Milwaukee called up RHP Chris Saenz for a spot start when LHP Chris Capuano hit the disabled list last week. The Brewers drafted Saenz out of community college with a 28th round pick in the 2001 draft. He spent the remainder of that season at Ogden in the Rookie-level Pioneer league, and then advanced to A Beloit in the Midwest League in 2002. With the exception of one appearance at AA Huntsville in the Southern League, Saenz pitched solely for High Desert in the A+ California League in 2003. The 22-year-old's control could use a little work, but he dominated the competition at A+ and was performing well at AA Huntsville this season when he received the call.

After playing a 15-inning game on Thursday night, Milwaukee wanted to call up a pitcher who would be able to help out in the bullpen if needed on Friday night and who if not needed would be able to start on Saturday. The Brewers had a couple of alternatives to Saenz at AAA but the most attractive options were unavailable after recently making starts for Indianapolis. Saenz was not needed on Friday night, so he made his major league debut as the Brewers' starter against St. Louis on April 24th. He struck out 2B-R Bo Hart, the first batter he faced, with three pitches. The 22-year-old then went on to compile a 7:3 K:BB with 2 H allowed for a 0.00 ERA over 6 innings. OF-L Ray Lankford acquired the first hit off Saenz with a single in the first, while OF-L Jim Edmonds took the first base on balls off the rookie. With the support of the offense and the bullpen, Saenz recorded the win.

Despite that impressive performance, Milwaukee chose to return Saenz to AA Huntsville the next day. Due to several off-days in their schedule over the next couple of weeks, the Brewers shouldn't need a fifth starter before Capuano is able to return from the disabled list. I generally don't like jerking around prospects in this manner, and after his strong outing, leaving Saenz in the majors would be tempting. However, returning to the minors should be more beneficial to his development. I think Saenz should remain at AA through the All-Star Break in order to insure that he's established his control at that level before he moves up to AAA. Provided he continues to pitch well at AAA, RHP Ben Hendrickson should join the Brewers rotation if Milwaukee needs a replacement starter for an extended period. Saenz appears in line for a September call-up with the possibility of a place in the Brewers' rotation out of spring training in 2005, but AA and AAA offer substantial challenges that may slow that pace before then.

Milwaukee replaced Saenz on the roster with RHP Victor Santos to give the team another long man in the bullpen in addition to RHP Adrian Hernandez. The Brewers chose to rest Hernandez for a few days, since he pitched five innings during their April 22nd game and was hit in the knee by a UT-R Donnie Sadler line drive, but he's not reporting any lasting problems with the injury, and he should be available the next time he's needed. Santos made progress with his homer rate at AAA Oklahoma in the Pacific Coast League last season and has pitched effectively at AAA Indianapolis so far this year. However, the 27-year-old has a history of control problems at the major league level, so I don't expect the Brewers to lean heavily on him during this stint in the big leagues or to keep him on the roster after Capuano returns.

Capuano strained the quadriceps muscle in his left leg during his April 18th start while running to first after hitting a ground ball to third in the third inning, causing him to leave the game. The strain isn't considered severe and the Brewers were thinking about having Capuano try to make his start on Saturday before the long game on the 22nd wore out their bullpen. Milwaukee instead opted to call up a fresh pitcher, giving Capuano a little more time to make sure he recovers fully. The 25-year-old has already comfortably thrown a bullpen session, so he's on track to be ready to come off the DL when he's eligible on May 4th. The Brewers have him scheduled to start May 6th, presuming he doesn't encounter any trouble in his one rehab start before then.

OF-L Scott Podsednik is well on his way to improving upon his impressive rookie year. Podsednik is hitting .298 with a .385 OBP and .512 SLG on 25 H, 5 2B, 2 3B, and 3 HR with an 11:13 BB:K and 12/12 SB% in 84 AB. Both his walk and contact rates have improved marginally, and if the Brewers continue to give the 28-year-old the green light and he avoids injury, he could steal 80 bases.

Meanwhile, RHP Ben Sheets looks like he may make Milwaukee seriously regret not locking him into a multi-year deal over the off-season. Sheets has compiled a 27:3 K:BB with 25 H and 3 HR allowed in 28 IP for a 3.21 ERA over his five starts this season.