Which 2024 Brewers Non-Roster Invitees Could Make a Major Difference?

[Harold Hutchison]

In 1986, the Brewers gave a one-time prospect with the San Francisco Giants a non-roster invitation to spring training. That invitee, Rob Deer, won a roster spot and went on to post a monster season, leading the squad with 33 home runs and 86 RBI. Could the 2024 non-roster invitees have similar impact?

Image courtesy of © Curt Hogg / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

Just last season, Andruw Monasterio, Colin Rea, and Sal Frelick, who got invites to big-league spring training from off the 40-man roster, and they ultimately played key roles in the Crew’s run to a division title. This year’s crop of non-roster invitees (NRIs) are homegrown, for the most part. Several could also play big roles for the team, the way Deer did in 1986. Let’s look over these players.

Potential Opening-Day Starter
Tyler Black
The signing of Rhys Hoskins gives the Brewers some help at the top of the order. He’ll either bat second or fourth, joining Frelick, Christian Yelich, and William Contreras at the top of an increasingly potent batting order. Who bats fifth? That could very well be Black, whose bat has nothing left to prove in the minors, and who slots in nicely at third base, another position the Crew is looking to upgrade, even with Monasterio’s solid performance in 2023.

Eventually On The 26-Man In 2024
Carlos Rodriguez
Rodriguez has been an outlier, which made him a contender for Ace of the Future. As an NRI, he probably won’t break camp with the major-league squad in late March, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be an impact. While it’s possible he could end up in the rotation at some point, it also seems possible the Brewers could use him the way they used eventual co-aces Brandon Woodruff and Corbin Burnes in their 2018 run.

Jacob Misiorowski
Like Rodriguez, Misiorowski is a contender for Ace of the Future, but primarily due to his stuff. Like Rodriguez, he probably won't break camp with the Crew. Misiorowski is still trying to build endurance as a starter, after averaging less than four innings a game in 2023. That said, he is probably the most likely to be called up if the Crew wants to bolster their bullpen for the 2024 pennant run, simply because he would be a high-end late-inning option in the majors as things stand right now.

Robert Gasser
Gasser, best known as being the last bit of return the Brewers kept in the Josh Hader trade, also is not likely to break camp with the big-league Crew. That said, of the top prospects, he could be the one most likely to slot into the rotation when called upon.

Potential Unsung Heroes
Evan McKendry
McKendry doesn’t get the hype that Rodriguez, Misiorowski, and Gasser receive. That said, he has proved himself to be a capable back-end starter. Why might he end up an unsung hero? It could very well be that it will be his turn in the rotation, should the Crew need someone to handle a game for an injured starter or a second game of a doubleheader.

Tobias Myers
Like McKendry, Myers hasn’t received the hype of the top pitching prospects. In this case, he is more like Andruw Monasterio, given that he arrived as a minor-league free agent in the previous offseason and received an NRI this year. Again, his call-up might come based on a rotation spot. Still, Monasterio and Rea have both demonstrated a player doesn’t have to be a top prospect to be a big hero.

Wes Clarke
Clarke has been the subject of multiple pieces recently, due to a breakout season with Double-A Biloxi that saw him split time between first base and catcher (where he backed up top prospect Jeferson Quero). As noted elsewhere, he outperformed the highly-touted Jackson Chourio in several categories. While the signing of Rhys Hoskins appears to have blocked him for the short term at first, his work with Rodriguez and Misiorowski in Biloxi may give him an edge over Austin Nola if the Crew looks for help behind the plate beyond Quero.

Brock Wilken
In one sense, there is no middle ground if Wilken is in Milwaukee by the end of the 2024 season. He will have either forced his way onto the major-league roster with a dominating performance, or the Brewers will have had to call him up due to failures and/or injuries affecting Black, Jake Bauers, Hoskins, and perhaps one or two others. If it is due to performance, Wilken would probably end up displacing either Black (at third) or Hoskins (at first).

Overview
Non-roster invitees are not always tracked over the years, yet Brewers history has seen some of the biggest impacts come from these players who got a chance with their invitation to spring training – and took it deep. Which of this year’s invitees will become the next big hero, following the path of Rob Deer, Jace Peterson, Colin Rea, and Andruw Monasterio? Let us know in the comments below!

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[Michael Trzinski]

I think either Carlos F. or Gasser will be the most likely to make a splash from the NRI group. If Clarke or Wilken are that person, the Brewers have a major problem (loss of Contreras or Rhys Lightning).