Dylan File Earns Spot On 40-Man Roster

When a 21st-round pick out of a Division II school gets added to a team’s 40-man roster, it’s a good story. And Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns said small-market clubs need good stories. 

That was the scenario when the Brewers decided to protect 6-foot-1, 205-pound righthander Dylan File, three years after drafting him out of Dixie State in Utah.

The 24-year-old File has been an overachiever from the outset, going 15-6, 3.24 in 26 starts in 2019 between high Class A Carolina and Double-A Biloxi.

What separated File from his peers was his impeccable control. In 147 innings, he issued just 22 walks while logging 136 strikeouts. His career walk rate is 1.7 per nine innings over 330 frames. He has struck out 287 with a fastball that sits in the low 90s, a swing-and-miss slider and an effective changeup and curveball. 

There was no 2020 minor league season because of the coronavirus pandemic, but Stearns believes File will pitch in the big leagues in 2021.

“We believe he would have performed at Triple-A this season if we had a real Triple-A season,” Stearns said. “We’re excited to see where his next step is, but he’s getting to the point where he has the ingredients to be a successful major league pitcher.” 

The Brewers protected another overachieving righthander in Alec Bettinger, a 10th-rounder in 2017 from Virginia. Bettinger, 25, led the Southern League with 26 starts at Biloxi in 2019, striking out 157 hitters in 146.1 innings while allowing just 121 hits and 35 walks.  

Bettinger also performed well at the Brewers’ alternate training site this year, showing an uptick in velocity into the 94-95 mph range, with an above-average curveball and effective slider. Stearns said File and Bettinger earned their places on the 40-man roster because they are considered candidates to pitch in the majors in 2021. 

“These are two pitchers who are ready to pitch in the big leagues,” Stearns said. “They both have poise. They both command the baseball.” 

MICROBREWS 

— Catcher Mario Feliciano was added to the 40-man roster on his 22nd birthday. Stearns said members of the player development department called Feliciano, sang “Happy Birthday” to him, then gave him the roster news. 

— Catcher Payton Henry was not added to the 40-man roster but is still in the Brewers’ future plans. Stearns said “you try to play the odds” that a team would not be able to take a catcher in the Rule 5 draft and keep him in the majors for a full season when he has not played above high Class A.