Corey Ray and J.P. Feyereisen Added to 40 Man Roster

The Brewers 40 man roster now sits at 36 players.

The additions of Corey Ray and J.P. Feyereisen to the Brewers roster were made in order to protect them from the Rule 5 draft, which is where other clubs could acquire them due to their minor league service time.  Wednesday at 7pm marks the deadline for Rule 5 eligible players to be added to the 40 man roster.

Corey Ray

Corey Ray, currently the 4th ranked prospect in the Brewers minor league system, is a former Brewers first round selection from 2016, in which he had three very successful season at Louisville.

He progressed through the lower ranks of the minors quickly, mainly due to a breakout 2018 season at AA Biloxi in which he had a 27 home run, 74 RBI season.

However, 2019 was injury plagued and overall quite disappointing.

He began the year in AAA San Antonio and was placed on the injured list three separate times before being demoted down to AA Biloxi. He would spend less than a month in Biloxi before rejoining the Missions but his 2019 numbers are not great.  At the AAA level he had a .188 batting average and a career high 38.7 strikeout percentage.

He did manage to flash his power by hitting eight home runs.  Regardless, the Brewers believe a healthy Corey Ray can be an impact player which is why he was added to the 40 man roster.

J.P. Feyereisen

The River Falls, WI native has not been in the Brewers organization for very long.  He was acquired in a trade with the Yankee’s in early September after a very successful season in AAA ball.

His 2019 numbers include: 61.1 innings pitched, 2.49 ERA, and 13.8 k/9 ratio!  One knock on his game in 2019 was that he only generated ground balls at a 36% clip in 2019, so he very much fits the motto of a strikeout pitcher.

He allowed six home runs in 2019, which isn’t too overly concerning but the transition to major league hitters and limiting the home run ball will be something to monitor.

The Brewers got ahead of the Rule 5 protection deadline with these two additions, and they figure to play a role in the Crew’s plans for 2020. Feyereisen has the easiest path in the bullpen, but Ray will have a crowded outfield picture to work through. If he can stay healthy and put up a good season, he can force a call up much like Trent Grisham did in 2019.

These two would have been easy pickups in the Rule 5 Draft, which made protecting them an obvious call for the Milwaukee Brewers.