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To sum up:
It appears that in the next 3-5 years the starting pitching staff could be adequate but that the team should continue to work hard to find prospects in this area and might need to dip into the Free Agent pool eventually to get a true #1.
The bullpen appears to be trending in the right direction and the organization has a good number of relievers with major league potential. This area, which has recently been a great weakness, should soon become an area of strength.
As far as the infield, in the next 3-5 years it could be quite strong, particularly defensively. Yurek and Brown are well above average up the middle (with Bravo providing even greater defense in a back-up role), should Erbakan take over at firstbase he profiles as a tremendous defender and any one of the trio of Ledbetter, Uribe, or Careaga would provide above average to excellent defense at third. Offensively, Erbakan could be a star, Yurek should provide solid offense with a great eye at the plate and a decent amount of power for a speedy secondbaseman. Brown should be average to above average at the plate, though his OBP will never be great. If Careaga steps up to be a solid major leaguer we should get decent offensive production from that position as well. The longer Ledbetter or especially Uribe holds down that position the more it will be an offensive weakness.
In the outfield, Puente should remain our best player, being strong both at the plate and in the field. Centerfield should see great defensive play but whether we get the needed offensive production out of any of the candidates for that position remains questionable. If Ruben Souffront lives up to his potential, rightfield should be fine. If not, well, things could get a bit dicey and this might be an area where the team will have to focus on an upgrade.
Overall- pitching could be a relative strength going forward, especially the pen. Fielding should be a great strength, both in the infield and outfield. Speed will continue to a big part of the Brewers offense. (Hopefully with more of our young players getting major league experience our stolen bases will outnumber our times caught stealing by a larger amount.) Power, beyond Puente, might continue to be a weakness. Tom O'Donnell (who I just realized I forgot to mention earlier) as a fourth outfielder shows signs of providing some decent power off the bench. Erbakan could develop above average power. Careaga also shows some sign of being able to hit a fair number of HR's. Yurek can be counted on for 15-20 a season. And if Dave Manning ends up in rightfield he could provide some decent power as well. But that's a lot of if's. Puente is pretty much the only sure power source as it stands. And that could be a problem.
On the whole, looking forward, I feel pretty confident that this club will/should contend in the future. I don't see a championship club there yet. But one step at a time.
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