Bill Batterman is the Spring Training is just beginning and the Brewers have no shortage of fresh faces at their Arizona compound. To help fans get acclimated with this year’s crop of newcomers to the organization, the Daily Brew has been publishing a series of player profiles over the past several weeks. This is the tenth installment in the Newcomer Breakdown series, which covers major leaguers as well as selected minor leaguers; the first nine profiles covered Jerome Gamble, Derrick Turnbow, Justin Lehr, Julio Santana, Jose Capellan, Sam Narron, Nelson Cruz, Damian Miller, and Ricky Bottalico.
——-
In a barely-noticed move this past November, Brewers General Manager Doug Melvin combined two of his favorite pastimes: acquiring former-Rangers, and mining the Independent Leagues for undervalued talent. The object of his affection was catcher Kelley Gulledge, a once-promising young catcher coming off a stellar season with Fargo-Moorhead of the Independent Northern League.