Brewers Have Talent for More Than Two September Callups

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Photo via Milwaukee Brewers - Facebook

Abner Uribe - Milwaukee Brewers

Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Abner Uriber on the mound (June 10, 2025).

Doug Melvin may be one of the greatest executives in Brewers franchise history but this week his legacy is costing his former team an opportunity to press one of their advantages in a pennant race.

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Photo via Milwaukee Brewers - Facebook

Doug Melvin - Milwaukee Brewers Walk of Fame inductin (2018)

Doug Melvin with his plaque on the Milwaukee Brewers' Walk of Fame at Miller Park (2018).

Melvin is best remembered for two decades as an MLB general manager and an extended run in that role in Milwaukee. His accomplishments during his Brewers tenure are nearly unparalleled in franchise history: He inherited a team coming off its only 100-loss season but held the reins through a winning season in 2007 (the Brewers’ first since 1992), a postseason appearance in 2008 and a division title in 2011 (the Brewers’ first since 1982 in both cases).

Behind the scenes, however, Melvin was at least partially responsible for something else. For all of his time leading an MLB front office the MLB roster rules changed during the month of September, with teams allowed to call up an unlimited number of players off their 40-man roster instead of being limited to the standard 25 (and later 26). Melvin was a frequent critic of the practice, and was quoted in Bob Nightengale of USA Today’s piece when the rule was eventually changed:

“I never won a World Series,’’ Melvin said, “but if I get credit for changing the September rule, that’s OK.’’

Extra Spots

Since 2020 teams have been limited to 28 active players (including at most 14 pitchers) per game on their September rosters, an addition of two spots for the season’s final month. The Brewers have still at times used those extra spots to churn through extra players (especially pitchers), but they haven’t had the opportunity to have all of them active (or collecting an MLB paycheck) on any given day.

By the time the rule finally did change, however, the Brewers had gone from vocal critics of the practice to its biggest practitioners. As we noted at the time, the Brewers used 36 players in September of 2018 and made 4.4 pitching changes per game as they went 20-7 in the season’s final month to pass the Cubs and win the NL Central.

Now, more than a decade after Melvin’s final day in charge, the Brewers would be better equipped than ever to operate under the old rules if they were still in place. They have one of the sport’s top rated farm systems, and many of their highest rated talents are at the upper levels. Thirteen of MLB Pipeline’s fourteen top ranked prospects in the organization are in AA or AAA to finish the minor league regular season, and under the old system they would have been significant candidates to get a cup of coffee in the majors in the season’s final weeks. Some of the top position players on that list include the following:

• Jesùs Made is the top-rated prospect in baseball, a 19-year-old shortstop who has held his own offensively at the AA level this season.
• Third baseman 2025 first round pick Andrew Fischer has 42 home runs this season between the High-A and AA levels and has a 1.037 on-base plus slugging in 114 games.
• Infielder/outfielder Jett Williams has been a top 100 prospect according to Baseball America going into each of the last four seasons and came to camp this spring appearing likely to make his MLB debut after being traded from the Mets.
• Catcher Jeferson Quero made a brief MLB debut earlier this season and might be the most likely of players on this list to return to the majors this September to give the Brewers additional flexibility and the opportunity to rest William Contreras and Gary Sanchez.

Calling Up Pitchers

If their behavior before the rule change is any indication, however, the Brewers likely would have taken greater advantage of the opportunity to call up additional pitchers for the season’s final month. With Abner Uribe expected to come off the injured list and claim the one additional roster spot available for a pitcher, the Brewers would have to make additional moves to free up space for any of these arms:

• Brandon Sproat pitched in 21 games for the Brewers from March through August before returning to Nashville on August 9, and he’s allowed just two earned runs in two hits in his last 12 innings.
• JoJo Romero has pitched a pair of minor league rehab games on his way back from an appendectomy that has sidelined him since before the All Star break and has a 3.02 ERA over the last four MLB seasons.
• Coleman Crow made five appearances for the Brewers in his debut season, and his overall stats are weighed down by one disaster outing, but before that he was solid at the MLB level and remains a rated prospect.
• Jared Koenig has struggled to retain a foothold in the majors this season but had a 2.67 ERA across 2024 and 2025.
• Recent trade acquisition Colton Gordon throws left-handed and has had brief runs in the majors in each of the last two seasons with the Astros.

Under the rules as they were for generations the Brewers might have had an extremely crowded clubhouse and bullpen for the season’s final month as a wave of reinforcements got opportunities to impact a pennant race. Instead, a rule change made at least in part due to the complaints of their former GM will force them to make do with the talent they have.