Who are the Brewers' September callup candidates?

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MILWAUKEE -- Gone are the days when a team could fill the clubhouse with extra players in September. When rosters expand on Friday, the room will be only slightly more crowded.

Clubs' active rosters will grow to 28 when the calendar flips to Sept. 1, with a maximum of 14 pitchers. That cap, instituted in 2021, has significantly changed the calculus for teams, whether they’re contenders looking for every conceivable edge, or far out of the race and using remaining games to develop young talent.

Last year, the Brewers promoted speedy outfielder Esteury Ruiz and reliever Luis Perdomo when rosters expanded on Sept. 1. Who will get the call this year?

There are a slew of candidates. Odds are, a number of them will cycle through Milwaukee in the coming weeks.

THE PITCHING POOL

RHPs Colin Rea, Janson Junk, J.B. Bukauskas; LHPs Clayton Andrews, Eric Lauer, Ethan Small
On the 40-man roster? Yes
One of the callups will surely be a bullpen arm, but the question is: Which one? All six of these pitchers have been with the Brewers in the big leagues this season, are already on the 40-man roster and can be optioned when a need arises for a fresh arm. Rea and Junk have started all year and might have some value remaining stretched out in the Minors in case there’s a rotation need during the final month. The Lauer situation seems complicated, judging from the fact club officials have been reluctant to discuss his status publicly. But he does have a 2.93 ERA in 15 1/3 Triple-A innings this month.

LHP Robert Gasser
On the 40-man roster? No
Gasser, MLB Pipeline’s No. 6 Brewers prospect, is 9-1 with a 3.85 ERA and a league-leading 147 strikeouts after winning his fourth straight start on Friday night in Gwinnett County, Ga. If the Brewers needed a starting pitcher, perhaps he’ll get the call at some point next month. But unlike Rea, who has already had some success starting in the Majors this year, Gasser is not on the 40-man roster.

RHP Thyago Vieira
On the 40-man roster? No
It’s a total long shot, but the case is twofold: Vieira is a Minor League free agent at season’s end, so adding him to the 40-man would keep him in the organization. Plus, he could be particularly fun to watch. Vieira speaks three-plus languages and throws hard; he has a 3.28 ERA and 48 strikeouts against 15 walks in his first 35 2/3 innings this year. Maybe in the old days of a dozen or so callups, he’d get a shot.

THE BIG ARM YOU WANT BUT WON’T GET

RHP Jacob Misiorowski
On the 40-man roster? No
Milwaukee's top pitching prospect, MLB Pipeline’s No. 4 Brewers prospect and No. 38 on the overall Top 100, Misiorowski missed his most recent Double-A start due to arm fatigue and could land on the injured list as soon as the Shuckers need that roster spot. He was brilliant in his previous start, matching the Shuckers’ franchise record with 12 strikeouts while allowing only one hit in six scoreless innings against Mississippi on Aug. 15. The 21-year-old began the year at Single-A Carolina but has been so dominant this season that Brewers officials had left the door open to a late-season bullpen stint. Now, it’s clear that won’t happen.

THE POSITION PLAYERS

UTIL Owen Miller and Abraham Toro
On the 40-man roster? Yes
Miller checks a lot of boxes in terms of what a team wants in September. He can play all over the infield and outfield. He can run. He has experience, though he slumped to a .529 OPS from the beginning of June through the end of July before being demoted to the Minors. He also would provide flexibility, since he could be optioned should a specific need present itself. Toro, meanwhile, has been up in the big leagues more recently, and hit well (1.302 OPS) in his nine Major League games this year.

DH Jesse Winker
On the 40 man roster? Yes
Acquired with Toro from the Mariners last winter, Winker was one of the Brewers’ most disappointing performers this season before landing on the IL on July 26 with a .567 OPS. He began a 20-day rehab assignment on Aug. 15 and is currently at Triple-A Nashville. The Brewers, who with Rowdy Tellez already have a left-handed hitter on the bench with limited defensive options, will have to make a decision on Winker when that rehab stint expires.

INF Tyler Black
On the 40-man roster? No
Before they picked up veteran hitters Carlos Santana and Mark Canha at the Trade Deadline, the Brewers talked internally about whether Black, an on-base machine who ranks fifth on MLB Pipeline’s list of Milwaukee’s top prospects, could help spark the offense. They did promote him to Triple-A Nashville but opted against a callup, and it probably doesn’t make sense to start Black’s option clock now.

DH Keston Hiura
On the 40-man roster? No
Hiura, who was removed from the 40-man roster this spring and passed over by 29 other teams, has been the subject of intense interest while putting together one of his strongest statistical seasons. But the Brewers have opted against calling him up, in part because his defense has been poor and the club prefers to spread DH at-bats around to a number of players, including William Contreras when he’s not catching.

C Jeferson Quero or Payton Henry
On the 40-man roster? No
There’s a case for either from a contractual standpoint, since Quero will have to be added to the 40-man roster this offseason to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft, and Henry will be a Minor League free agent. There was a time when calling up an extra catcher was a lock on Sept. 1, but with the new roster restrictions, that’s not a given. (Speaking of players who must be protected from the Rule 5 Draft this winter, others of note include infielders Cam Devanney and Patrick Dorrian, both of whom have had excellent Triple-A seasons.)

IL GUYS WHO NEED MORE TIME

OFs Garrett Mitchell and Blake Perkins, LHP Aaron Ashby and RHPs J.C. Mejía and Julio Teheran
On the 40-man roster? Yes
Like Winker, all five of the above are on the injured list at the moment. Mitchell has missed most of the season with a shoulder injury but has resumed hitting and throwing and has an outside chance to play in very late September and/or the postseason should the Brewers get that far. Perkins has been an able extra outfielder this year, plays terrific defense and can run, but has been sidelined since Aug. 10 with an oblique injury. He’s been throwing and swinging, but probably won’t be game-ready by Sept. 1.

Mejía landed on the IL on Aug. 14 with a right shoulder injury and was not doing any baseball activity as of Aug. 25. Teheran began a rehab assignment with High-A Wisconsin on Friday and, barring a setback, will move to Triple-A Nashville next to continue building up.