[BirdWatcher]

The biggest downfall for the Brewers in the 1966 season was the bullpen. They finished last in the MGL in bullpen ERA and gave away a great many potential wins. One bright spot was the emergence of young flame-thrower Armando Cruz. And towards the end of the season the Brewers got some decent appearances from two relievers picked up in mid-season trades: Billy Tanner and Josh McEwen. But Bill Roache, who was nothing short of spectacular in 1965, took a huge step backwards in the 1966 season. And Ben Malzone, who seems to have at least decent middle-relief potential, still has not shown the ability to get hitters out at the major league level.

On the other hand, this is probably the area where the Brewers have the most minor league prospects with big impact potential. We will focus on that a bit more in the next post.
But for now, let's look at the more short-term future and some of the pitchers who will be in the 1967 pen who might still be relevant 3-5 years from now. The reality is that the pen is very young. Cruz is only 21, Tanner still just 20, McEwen 22, Malzone also 22 and might spend most of 1967 at AAA perfecting his craft, and Roach the old man at 24. And that's not even mentioning the two quality relievers picked up in the offseason, nearly 27 year old Miguel Solis, and 31 year old David Brown. Solis and Brown should really help to stabilize the pen this coming season and Solis, in particular, might still be an important member of the pen 3-5 years down the line. So, with only one player over 30 in the mix, and with some very talented young pitchers not yet playing up to their potential, the Brewers bullpen could be much more competitive in 1967 and beyond. And that isn't even factoring in yet the handful of good to great potential guys in the minors.