The Brewers have six pitchers that have closing experience in their bullpen so they should be pretty well set there in 2008. 32-year old righty Eric Gagne was signed to a 1-year contract in the off-season to take over as the Brewers’ closer. He pitched in 54 games (0 starts) last season for the Red Sox & Rangers and he was 4-2 with 16 saves, a 3.81 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. He also whiffed 54 batters in 54 innings so his stuff still appears to be good enough to get the job done.

31-year old righty David Riske will likely be the top set-up man for the Brewers this year. He pitched in 65 games (0 starts) for the Royals last season and he was 1-4 with 4 saves, a 2.45 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. Riske is a strike thrower and that’s important when you are pitching late in games so he should be effective again in 2008.

30-year old righty flamethrower Derrick Turnbow is back for the 2008 season. He pitched in 77 games (0 starts) for the Brewers last season and he was 4-5 with 1 save, a 4.63 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. Turnbow whiffed 84 batters and walked 46 in only 68 innings last season which shows that he has a great arm but doesn’t have a clue as to where the ball is going.

36-year old righty Salomon Torres was the Pirates’ closer at the start of last season but he lost the job. He pitched in 56 games (0 starts) for the Pirates last season and he was 2-4 with 12 saves, a 5.47 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. He should pitch better this season in his old set up role.

39-year old lefty Brian Shouse is good at his job which is getting out 1 tough lefty batter at a time. He pitched in 73 games (0 starts) for the Brewers last season and he was 1-1 with 1 save, a 3.02 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP.

34-year old righty Guillermo Mota was brought in from the Mets in the off season. He pitched in 52 games (0 starts) for the Mets last season and he was 2-2 with a 5.76 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. The Brewers hope that Mota reponds to less pressure in Milwaukee as he still has good stuff.

27-year old righty Seth McClung also has excellent stuff but he will have to throw strikes to succeed in the majors. He pitched in 14 games (0 starts) for the Brewers last season and he was 0-1 with a 3.75 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. He also pitched in 45 games (3 starts) in AAA last season and he was 3-5 with 5 saves, a 1.85 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. McClung whiffed 93 batters and walked 48 in only 77.2 innings in the minors last year.

32-year old lefty Randy Choate will begin the season on the D.L. for the Brewers. He pitched in 2 games for the Diamondbacks last season and he allowed 3 hits while not getting anyone out. He also pitched in 54 games in AAA ball last season and he was 3-1 with 3 saves, a 3.02 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: B-

The Brewers have a talented and mostly young starting rotation for the 2008 season. 29-year old righty Ben Sheets has the best stuff on the staff but he has had problems with injuries and lack of run support in the past. He started 24 games for the Brewers last season and he was 12-5 with a 3.82 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. Sheets has now started 190 games in his major league career and he is 73-74 with a 3.83 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP.

33-year old righty Jeff Suppan will lend a veteran hand to the starting rotation in 2008. He started 34 games for the Brewers last season and he was 12-12 with a 4.62 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. Expect the same kind of numbers in 2008 as he is a very consistent pitcher.

The Brewers keep waiting for 28-year old righty Dave Bush to live up to his potential but it hasn’t happened yet. Bush pitched in 33 games (31 starts) for the Brewers last season and he was 12-10 with a 5.12 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. He must keep the ball down and throw strikes or he will likely have another long season.

24-year old righty Carlos Villanueva will be the #4 starter for the Brewers when the season begins. He pitched in 59 games (6 starts) for the Brewers last season and he was 8-5 with a 3.94 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. Villanueva is one of the brighter young pitchers for the Brewers and he should have a solid 2008 season.

25-year old lefty Manny Parra will be in the starting rotation at the start of the season but he will have to pitch well to keep the spot when Yovani Gallardo returns from the D.L. Parra pitched in 9 games (2 starts) for the Brewers last season and he was 0-1 with a 3.76 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. He also started 14 games in AA+AAA ball last season and he was 10-4 with a 2.45 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. He whiffed 106 batters in 106.2 innings in the minors last season. He could bump Dave Bush from the rotation this season if he out pitches him.

22-year old righty Yovani Gallardo is the brightest prospect the Brewers have on the mound. He will kick someone out of the rotation in a couple of weeks when he returns from the D.L. He pitched in 20 games (17 starts) for the Brewers last season and he was 9-5 with a 3.67 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. Look for him to eventually be the #2 starter on the Brewers behind Ben Sheets.

24-year old lefty Zach Jackson pitched in 29 games (28 starts) in AAA last season and he was 11-10 with a 4.46 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. He has pitched in 8 games (7 starts) in his major league career and he is 2-2 with a 5.40 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: B

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