Determining rookie status:

A player shall be considered a rookie unless, during a previous season or seasons, he has (a) exceeded 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched in the Major Leagues; or (b) accumulated more than 45 days on the active roster of a Major League club or clubs during the period of 25-player limit (excluding time in the military service and time on the disabled list).

The first part of the definition of a rookie in Major League Baseball is straightforward.  Once a player reaches 131 at bats or 50 1/3 innings pitched, he's no longer a rookie.  The second part is a little trickier.  After all, service time numbers are hard to find.  They generally come out once each year, in team media guides.  Add in the fact that you have to subtract time in the major leagues after September 1st and on the disabled list and it's even harder to figure out who is truly a rookie.

It has already been mentioned this offseason that Mat Gamel eclipsed 45 days of service time before September.  Gamel was recalled from Nashville on May 14th and optioned back on July 20th, giving him 67 days on the active roster during the "period of 25-player limit." So, even though he sits at 130 career at bats, the same number Scott Rolen had going into his Rookie of the Year season, Gamel cannot win the Rookie of the Year award (though that might not stop him from getting votes).

Gamel isn't the only such little-used non-rookie in the Brewers organization.  Raise your hand if you realized Hernan Iribarren has 48 days of major league service time, all before September 1.  Iribarren spent 20 days on the major league roster in April and June 2008, picking up 14 at bats.  He spent 28 days in the majors in 2009, batting a mere 13 times.  I'm going to go out on a limb and predict he wasn't going to win the 2010 Rookie of the Year Award anyway.

New Brewer George Kottaras also enters 2010 off the list of rookie players.  He spent all of 2009 in the majors with the Red Sox, playing in 45 games with 93 at bats.  Though he spent the month of August on the disabled list, he gave up his 2010 rookie status in mid-May.

Gamel, Iribarren, and Kottaras are not the only little-used rookies. Follow the jump for a list of all such position players to appear in the majors in 2008 or 2009.  Please note it is lengthy and full of guys who have no chance at winning an award anyway.  I will post a list of pitchers in the next few days.

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As noted in my FanPost of Sunday night, the deadline for filing major league and minor league reserve lists is fast approaching.  Eligible players not added to the major league 40-man roster by November 20 can be selected in the Rule 5 draft.

What does it take to be eligible?

• If 19 or older on the June 5th before he signed his first contract, a player is eligible for the fourth Rule 5 draft after signing (usually after four years in the minors).
• If 18 or younger on the June 5th before he signed his first contract, a player is eligible for the fifth Rule 5 draft after signing (usually after five years in the minors).
• Any player who is eligible for one Rule 5 draft is eligible for all subsequent Rule 5 drafts.

(see ESPN Transactions Primer, Baseball America Rule 5 Draft column, MLB Rules summaries)

You may recall some Brewers being added to the 40-man roster last offseason to protect them from the Rule 5 draft.  Omar Aguilar, Alexandre Periard, Mark Rogers, and Cody Scarpetta were the fantastic four.  At the risk of undermining the above statements, Scarpetta actually became eligible for the draft through a little-known technicality: the Brewers voided his original contract because of an injury and later re-signed him, making him immediately eligible (link).  That comes up probably once in a February blue moon.

I have attempted to make a comprehensive list of Brewers farmhands who are eligible for the Rule 5 draft.  Obviously not all (or even most) of these players are realistic candidates to be selected. In addition, some of these guys may be minor league free agents. If you think I've made a mistake or missed someone, post a comment. Notable names are above the jump while you must click and scroll for the rest. Ages listed are for the 2010 season and levels listed are where the player spent the bulk of 2009:

• Zach Braddock (22, LHP, A+/AA - one of the last draft-and-follow players, he did not sign until the spring of 2006 at the age of 18. This gives him one more year before becoming eligible.)
• Lorenzo Cain (24, CF, AA)
  
• Chris Cody (26, LHP, AA/AAA)
  
• Nick Green (25, RHP, AA/AAA)
  
• Taylor Green (23, 3B, AA - another draft-and-follow guy, brewerfan has him signing June 1, 2006. Since he did not turn 19 until November 2005, I think that puts him in the 18 and younger category and means he is not eligible until next offseason. Lorenzo Cain was in a similar situation last year.)
  
• Dave Johnson (27, RHP, AAA)
  
• Mike Jones (27, RHP, A+/AA/AAA - former #1 pick finally reached AAA, did not do well)
  
• Brendan Katin (27, RF, AAA)
  
• Mike Ramlow (24, LHP, Inj/A - yet another draft-and-follow, injured most of this season)
• Amaury Rivas (24, RHP, A+)

The Brewers currently have 33 of 40 roster spots filled.  I am not 100% sure of Green's exemption from the draft but the Brewers certainly have roster room if I'm wrong.  We'll all find out together on Friday.  Assuming Green does not need to be protected, I think only Lorenzo Cain and Amaury Rivas really need to be added to the roster.  I don't think the other guys are tempting enough for any team to commit a 25-man roster spot in December.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but the current talent and/or upside just aren't there.

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Major eague teams must file their "Reserve lists" on Friday, November 20.   In other words, on that day each team's 40-man roster is set in preparation for the Rule 5 draft, which takes place on December 10.

The Brewers' 40-man roster has 33 spots occupied once all the team's free agents are removed.  My question is this: which prospects need to be added to protect them from the Rule 5 draft?  I'm sure this has been discussed somewhere in the Brewers blogosphere, but I'm not sure where.  The only two names I can think of are Lorenzo Cain and Chris Cody.

As a refresher, these are the Rule 5 eligibility criteria, as found on Wikipedia.

Players are eligible for selection in the Rule 5 draft who are not on their major league organization's forty man roster and:

- were signed at age 19 or older and have been in the organization for four years; or

- were signed at age 18 or younger and have been in the organization for five years.