewers are hoping that Braun will at least be an average LF in the future on defense. Braun played in 113 games for the Brewers last season and he was 146 for 451 (.324 avg, 1.004 OPS) with 91 runs scored, 34 homers and 97 RBIs. Look for Braun to continue to blast away with the bat in 2008 as the sky is the limit for him.

Gabe Gross, Tony Gwynn Jr. and Gabe Kapler will back up Braun in LF but none of them will get much playing time there except as a possible defensive replacement late in games.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: A

Lost in the luster of the offensive numbers that rookie Ryan Braun put up last season was the fact that he was an awful defensive 3B. He made 26 errors in only 112 games at 3B and sported a incredibly awful .895 fielding % while showing pathetic range. Moving Hall to 3B and Braun to LF should make the Brewers a much better defensive team in 2008. The 28-year old righty swinging Hall started in CF for the Brewers last season and it seemed to hurt his bat. Look for him to improve his hitting now that he’s back in the infield. Hall played in 136 games last season for the Brewers and he was 115 for 452 (.254 avg, .740 OPS) with 59 runs scored, 14 homers, 63 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Look for Hall to hit better than he did last season but don’t expect numbers like he put up in 2006.

Craig Counsell will be the top backup for Hall in 2008. He played in 50 games at 3B last season and he didn’t make an error while showing outstanding range.

32-year old switch hitting Abraham Nunez was brought in as a free agent to provide some depth on the infield for the Brewers. He played in 136 games for the Phillies last season and he was 59 for 252 (.234 avg, .600 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 0 homers and 16 RBIs. He played in 113 games at 3B last season and he made 9 errors while showing outstanding range.

32-year old lefty swinging Russell Branyan was also signed as a free agent and he has big time power as he has averaged a homer every 15.4 at bats in 716 major league games, but he also whiffs an amazing once every 2.47 at bats! Branyan played in 89 games last season for the Phillies, Padres & Cardinals and he was 32 for 163 (.196 avg, .743 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 10 homers and 26 RBIs. He also whiffed an amazing 69 times last season! Branyan played solid defense last season as he only made 1 error in 34 games at 3B while showing good range.

32-year old righty swinging Joe Dillon will face an uphill battle to make the Brewers despite playing well for them last season. He played in 39 games for the Brewers last season and he was 26 for 76 (.342 avg, .890 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 0 homers and 10 RBIs. He didn’t make any errors in 3 games at 3B for the Brewers last season while showing off good range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: C-