Rule 5 Draft Forces Brewers to Lock In Three Minor League Players

The Brewers padded up their forty-man roster before the Rule 5 Draft this week. Last Friday was the deadline for teams to sign up minor league players, all-but protecting them from being picked-up by other teams during the upcoming November draft. Infielders Brock Kjeldgaard and Zealous Wheeler, outfielder Caleb Gindl, and pitcher Santo Manzanillo are Milwaukee's final recruits, leaving the roster five men short at thirty-five.

 Santo Manzanillo, a “righty” out of Brevard County, threw for over sixty-one innings in 2011. That time in Single-A ball saw him manage sixty-two strike outs and just a 1.75 ERA.

 Gindl did some damage this year with Nashville. He hit fifteen home runs and sixty RBI with a .307 percentage. The Triple-A outfielder was in the Pacific Coast League's top twenty for both hits and walks this season.

 Kjeldgaard and Wheeler each earned promotions during the middle of the season. Kjeldgaard played sixty-five games with Brevard County before moving up to Huntsville to replace Wheeler, who had left for Nashville. Kjeldgaard had a combined twenty-four home-runs during the season, as well as seventy-six RBI. Wheeler, meanwhile, had his 2011 highlights early in the season with Huntsville as he hit twenty doubles and a .272 percentage. His playing time with Nashville was limited, but he did improve his hitting to .275.