Milwaukee.Brewers.MLB.com

Only two openings remain in the rotation as Matt Kinney may have secured a spot. (Scott Paulus/Brewers)

On the team's weekly radio show, Brewers general manager Doug Melvin told broadcaster Jim Powell that Ben Sheets, Doug Davis and Matt Kinney are the team's "top three guys at this point."

"That's how we see them," Melvin said.

It was the first time Kinney's name was mentioned in the group of pitchers who had locked up starting spots. Sheets is slated to start Opening Day and Davis has surrendered only two runs all spring, including one of the Mariners' in a 4-1 Brewers win at Maryvale Baseball Park on Saturday.

"They line it up a certain way and you can look at it and make some assumptions," Kinney said. "But you never know what it's going to change."

Left-handers Chris Capuano and Wayne Franklin and right-handers Wes Obermueller, Adrian Hernandez and Ben Ford also remain officially in the mix with just over a week left in Spring Training.

Kinney's cause is aided by the fact that he is out of minor league options, while Franklin, Obermueller and the others could be sent to Triple-A. Kinney and Franklin are each coming off their first full big league seasons.

Manager Ned Yost has not told any of his pitchers -- including Sheets and Davis -- where they stand, preferring to let the competition play itself out. Kinney said he is taking nothing for granted.

"Even if I make it, during the season you can never get comfortable," he said. "You can't sit back and relax, ever. You always have to have an edge or you're not going to do very well."