Pittsburgh Pirates NL Central Rivals: Milwaukee Brewers

Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports /
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Pittsburgh Pirates former Outfielder Broxton
Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /

Much like the Cincinnati Reds, the Brewers have a longtime outfielder who they’re hoping will still be productive when they come out the other side of the current rebuild. For the Brewers that would be left fielder Ryan Braun. Last season, the polarizing slugger had his best season since finishing second in MVP voting in 2012, slashing .305/.365/.538 with 30 Home Runs. Despite being well into his 30’s now, it is unlikely that Braun will see a sudden massive drop-off in production this season. Because of this, he is likely to torture Pirate pitching again this season.

Joining him in the Outfield will be former Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Keon Broxton and Domingo Santana. Both players are similar in that they are young, streaky, strike out a lot (36.1% and 32.4% in 2016 respectively), and could be due for breakout seasons in 2017. Because of this, the Brewers may have the potential to have an even better outfield than the Pirates in 2017. Broxton was acquired in the 2015-2016 offseason along with former second-round pick Trey Supak.  Coming back to the Pittsburgh Pirates was first baseman, Jason Rogers.  So far Broxton has seen more time for the Brewers than Rogers has for the Pirates. Meanwhile, Santana was a key piece in the deal that sent Carlos Gomez to the Houston Astros at the 2015 trade deadline.