Last year as March came to an end and April began, the Milwaukee Brewers were a team most were unsure about. Ryan Braun was known as one of the best and most humble MLB players after winning his case against the MLB and his PED use and Jean Segura was a promising rookie looking to make an impact.

Now after a year has passed and much has changed in Milwaukee, the Brewers have once again readied themselves for the grind of another season. Ryan Braun has shrugged off his haters after his suspension last year and torn up the competition in the spring, and second year players Jean Segura and Khris Davis are looking to back up promising rookie seasons.

The Milwaukee Brewers are a team hoping to turn things around this year after a disappointing 2013 campaign filled with injuries, struggles and scandals. Ryan Braun is looking to remove the PED cloud that hangs over him while the Brewers look to find a new identity. One filled with wins, positive stories and improvement.

After reading season predictions for this year, the consensus is the Brewers will finish middle of the pack and around .500 in a stacked NL Central division.

The Cardinals, Reds and Pirates are all championship contenders the Brewers will be facing numerous times throughout the season, making life very difficult.

The Pirates boast heavy hitters Starling Marte and Andrew McCutchen who are never an easy out and can wreak havoc on the base paths. Meanwhile, the Cardinals and Reds have it all. Heavy hitting, great pitching and great coaching. They seem to do all the little things right when it matters the most.

However, that doesn’t mean the Brewers can’t surprise a few people. If the starting rotation and bullpen can stay healthy, there is no reason the Brewers can’t contend in the NL Central or for a wild card spot.

To me, the main factors to the Brewers success this season are two things. First of all, the success of closer Jim Henderson and the back end of the bullpen are crucial to the team considering how many saves and late game leads were blown due to poor decision making and erratic pitching last season. The second factor is how well the big name starting pitcher Matt Garza, who was brought in this offseason to stabilize the rotation, can do in a Brewers uniform.

Garza had his struggles throughout the spring, but his last few starts with the team and his one start with the minor league squad to end the spring were promising. He also told reporters he was extremely happy with where his progress was and he was ready for opening day.

On the other hand, closer Jim Henderson has had a solid spring after finishing out the end of the 2013 season very well. He shows promise to me because of how well he has shown he can throw despite his up and down season last year.  Henderson has been around for a long time through the minors and now the big leagues and gives the Brewers that veteran presence in a bullpen filled with young arms. If he can be that dominating shut the door force, the ceiling for the Brewers is high.

The Brewers are a team filled with question marks and two positional platoons going into the season making me feel extremely uneasy. However, if the Braun we used to know shows up this year at the plate, then fans should have no worries.