As you might have noticed below, the Brewers extended spring training non-roster invitations to four minor leaguers today: Caleb Gindl, Logan Schafer, Anderson De La Rosa and Zelous Wheeler. Here's a bit more about them:
Caleb Gindl is a 22 year old outfielder. He hit .272/.352/.406 while splitting time between right and center field for Huntsville in 2010, then went on to hit .259/.357/.483 in the AFL. He's one of five players under consideration for the #3 spot in our Community Prospect Rankings, and could be a very valuable Brewer if he can prove capable in center field.
Logan Schafer is a 24 year old outfielder, and he's more likely to be a center fielder in the long run than Gindl. He missed most of the 2010 season due to injury but was the Brewers' minor league player of the year in 2009, when he hit .308/.370/.440 and won a Florida State League batting title for Brevard County. Despite missing most of 2010, be bounced back to appear in eight AFL games this fall.
Anderson De La Rosa is a 26 year old organizational catcher coming off his seventh minor league season. He hit .213/.267/.294 while splitting time between Brevard County, Huntsville and Nashville in 2010. He's likely little more than an extra catcher to have on hand for all the pitchers in camp.
Zelous Wheeler might be the most intriguing name on this list. He'll turn 24 in January and had spent most of his minor league career as a third baseman before moving to shortstop in Huntsville last season. He most likely doesn't have the body type/athletic ability to stick as a shortstop in the long term, but if he can keep hitting like he has (.275/.382/.396 for Huntsville in 2010) then his defensive weaknesses will get easier to overlook.
All told, none of these four are likely to make a significant push for the 25 man roster, but Gindl, Schafer and Wheeler could significantly raise their prospect status with a nice spring.