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With the deadline approaching to protect players from the Rule 5 Draft, the Brewers elected to fill their 40-man roster with four minor league players. Late this afternoon, they added Hunter Morris, Jason Rogers, Brooks Hall, and Kevin Shackelford to the 40-man roster to keep them protected in the organization. The addition of Hunter Morris and Jason Rogers isn't a surprise, as both were expected to be added today. Over on Twitter, Adam McCalvy also mentioned Kevin Shackelford and Brooks Hall as possible candidates, and both were added as well.
Hunter Morris is 25, spent the year with Nashville, and is seen as a potential future first baseman for the Brewers. Taking the step up this year, he struggled a bit. He posted a batting line of .247/.310/.457/.766 over 134 games, with 24 home runs and 73 RBI. He also has a high strikeout total, with 122 in 2013 compared to 43 walks.
Jason Rogers is 25 and spent the entire 2013 season in Hunstville, playing in 133 games primarily at first base. He finished the year with a batting line of .270/.346/.468/.814, along with 22 home runs and 87 RBI. Because of his great season, he was named the Brewers minor league player of the year for 2013.
Kevin Shackelford is 24 and started the year in Brevard County, posting a 5.06 ERA but also a 3.36 FIP, along with a 6.47 K/9 and 1.13 BB/9 in 24 relief appearances over 32 innings. He earned a promotion to Huntsville at the end of June and was stellar for the rest of the year, putting up a 0.92 ERA and 2.76 FIP, along with a 7.69 K/9, 2.15 BB/9, and 6 saves over 20 apearances. He had also been playing for Surprise in the Arizona Fall League, with a 3.09 ERA and 2.26 FIP in 11 appearances there.
Brooks Hall is 23 and also pitched for both Brevard County and Huntsville in 2013. He spent the majority of the year as a starter but did make a few relief appearances. In two months at Brevard County, he posted a 2.78 ERA and 3.18 FIP, earning him a promotion to Huntsville. He got hit hard early in Huntsville and posted a 9.60 ERA in June, but settled down and had a 2.14 ERA over the last two months of the season, with a 28/12 K/BB ratio.
With these additions, the 40-man roster is now full. The Brewers will have to make some more changes to it if they decide to sign any free agents this offseason.