2018 MLB SHOWDOWN SET -- MILWAUKEE BREWERS

Come now the first National League team in the 2018 set, my personal favorite -- the Milwaukee Brewers! Obviously, I have not had much to root for in my lifetime of Brewers' fandom.  There was attending Miller Park's opening game with great hope that ownership would spend money in 2000, the amazing run to their first playoff berth of my life in 2008 after trading for CC Sabathia, and there was the 2011 team.  That 2011 team was really special, winning the Brewers first NL Central crown and getting to the NLCS (only to lose to my least favorite team, those dastardly Cardinals).  Of course, who could forget the hot, hot start of the 2014 Brewers before they absolutely collapsed down the stretch? However, 2018 took the cake in providing me with excitement and joy. 96 wins, an incredible stretch run to catch the Cubs and knock the Cardinals out of the wild card race, winning the play-in game, sweeping the Rockies, and pushing the vaunted Dodgers to seven games.  So obviously, this had to be the first team I made in the 2018 set!

Also, I had to make a special Christian Yelich card in the Brewers' awesome throwback unis, so enjoy this cool alternate card before the actual team (Yelich's points are a tad high in this one, which was a prototype... think of it as a "cooler uniform tax!").

Bob and I discussed this team in depth in another installment of Bourbon over Baseball here:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/bourbon-over-baseball/id1441166669?mt=2&i=1000423630207&fbclid=IwAR1ehK5W7UQoi3657-VQOV_PaKaWXBAnETV8cbqCjOMWAnvsKiqSPsVVujk

Now onto the cards, themselves! The Brewers come in at a solid 4810 points, and their roster features some really interesting cards for any draft!

Batting Order:

The lineup was known for being hit or miss during the season, and their showdown iterations definitely reflect that reputation.  Cain and Yelich provide two On-Base 10 hitters at the top.  Cain is a prototypical lead-off guy for 340 points, making up for his lack of HR power with speed and defense.  Yelich clearly earned the MVP, putting up an epic card reminiscent of Bobby Abreu's original Showdown card... with slightly better defense and more power numbers! Absolutely deserving of being a first round pick in any draft and being your team's centerpiece.  Unfortunately, Ryan Braun did not have a great season and brings an On-Base 6 card to the three hole.  At least he's got plenty of pop.  His card is a slightly less valuable version of the six hitter, MOOOOOOSE!  Both guys should be strong against low control hitting, but will have lots of dry spells.  The better hitters are in the four and five holes.  Travis Shaw is really valuable - under 400 points while bringing a really great On-Base 8 card to the table.  He's got plenty of HR and double power, plus versatility to play 3B or 2B.  Aguilar does not have the speed or versatility, but he brings a +1 defense and is still an OB 8, HR at 16 hitter to plug into a lineup.  Pina and Arcia will contribute nothing offensively, but both are above average fielders who provide defensive value.

Now a look at the bench!

Thames and Granderson are some really useful bench players, and both should be in the starting lineup over Braun.  Thames is an amazingly dangerous on-base 6, with an incredible chart.  Considering the conscious effort we made to keep Controls in moderation in this set, I think he's a card worth drafting.  Granderson is a more traditional option - solid on-base, solid extra base pop, and solid speed for 260 points.  Schoop is awful, although he can hit the ball a ton if he gets his chart... which would be extremely rare.  Really a shame the Brewers couldn't obtain his 2017 self (an On-Base 7 who homered at 15).  Sadly, Kratz did not get enough at bats to earn a card, but he may sneak in a Pennant Run card during Spring Training.

Rotation:

Whew, looking at these guys, it becomes pretty apparent why the Brewers lackluster rotation was discussed throughout the season (and loudly during the playoffs).  Perhaps the most eye-popping stat to me -- not a single IP 6 or better in this rotation, they're really going to rely on the bullpen.  Chacin is a very solid Tier 3 at the top of the rotation, and the third most valuable Brewer overall by points! Miley is another good Tier 3, although that Control 3 is going to make people nervous.  Same goes for Gio Gonzalez, who was amazing in Milwaukee but has his card's value negatively impacted by an extremely poor showing in Washington during 2018.  Perhaps the most disappointing card was Chase Anderson.  Anderson had a sub-3 ERA in 2017, earning a Control 4, tier 2 card that season.  Now he's a Tier 4 with a HR off his chart, making him extremely dangerous.  Rounding out the starters (and probably moving to the bullpen in my simulation league) is Junior Guerra, bringing a risky Control 2 for a very rough Tier 5 starter card.  Needless to say, looking at this rotation makes me hope the Brewers make a trade for Mad Bum or Kluber this offseason (hey, a fan can dream!).  Now onto the pitchers who caught national attention with their flame-throwing this postseason -- the bullpen!

Bullpen:

The vaunted strength of this team during the postseason, the obviously eye-popping card is Josh Hader.  Hader may be the ultimate high-risk, high-reward reliever in Showdown.  The plus side is he's a tier 1 who only gives up a baserunner on his chart 5% of the time, with an incredible 1-19 out, while providing you 2 IP and a staggering 1-14 K range.  Conversely, Hader has a risky Control 3 (too low for some managers) and costs a staggering 440 points.  We discuss creating his card in depth on the podcast, but it was pretty crazy finding a way to mix Hader's incredible 0.811 WHIP with his great-but-not-staggering 2.43 ERA... in the end, this card represents him pretty well!  I play tested him against the Brewers lineup, pitching him 10 IP.  Hader gave up 6 hits and 2 walks, as well as 3 runs (thanks to a 3 run homer by Eric Thames in the 6th inning played).  Overall, he had six 1-2-3 innings, the one inning he got hammered in, two innings with a walk and hit combo, and one inning with a solid Yelich single.  So in the play test, Hader came through with a 0.800 WHIP and 2.70 ERA - pretty close to his real stats!  Anyway, I'm excited to hear people's experiences using him and how he factors into people's drafts!

As for the rest of the bullpen, Jeffress is also a stud at the classic Control 6, tier 2 card.  He's extremely draftable and a great addition to the 'pen.  Knebel and Soria are risky with their 3 controls, but provide good Tier 3 cards with large K ranges.

Alright, so that's the best Brewers team of my lifetime! I hope you enjoyed the wheat backgrounds as much as I do - I'm stoked to print them off and play with them!

BONUS CARD: Eric Thames is probably my favorite Brewer, so he also got the fun alternate treatment... enjoy!