What does Gennett's demotion mean for future?
This could have been the year of Scooter.
After splitting time with Rickie Weeks last year, Brewers second baseman Scooter Gennett was given the chance to take over the full-time job. With a solid season, Gennett could have established himself as the team's second baseman of the future, or at least the next few years. Instead, he's squandered that opportunity through the first quarter of the season.
Gennett has batted just .154/.203/.200 over 21 games with 10 singles, one home run and three RBIs. He also walked twice — both intentional passes on April 17 as the Pirates pitched around him to face the pitcher — and was hit by a pitch, while striking out 19 times. Nineteen strikeouts in 69 plate appearances put his strikeout rate at 27.5 percent, or higher than his on-base percentage. Missing two weeks with a freak hand injury didn't do him any favors, either.
So now the fan-favorite second baseman has been sent to Class AAA to figure things out. How long will that take?
When the Brewers made a similar move with Weeks in 2007, he batted .455/.571/.682 over six games before returning. Weeks went from a .212/.330/.363 slash line through July 31 to a .273/.442/.553 mark over his final 43 games of the season. Whether Gennett's demotion has a similar impact remains to be seen, but the bigger question is whether it even matters.
Gennett entered the season as a career .300 hitter, but offered little more beyond his solid batting average. He can't hit left-handed pitching — .112/.141/.124 career slash line in 89 at-bats — and appears to be best suited for a platoon role going forward. His defense, while adequate, is not good enough to make up for any offensive shortcomings.
It's possible Gennett could return in June or even by the end of the month and look more like the hitter he was in 2013 and '14. It's also possible this demotion is the beginning of the end for Gennett as the Brewers' everyday second baseman.
While second base is not a strong position in Milwaukee's farm system, the club has a number of well-regarded shortstop prospects, with Orlando Arcia, Luis Sardinas and Yadiel Rivera being the closest to major-league ready. If one of them is given a chance to play every day this year or next, it could force Jean Segura over to second base and leave Gennett as the odd man out. Sardinas, who was acquired in the Yovani Gallardo trade with the Texas Rangers, joined the big league club when Segura went out with an injury and has an excellent opportunity to showcase his ability in Segura's absence.
Meanwhile, Hector Gomez and Elian Herrera will get a chance to show what they can do at second base.
If he sorts things out in Colorado Springs, the second base job remains Gennett's to lose. But he might do just that if it doesn't translate to major-league success upon his return.
Playoffs
No longer owners of baseball's worst record, the Brewers entered Wednesday with a 1.4 percent chance of making the playoffs and 72 projected wins, according to Fangraphs. In their season-to-date stats model, the Brewers' chances improved to 3.1 percent odds, but their projected win total dropped to 66.
Baseball Prospectus put Milwaukee's chances at 3.7 percent, with 75 projected wins.
Stat of the week
3: Consecutive home runs for Ryan Braun, Adam Lind and Aramis Ramirez in Tuesday's game. It's the first time since Comerica Park opened in 2000 that opposing batters hit back-to-back-to-back home runs.
Power rankings
After an up-and-down week, the Brewers dropped back to 30th in the USA TODAY Sports rankings, while climbing to 28th on ESPN's list.
They said it
• Brewers manager Craig Counsell on Braun, Lind and Ramirez hitting 3 straight home runs: "I liked that. Yeah, that's fun to see. Just a classic (Braun) swing, the ball just backspinning to the opposite field and good swings by (Lind) and (Ramirez)."
• Center fielder Carlos Gomez on being beaned by a 96 mph fastball Sunday: "I put my head right in that position to have the ball hit my helmet."
• Right-hander Matt Garza on giving up 10 runs Saturday to the Mets: "It's a head-scratcher, but you just keep going, It's a weird game. The ball bounces one way and another way on another night. You just flush it and go."
— Quotes via Associated Press
Top tweets
Squared up
What's Brewing
• The Brewers have used 40 batting orders in 41 games, with the only duplicates coming in their second and third games of the season.
• Two Brewers minor leaguers made Baseball America's list of 10 early-season breakout prospects.
• Jonathan Lucroy sat down with Esquire for an interview about "tough jobs," like being a major league catcher.
— jschelling@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @jordanschelling.