Brewers News: 12 More Players Officially Added to 60-Man Roster

The Brewers finally formally announced a group of players who will be heading to their alternate training site in Appleton. Who will be joining the players who had already been rumored to be heading there?

It was just two days ago when rumors broke that MLB Pipeline Brewers Top 30 prospect Dylan File was supposedly being added to Milwaukee’s 60-man roster and also heading to the team’s secondary training site. After that, it was only a matter of time before more names would be announced.

On Thursday, those names were finally revealed. Most of the names were a who’s who of top Brewers prospects with one addition that may be surprising to some.

There’s a solid mix of players who were added for a variety of different reasons. Some may be expected to contribute this year if needed as replacements, while others will be looking to get some valuable development time.

Three of the players weren’t surprising at all and have already been mentioned as likely additions. Trey Supak, Angel Perdomo, and Corey Ray were already on the 40-man roster so they were no-brainers for the alternate training site. They join Tyrone Taylor, who had already been announced and was in the same boat.

It also makes sense to bring some of your very top prospects. As a result, Brice Turang, Ethan Small, Mario Feliciano, Tristen Lutz, and Antoine Kelly, all players ranked No. 6 or better in the organization by MLB Pipeline, were added as well. They’re the future of the ballclub and will get to continue their development.

Thomas Dillard, though ranked further down at No. 22, falls into that category too. He was just drafted last year, but he had a solid year at Low-A Wisconsin and is also the only player who would provide some corner infield depth in Appleton with his experience at first base.

File, who is the only player besides Supak with more than one year of experience as a starting pitcher in the organization, provides some depth in that sense. Meanwhile, Clayton Andrews, who worked his way up to Double-A Biloxi last year and also pitched for Arizona Fall League and Team USA in the offseason, could be a sleeper candidate for a Brewers call-up this year.

The one player who was a bit of a surprise and is the only player from the group not in the Top 30 besides Perdomo, was Phil Bickford. A once highly-regarded prospect, he started to live up to his early career hype late last fall.

After a slow start to his season with High-A Carolina, Bickford flipped a switch and became almost unstoppable, going his final 26 2/3 innings without giving up an earned run and striking out 39. He carried that performance over to Spring Training this year, throwing 3 2/3 innings without giving up a single run, hit, or walk and striking out seven. Like Andrews, he could be one to keep an eye on this year.

How Many Roster Spots Are Left?

This all leaves the two final roster spots, but those might not be filled for a little while. 2020 first-round draft pick Garrett Mitchell just signed on Wednesday and could be a candidate for a spot. But the team is still deciding what direction to go with him.

The smart move may be to wait and see what players get cut from other teams. Rules state that a player on the 60-man roster can’t be re-added once he’s removed. So, if you fill the squad only to add a free agent later, that player who gets removed in their place is officially off limits for the rest of the year.

And with that, Brewer fans know just about all of the players who will be on the initial 60-man roster this year. Let’s just hope that there is no reason to actually need the players who were added today and they get to just further their development into future Milwaukee stars.