This story was excerpted from Adam McCalvy's Brewers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
CINCINNATI -- While it looks like left-hander DL Hall has earned his keep with the Brewers when rosters expand Sunday, it’s too early to totally rule out a splashy promotion for pitching prospects like Jacob Misiorowski or Craig Yoho later on.
Remember, September is a long month and a lot can happen.
“They’re putting themselves in the discussion, for sure,” Brewers vice president of player operations and baseball administration Tom Flanagan said on Thursday’s game broadcast.
In a previous era, when teams could fill the clubhouse in September with any player they put on the 40-man roster, it might be different. Now, teams are offered only slightly more help for the stretch drive, as rosters expand from the standard 26 players (maximum 13 pitchers) to 28 players (maximum 14 pitchers).
So, instead of focusing on the first set of moves on Sunday, it’s more useful to consider who could help the Brewers over the final month of the regular season. Because surely, there will continue to be some up and down movement as Milwaukee pushes for a sixth postseason berth in the last seven years.
Here are some candidates to consider over the next month.
On the 40-man roster (or MLB injured list)
LHP DL Hall
Hall’s season has been spoiled by a stint on the IL for a knee injury that was extended when he took a comebacker off his pitching arm while rehabbing. He’s healthy again and was called up twice in August to start, including on Friday for Game 2 of the Brewers’ doubleheader against the Reds. Hall had success down the stretch and into the postseason last year as an Orioles reliever, but he’s also valuable as starting depth.
Asked whether Hall’s seven scoreless innings in Friday’s doubleheader sweep might force him into the Brewers’ plans for September and beyond, manager Pat Murphy said, “I think so, don’t you?”
LHPs Hoby Milner, Rob Zastryzny and RHPs Nick Mears, Enoli Paredes
All are veterans who have delivered for the Brewers this year but are currently on the IL: Milner with an impingement in his left shoulder, Zastryzny with an elbow injury and Mears and Paredes with forearm tightness. Milner is closest to the Majors, having begun a rehab assignment at High-A Wisconsin on Friday that he expects to continue on Sunday. Paredes is in the middle of his own rehab assignment but “still has a ways to go,” Murphy said this week, and Mears said Saturday that he expects to resume playing catch when the Brewers return home.
RHP Elvis Peguero
Peguero was a key bullpen arm for the Brewers at this time last year but has been struggling of late -- he had an option and was demoted during the team’s last long road trip. Inherited runners have been a particular problem this year for him this year: 15 of his 24 have scored.
1B Tyler Black and INF Vinny Capra
Both players have tasted cups of coffee in the Majors this season -- Black more than Capra. Black’s command of the strike zone and speed make him attractive as an extra man, though he’s much more limited defensively than Capra. Black is a left-handed hitter; Capra a right-handed hitter.
OF Brewer Hicklen
The Brewers added Hicklen to the 40-man roster in July to keep him from jumping to a different organization amid a terrific Triple-A season. He entered Saturday with 21 homers, 42 stolen bases and an .848 OPS, but has hit .163 in August. Jackson Chourio sprained his ankle in Game 1 on Friday -- even more reason that Hicklen is the pick to be called up on Sunday, He joined the Brewers in Cincinnati on Saturday.
RHP Kevin Herget, LHP Tyler Jay and RHP Carlos Rodriguez
All three have pitched for the Brewers and are on the 40-man roster, so they are available if needed. Herget was with the Brewers on Friday as a member of the taxi squad.
Not on the 40-man roster
RHP Jacob Misiorowski
The Brewers’ top pitching prospect is No. 3 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 list for Milwaukee and No. 65 on the overall Top 100. He has a fastball that reaches triple digits and has commanded it beautifully since moving to the Sounds' bullpen.
RHP Craig Yoho
A scouting success story, Yoho is a converted position player who went 1,082 days between collegiate appearances before the Brewers made him an eighth-round Draft pick last season. Armed with a unique changeup, he has a 1.07 ERA for three affiliates this season and has pitched seven times so far for Triple-A Nashville.
“For him to be knocking on the door, an eighth-round pick last year, it’s really unheard of,” Flanagan said.
RHP Logan Henderson
A dark horse, but Henderson is worth mentioning because the Brewers will have to add him to the 40-man roster in November to protect him from being plucked away in the Rule 5 Draft. Sometimes, players in that position find their way to the Majors in September.