The lockout instituted by the MLB Owners currently impacts players on the 40 man roster. As for minor league ball players, business is still slated to go on as usual, which includes their opening day. To help prepare, the Brewers recently announced a build-up camp for their top prospects and younger players.
The camp will begin next week and will be held at American Family Fields of Phoenix in Arizona. As mentioned, select players, mainly top prospects as well as players from recent drafts, will be in attendance. This includes players such as: Sal Frelick, Ethan Small, Hedbert Perez, Tyler Black, Freddy Zamora, and Zavier Warren.
13 players in total from the 2021 draft class were selected. Along with Frelick and Black, higher round draft picks Russell Smith and Logan Henderson will be in attendance. Both are pitchers in which Smith was selected in the second round and Henderson the fourth.
All-in-all approximately 50 players will participate in build up camp, which will give them nearly an extra month of work and preparation.
For players who were not selected for build up camp, they will follow the Brewers normal build up protocol/timeline. This includes minor league pitchers and catchers reporting on March 5 and position players on March 11 and 12. The Brewers first minor league spring training game is currently scheduled for March 19.
While it sounds like a big deal to be selected to participate in build-up camp, let’s keep in mind that most of these players are younger and may be about to embark on their first full minor league season. From a player development standpoint, this extra month of preparation should go a long ways in learning what to expect going forward and how to reduce injury.
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