10 organization players invited to 2020 camp as non-roster players

[djoctagone]

10 players on minor league contracts with the brewers have been invited to big league camp.

 

3b lucas erceg

c mario feliciano

c payton henry

lhp clayton andrews

rhp zack brown

rhp thomas jankins

rhp drew rasmussen

rhp miguel sanchez

lhp ethan small

rhp aaron wilkerson

 

if added to the 26-man roster, all have three minor league options, except for wilkerson, who has one minor league option remaining.

 

this brings the total of non-roster invitees to 20.

 

i need to check on the last time the club had so many non-roster invitees in camp.

[djoctagone]

tried in vain to find an old thread on high numbers of non-roster invitees. i know that its title was something like "we're taking this thing national(s) . . . or a record number of non-roster invitees?"

 

i compared the brewers to the nationals, who always seem to have 25+ non-roster invitees in camp.

[clancyphile]

10 players on minor league contracts with the brewers have been invited to big league camp.

 

3b lucas erceg

c mario feliciano

c payton henry

lhp clayton andrews

rhp zack brown

rhp thomas jankins

rhp drew rasmussen

rhp miguel sanchez

lhp ethan small

rhp aaron wilkerson

 

if added to the 26-man roster, all have three minor league options, except for wilkerson, who has one minor league option remaining.

 

this brings the total of non-roster invitees to 20.

 

i need to check on the last time the club had so many non-roster invitees in camp.

 

Rasmussen and Andrews... interesting indeed. Both guys who could really end up in Milwaukee this year in the bullpen. Feliciano and Henry... also interesting. Erceg... maybe he does a Trent Grisham, but I have Hummel and Wilson ahead of him as home-grown players who help the MLB roster.

[brooks_quichenick]

Most interesting name on that list to me is Ethan Small. Pretty cool to see our 1st round LHP from last year getting some big league camp experience before his first full season of pro ball.

[JohnBriggs12]

Most interesting name on that list to me is Ethan Small. Pretty cool to see our 1st round LHP from last year getting some big league camp experience before his first full season of pro ball.

 

I'd say chances are decent that Small makes his major league debut in 2020 and why not? He was the best pitcher in arguably the best college conference in 2019, and thoroughly dominated in his first 20 innings of pro ball and he turns 23 this month. He should start the year no lower than High A and quite possibly in AA.

[MNBrew]

Most interesting name on that list to me is Ethan Small. Pretty cool to see our 1st round LHP from last year getting some big league camp experience before his first full season of pro ball.

 

I'd say chances are decent that Small makes his major league debut in 2020 and why not? He was the best pitcher in arguably the best college conference in 2019, and thoroughly dominated in his first 20 innings of pro ball and he turns 23 this month. He should start the year no lower than High A and quite possibly in AA.

Actually it's been pretty normal that the Brewers have invited the previous summer's 1st round pick to ST as a non-roster guy. The idea is for the player to gain some exposure to big-league ST and for the coaches to see them in action. When they've done this, usually that guy is in the first batch of guys sent to minor-league camp.

 

I couldn't dig back and justify it research-wise, but every spring I track who's in ST, who's cut, who's eventually added, etc., and I know I've written the prior year's top pick's name on multiple occasions -- and crossed them off usually with the first batch of cuts.

[MNBrew]

10 players on minor league contracts with the brewers have been invited to big league camp.

 

3b lucas erceg

c mario feliciano

c payton henry

lhp clayton andrews

rhp zack brown

rhp thomas jankins

rhp drew rasmussen

rhp miguel sanchez

lhp ethan small

rhp aaron wilkerson

 

if added to the 26-man roster, all have three minor league options, except for wilkerson, who has one minor league option remaining.

 

this brings the total of non-roster invitees to 20.

 

i need to check on the last time the club had so many non-roster invitees in camp.

I noticed that the full list of 20 on the Brewers' website does not yet include Shelby Miller. His deal must not be official yet. When it is, he'll be NRI #21.

[TJseven7]

https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/MIL/2019-spring-training.shtml

 

No Lutz? He was NRI last year.

 

Also a bit confusing why Barker isn't a NRI. He was good last year in ST, good during the season makes sense to give him a chance to show something this spring. I also don't know why Wilkerson is there instead of Supak. They'll never use Wilkerson as a starter and he absolutely can not be a reliever. I don't see why he's still here honestly.

[djoctagone]

I noticed that the full list of 20 on the Brewers' website does not yet include Shelby Miller. His deal must not be official yet. When it is, he'll be NRI #21.

check again, as the current list is 19 players. while shelby miller is not listed on brewers.com, his deal was officially announced by the club.

 

there are 20 non-roster invitees thus far.

[DHonks]

10 players on minor league contracts with the brewers have been invited to big league camp.

 

3b lucas erceg

c mario feliciano

c payton henry

lhp clayton andrews

rhp zack brown

rhp thomas jankins

rhp drew rasmussen

rhp miguel sanchez

lhp ethan small

rhp aaron wilkerson

 

if added to the 26-man roster, all have three minor league options, except for wilkerson, who has one minor league option remaining.

 

this brings the total of non-roster invitees to 20.

 

i need to check on the last time the club had so many non-roster invitees in camp.

 

Rasmussen and Andrews... interesting indeed. Both guys who could really end up in Milwaukee this year in the bullpen. Feliciano and Henry... also interesting. Erceg... maybe he does a Trent Grisham, but I have Hummel and Wilson ahead of him as home-grown players who help the MLB roster.

 

Every year the brewers invite a bunch of minor league catchers to camp. This is nothing new

[Oxy]

Is an "invitation" to big league camp actually meaningful or merely administrative? Do guys have to be officially invited before they can appear in big league spring training games? Is there a difference in use of facilities? Better perks and higher per diem pay?

[CheeseheadInQC]

https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/MIL/2019-spring-training.shtml

 

No Lutz? He was NRI last year.

 

Also a bit confusing why Barker isn't a NRI. He was good last year in ST, good during the season makes sense to give him a chance to show something this spring. I also don't know why Wilkerson is there instead of Supak. They'll never use Wilkerson as a starter and he absolutely can not be a reliever. I don't see why he's still here honestly.

 

Supak doesn’t need an NRI because he is on the 40-man. Barker has to be the biggest surprise to me. It seems weird to invite 90% of the likely AAA roster and not Barker.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/MIL/2019-spring-training.shtml

 

No Lutz? He was NRI last year.

 

Also a bit confusing why Barker isn't a NRI. He was good last year in ST, good during the season makes sense to give him a chance to show something this spring. I also don't know why Wilkerson is there instead of Supak. They'll never use Wilkerson as a starter and he absolutely can not be a reliever. I don't see why he's still here honestly.

 

Supak doesn’t need an NRI because he is on the 40-man. Barker has to be the biggest surprise to me. It seems weird to invite 90% of the likely AAA roster and not Barker.

 

Perhaps Barker is the new version of Nate Griep .... i.e., the pitcher who puts up great numbers in the upper minors, but the front office determines would get lit up like a Christmas tree if he had to face an actual MLB lineup?

[djoctagone]

Is an "invitation" to big league camp actually meaningful or merely administrative? Do guys have to be officially invited before they can appear in big league spring training games? Is there a difference in use of facilities? Better perks and higher per diem pay?

a club can bring over any player it wishes to for spring training games, and traditionally does so for every game. if you view the pre-game notes, you know who those players are.

 

i visited maryvale last year. the minor league playing fields are farther away to the south from the main complex, and have limited public comfort station facilities nearby. if i recall correctly, there was one facility (used by the players and the public) within the vicinity of four or five playing fields on the south end of the complex.

 

but when a non-roster player in big league camp, he's working out on the main playing field, which is adjacent to the new, state-of-the art facility. and he does get a per diem, and he definitely gets better meal services inside the clubhouse.

 

minor league players don't get paid during spring training (they start getting paid opening day). and i believe that they are responsible for their housing while in arizona. it's not uncommon for 8, 10, 12 guys to be living under one roof at a short-term rental house.

 

it's unclear if that non-roster player under a minor league contract is paid during spring training, or if his pay starts on the opening day of his minor league season, like everyone else.

[RollieTime]

https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/MIL/2019-spring-training.shtml

 

No Lutz? He was NRI last year.

 

Also a bit confusing why Barker isn't a NRI. He was good last year in ST, good during the season makes sense to give him a chance to show something this spring. I also don't know why Wilkerson is there instead of Supak. They'll never use Wilkerson as a starter and he absolutely can not be a reliever. I don't see why he's still here honestly.

 

Supak doesn’t need an NRI because he is on the 40-man. Barker has to be the biggest surprise to me. It seems weird to invite 90% of the likely AAA roster and not Barker.

 

Perhaps Barker is the new version of Nate Griep .... i.e., the pitcher who puts up great numbers in the upper minors, but the front office determines would get lit up like a Christmas tree if he had to face an actual MLB lineup?

 

Tough to develop your own pitching if you never even give them the opportunity. Not saying that Barker will end up like Griep, but it’s frustrating when you have a guy that has done extremely well every step of the way and you don’t even give them a chance. Knowing that you have 6 years of control of them if they pan out, I don’t see why they couldn’t get a chance to prove themselves. With some of the players that touch the big league mound for us every year, his results couldn’t be any worse than some of the other guys that pitch.

[clancyphile]

Supak doesn’t need an NRI because he is on the 40-man. Barker has to be the biggest surprise to me. It seems weird to invite 90% of the likely AAA roster and not Barker.

 

Perhaps Barker is the new version of Nate Griep .... i.e., the pitcher who puts up great numbers in the upper minors, but the front office determines would get lit up like a Christmas tree if he had to face an actual MLB lineup?

 

It is interesting... I've thought Rasmussen and Andrews were posssibly the top two for the San Antonio bullpen/a Milwaukee callup. Neither needed to be put on the 40-man this year due to being drafted in 2018 (I think they don't need to go on until after next season, if I remember correctly).

 

I've always felt the Brewers were at a point where they were getting a lot of younger arms as depth in AAA/AA, and didn't need as many six-year minor-league FAs for that role.

[TJseven7]

Supak doesn’t need an NRI because he is on the 40-man.

 

I knew this, typed and instantly forgot this.

 

Yeah, between Jackson, Barnes, Williams, Albers, Burch, Wilson and that RHRP version of Wilkerson. It's hard to imagine Barker Sanchez and Griep would be far worse. Both Barker and Sanchez put up good showings in small sample sizes last ST. At the very least let them throw 10-15 innings in ST.

 

These guys are the types you want to test out in the 7th and 8th bullpen spot. Even if you ideally want Rasmussen Devin Andrews to replace them, if they are given a chance and pitch well they become trade bait for lottery tickets instead of guys you eventually lose in rule 5.

[MrTPlush]

Being the first round pick is pretty much an auto-bid to big league camp. Actually, I think many players will get their agent to include such a clause in their contract when they sign after the draft (high draft picks). I have definitely heard of such before. I believe it came up once when a 1st rounder that was absolutely looking like a total bust kept getting invited to big league camp. People wondered why he kept getting stuck in big league camp and it was basically in the contract. Tristan Lutz for example...probably made it last year and not this year because it was in his signing agreement. Regardless it is either because the player asked for it or it is simply a courtesy by the club.

 

Being a catcher is also a great way to get into big league camp as they need endless catchers purely for practice.

[MNBrew]

https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/MIL/2019-spring-training.shtml

 

No Lutz? He was NRI last year.

 

Also a bit confusing why Barker isn't a NRI. He was good last year in ST, good during the season makes sense to give him a chance to show something this spring. I also don't know why Wilkerson is there instead of Supak. They'll never use Wilkerson as a starter and he absolutely can not be a reliever. I don't see why he's still here honestly.

That link lists EVERYONE not on the 40-man as an NRI, which is NOT correct.

 

- Players signed to minor-league contracts with a non-roster invitation (NRI) to spring training are announced by the team as such in advance and are officially in big-league camp the entirety of spring training until they're cut, sent to minor league camp, or added to the 40-man roster. That's a whole different thing than....

 

- Players brought over from the minor-league camp by the handful are a day-at-a-time thing. Some guys get lots of little chances. Some guys (like one of my teaching colleagues) are grateful for the lucky 1-2 chances they get at an appearance in a big-league exhibition game.

 

Some of the players listed as NRI on that link were officially that. Lots of those NRI guys on that link were minor leaguers brought over for the day.

 

To the original point, I don't remember my list from last year well enough (it's since been recycled) to remember if Lutz was a regular NRI guy or a one-day-each-time guy.

[MNBrew]

I noticed that the full list of 20 on the Brewers' website does not yet include Shelby Miller. His deal must not be official yet. When it is, he'll be NRI #21.

check again, as the current list is 19 players. while shelby miller is not listed on brewers.com, his deal was officially announced by the club.

 

there are 20 non-roster invitees thus far.

I swore I counted it correctly at the time, but obviously not. Shelby Miller's now there on the website.

[djoctagone]

I swore I counted it correctly at the time, but obviously not. Shelby Miller's now there on the website.

and on the transactions page as well. i may or may not have tweeted the club to alert them of the omission.

[djoctagone]

these players have been reassigned to minor league camp:

 

3b lucas erceg

c mario feliciano

c payton henry

lhp clayton andrews

rhp thomas jankins

rhp drew rasmussen

rhp miguel sánchez

lhp ethan small

[markedman5]

So Bickford isn’t on the 40 man and he isn’t a non roster invite.....yet he continues to pitch in games.

 

Not sure what the significance of being a NRI like Rasmussen or just a minor leaguer who gets opportunities like Bickford?

[djoctagone]

as a non-roster invitee who's still in major league camp, you're in the dugout and the bullpen for every game and available to play. for a player like bickford, it's a game-by-game basis to be invited.

 

also, as mentioned earlier, minor league camp players are playing on fields further away from the main complex in the maryvale neighborhood of phoenix, and i believe in the case of the san francisco giants (whose facility is on a very small footprint in scottsdale with only one additional adjacent playing field), minor league camp is held at a different site.

 

use google satellite view to take a look at cactus league facilities. the brewers are quite fortunate to have all of their playing fields on one mass of land. many other clubs have their adjacent playing fields for minor league camp separated by public roadways. at the complex in the maryvale, it's safe and convenient for fans and players to be able to freely walk back and forth without having to worry about vehicular traffic.

[djoctagone]

nine non-roster invitees will be working out at miller park in july to try to crack the opening day 30-man roster. it should be noted that the 40-man is currently full, but that a player can be removed from the 40-man if placed on the special covid-19 injured list:

 

keon broxton

zack brown

jake faria

justin grimm

shelby miller

mike morin

logan morrison

jace peterson

drew rasmussen