Milwaukee Brewers 2011 - 25 in 25 - Yuniesky Betancourt (3of 25)

I don't have too much to say about new Brewers shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt. Usually when I say that, I end up typing a god damn autobiography of the player and lead you through his ascension from childhood into the major leagues. Shit never goes the way I plan here at Pookon's Ill Blog, which is surprising considering that I am the sole contributor, editor in chief and owner as well as the main financial bankroll of this site. So you would think that I would have final say on what goes on here. Unfortunately my friend Ron Diaz and some unnamed fellow from San Juan have the last word when it comes to the content here. Screw em. I'm tired of those Puerto Rican bastards running my life. Cuban born shortstop Betancourt came to the Brewers in the Zack Greinke trade because we were in need of a shortstop after sending them Alcides Escobar. If Escobar were not included in the trade, and if we had another prospect in the minors to play shortstop (remember that we traded JJ Hardy in Winter 2009 giving Escobar the job) Betancourt would not be on our team. So on Opening Day 2011, he will be our shortstop by default. That doesn't mean that he doesn't deserve the job, but let's fact it, there are no better options. So until another shortstop prospect moves up in the minor league system or we resign JJ Hardy when he becomes a free agent after this season, Betancourt is the Milwaukee Brewers shortstop for the foreseeable future.

The other shortstops in the Brewers minor league system are Luis Cruz (who has a shot to make the major league team as a utility infielder), Zealous Wheeler (who has one of the coolest names in the history of baseball) who has yet to play a game above AA and the rest of the players who played shortstop last year are guys that I've never even heard of. While that certainly works out well for Betancourt who has no one in line to take his job, it really doesn't bode well for the organization as a whole and for the future. But as can be seen by the Brewers trading away the future in Escobar, Lorenzo Cain, Jeremy Jefress, Jake Ordorizzi and Brett Lawrie, the future isn't as important as the present. So for the present Yuniesky Betancourt is our shortstop. Which is why I identified resigning Craig Counsell as the #2 priority in the offseason behind improving the pitching staff.



All that I'm asking for Betancourt in 2011 is to not be terrible. For what it looks like he's an offense first shortstop and last year with the Kansas City Royals he set career highs in homeruns (16) and RBIs (78). I know that he may be a liability in the field, but as long as he produces more than he hurts the team, then I guess that I will be fine with it. But do we really have any other options? The answer is yes. And that would be veteran utility man, the 41year old Craig Counsell. Now I will talk more about Counsell later in the month, but I do believe that he will see a good amount of playing time at shortstop because his glove has always been better than his bat, whereas Betancourt seems like the exact opposite. But who knows? Betancourt may come out and surprise us by having a career year both at the plate and on the field. That's the beauty of getting players like this because I don't know shit about them. It's going to take a whole year's worth of intense observation before I can form a conclusion on Betancourt's 2011 season. But for the time being I am going to predict this:

.263 AVG, .292 OBP (which is unacceptable), 14 HRs, 78 RBIs, 136 games played, 17 errors

If Betancourt is all about the offense, then what is Casey McGehee all about - mega offense? He is not known for his glove (but then again show me a player on the Brewers who is) but he certainly is no slouch with the bat. If Ty Webb were to tell McGehee not to sell himself short because he is a tremendous slouch, I would tell Ty Webb that he's giving Casey no respect. It's awfully difficult to follow up a very good rookie season with a very impressive 2nd year. A lot of players fall victim to the sophomore slump, but in year #2 with the Brewers McGehee ended up leading the team in RBIs with 104. But will he complete the trifecta of fine seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers? I think he will, but that my friends, is a topic that will be covered tomorrow. Roll out the Barrel! We'll have a Barrel of Fun!

- pookon -

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