It is an understatement to say the 2013 Major League Baseball championship season has not gone as expected for those in and around the Milwaukee Brewers organization. The team has been in – or near – the cellar of the National League Central all season. Injuries have piled up at an incredible rate. Veterans did not perform up to their standards early.

Fan favorite and former National League Most Valuable Player Ryan Braun has battled a variety of aches and pains all season and has not played since early June. Fellow All-Star Corey Hart continues to have setbacks in his recovery from knee surgery. Aramis Ramirez can’t play every day as he nurses a gimpy knee.

The starting rotation has been held together with duct tape.

Now, as July nears, general manager Doug Melvin is asked about trading away some of his talent, rather than acquiring any.

For all of the struggles however, there are plenty of reasons to watch this team. Here five of them.

1. Jean Segura
It seems like this guy has been around forever already, no? Yet heading into tonight’s game against Chicago, the shortstop has appeared in just 118 major league games. The crown jewel of the Zack Greinke trade, Segura should be an All-Star this season as he leads the league in hits (100) and triples (8) and continues to rake at an unbelievable rate, hitting .334. He’s also proving to be an above-average defender, capable of the spectacular stop and throw. Yes, there are the inevitable mistakes a 23-year-old will make, but even those have been memorable so far. How many players can say they stole first base?

2, Rickie Weeks
No one would have been saying this at the start of May, but as manager Ron Roenicke said all season – Weeks was going to hit. The problem for the Brewers was the former All-Star was not hitting when they needed his bat the most. But, now, Weeks looks like a world-beater.

Since May 22 (17 games), Weeks is hitting .373 with an OPS of 1.119. He has 10 extra base hits and nine RBI in that span, too. That’s impressive. What’s more impressive is that since the calendar flipped to June, the 30-year-old is mashing at a .429/.500/.800 clip with an astronomical 1.381 OPS.

Weeks has always been fun to watch – and right now he’s on one of the hottest streaks of his career.

3. John Axford
On paper, it still seems like the "Ax Man" is having a bad season, as far as relievers go, with a 4.22 earned run average, just 9.8 strikeouts per nine innings (his career average is 11.2) and exactly zero saves. Yet, April 1st, 3rd, 7th and 9th and May 1st seem like a lifetime ago.

Those are the four worst outings of Axford’s season, a collection of four games in which he gave up 12 earned runs in just four innings. But get this: In his other 31 appearances covering 28 innings, Axford has allowed just three earned runs – good for a sparkling 0.96 ERA.

In fact, he’s on a 17 1/3 innings scoreless streak dating back to May 15 against Pittsburgh.

Even though it’s frustrating for him he’s not piling up saves in these appearances, the magic has been back for Ax for some time now.

4. Yovani Gallardo and Kyle Lohse
These were the two top-of-the-rotation veterans expected to lead this team into wildcard contention and set the tone for the bevy of inexperienced guys behind them, but Gallardo struggled mightily both on and off the field the first two months of the season. Lohse was excellent, but didn’t get any run support, before he was hit with the injury bug and tweaked his elbow.

But, since June 1, the duo have been spectacular and their starts have to be circled on the schedule right now.

In four starts this month, Gallardo has allowed five earned runs and 18 hits over 27 innings, posting a stellar 1.67 ERA while allowing a measly .191 opponent’s batting average. Lohse has made five starts, allowing nine earned runs over 33 innings for a 2.45 ERA. And, what’s more, the Brewers are 6-3 when those two take the hill this month, so the wins are finally coming along.

5. The young guys
The previous four reasons on this list indicate a team that should be better than it is, but this reason proves that you are what you are. The Brewers enter tonight’s game 15 games behind the first place St. Louis Cardinals, 12 games behind Cincinnati for the second wild card spot and 11 games under .500. That, plus all the injuries, means you’re going to see young players come up from the farm system to get extended looks.

Second baseman Scooter Gennett (23 years old) was called up at the beginning of the month when it wasn’t clear that Weeks had really turned things around at the plate. Jeff Bianchi (26) was re-instated off the disabled list to get some time spelling Ramirez and Weeks. 24-year-old Caleb Gindl has made his major league debut, as have 25-year-olds Josh Prince and Khris Davis.

On the pitching side, Wily Peralta (24) continues to take the ball while Tyler Thornburg (24), Hiram Burgos (25) and Donovan Hand (27) have all gotten looks in the bullpen or starting rotation.

Now, 24-year-old Johnny Hellweg will join the club after posting a 2.82 ERA over 14 starts in Class AAA Nashville.

It’s perfectly reasonable to be frustrated with this team, but aside from a horrific May in which it went 6-22, the Brewers have played winning baseball, going 26-21 in April and June. It may not feel like, but there are definitely reasons to tune in or head to the ballpark.