30-year old righty swinging 2B Rickie Weeks has been pathetic with a bat in his hands so far in 2013.  He has played in 45 games for the Brewers so far this year and he is 26 for 154 (.169 avg, .547 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 3 homers, 10 RBIs and 4 stolen bases.  Weeks has already whiffed 52 times so far this year, as he has big holes in his swing so far in 2013.  Weeks has been especially awful in May so far.  He has played in 20 games so far in May for the Brewers and he is 8 for 60 (.133 avg, .440 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 1 homer and 1 RBI.  The Brewers can’t put up with this lack of production too much longer.

Righty swinging outfielder Sixto Lezcano was a solid outfielder for the Brewers, but in 1979….he was outstanding.  Lezcano won a Gold Glove in 1979 and he was 15th in the voting for the N.L. MVP Award.  Lezcano played in 138 games for the Brewers in 1979 and he was 152 of 473 (.321 avg, .987 OPS) with 84 runs scored, 28 homers, 101 RBIs and 4 stolen bases.  Lezcano also walked more times (77) than he whiffed (74) with the Brewers in 1979.  Lezcano played in 785 games in his 7 years with the Brewers and he was 749 of 2,722 (.275 avg, .805 OPS) with 360 runs scored, 102 homers, 374 RBIs and 34 stolen bases.

The Brewers have called up 31-year old righty reliever Francisco Rodriguez.  Rodriguez has looked sharp in A+AAA-ball this year, working in 4 games (0 starts) in which he is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP.  K-Rod only gave up 1 hit and 3 walks while whiffing 7 batters in his four innings in the minors.  Rodriguez has pitched in 109 games (0 starts) in his first two years with the Brewers and he is 6-7 with 3 saves, a 3.65 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP.  Rodriguez will likely be working late in games as a set-up man for the Brewers right away.

The Brewers signed 28-year old righty reliever Alfredo Figaro to a minor league deal after his stint in Japan.  He is making the most of it so far in 2013 for the Brewers.  He has pitched in 12 games (0 starts) for the Brewers so far this year and he is 0-0 with a 2.11 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP.  He has given up 22 hits and only 3 walks while whiffing 17 batters in his first 21 2/3 innings this year.  Figaro has now pitched in 25 games (4 starts) in his first three years in the majors as he is 2-4 with a 4.75 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP.  Figaro didn’t look too good with the Tigers in his first shot at the show in 2009 and 2010 for the Detroit Tigers.  The Brewers hope that Figaro keeps up the good work moving forward.

24-year old righty starting pitcher Johnny Hellweg was part of the return in the Zack Greinke trade with the Angels last July.  He came into this season as the Brewers’ #6 prospect according to Baseball America.  Hellweg has pitched in 7 games (all starts) in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 1-4 with a 4.41 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP.  He has given up 23 hits and 16 walks in his first 32 2/3 innings while whiffing 25 batters.  Hellweg has now pitched in 141 games (47 starts) in his first six years in the minors and he is 19-24 with 24 saves, a 3.67 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP.  If Hellweg tightens up his control and he starts pitching better, he could make his major league debut for the Brewers later on in 2013.

27-year old righty swinging CF Carlos Gomez is finally the full-time starting CF for the Brewers and they results have been good so far.  He has played in 31 games for the Brewers so far this year and he is 44 for 114 (.386 avg, 1.106 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 6 homers, 14 RBIs and 7 stolen bases.  Gomez is coming off the best year in his career so far in 2012.  He played in 137 games for the Brewers last year and he was 108 of 415 (.260 avg, .768 OPS) with 72 runs scored, 19 homers, 51 RBIs and 37 stolen bases.  Gomez is turning into an outstanding all-around player as he has always been a good gloveman in CF.

30-year old lefty reliever Tom Gorzelanny is off to a good start for the Brewers in 2013.  He has pitched in 17 games (0 starts) for the Brewers so far this year and he is 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP.  He has only given up 6 hits and 7 walks while whiffing 10 batters in his first 14 2/3 innings this year for the Brewers.  Gorzelanny appears to really like pitching out of the pen.  He was a starter early in his career and he was 35-42 with a 4.61 ERA and a 1.48 in 111 career starts.  Out of the pen, he has pitched in 99 games in which he is 10-3 with 2 saves, a 3.22 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP.  Gorzelanny is going to be a solid reliever for the Brewers in 2013, book it.

UPDATE:  (5/12/2013) - The Brewers have placed Tom Gorzelanny on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to May 8th due to shoulder tendinitis.  Gorzelanny has pitched in 18 games (0 starts) for the Brewers so far this year and he is 1-0 with a 2.30 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP.

The Brewers have signed 29-year old righty reliever Tim Dillard to a minor league deal.  He pitched in 34 games (0 starts) for the Brewers last year and he was 0-2 with a 4.38 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP.  Dillard has now pitched in 73 games (0 starts) in his first four years with the Brewers and he is 1-4 with a 4.70 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP.  Dillard will have to work his way back to Milwaukee by pitching well in the minors.

23-year old lefty swinging 2B Scooter Gennett is off to a good start with the bat in AAA-ball so far in 2013.  Gennett has played in 20 games in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 31 for 80 (.388 avg, .867 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 0 homers, 5 RBIs and 5 stolen bases.  Gennett has now played in 405 games in his first four years in the minors and he is 503 of 1,651 (.305 avg, .761 OPS) with 239 runs scored, 23 homers, 155 RBIs and 40 stolen bases.  Gennett came into this season as the Brewers’ #8 prospect according to Baseball America.  Gennett is blocked by Rickie Weeks at 2B in Milwaukee right now, but if anything happens to Weeks in 2013, Gennett could get his first shot at the majors this year.

John Axford got off to another terrible start in 2013, so the Brewers replaced him as the closer with 30-year old righty Jim Henderson.  So far, so good.  Henderson has pitched in 11 games (0 starts) for the Brewers so far this year and he is 2-0 with 6 saves, a 0.82 ERA and a 0.82 WHIP.  He has given up 6 hits and 3 walks while whiffing 14 batters in his first 11 innings this year.  Henderson has now pitched in 47 games (0 starts) in his first two years with the Brewers and he is 3-3 with 9 saves, a 2.81 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP.  Henderson appears to be a late bloomer for the Brewers and they hope that he keeps up the good work.