Welcome back in to “Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers”! I hope this day finds you well, if cold here in Milwaukee.

Today we profile another one of the many Brewers to make their MLB debuts in 2013…

Caleb Gindl.

Despite being listed at 5’7″ tall on most sites, Caleb Charles Gindl is actually 5’9″. He bats left-handed and hails from Pensacola, Florida. The Brewers drafted Gindl in the fifth round of the 2007 First-Year Player Draft and, as I told you last year in this space, his rise through the minor leagues was steady up until repeating Class-AAA Nashville due to there being no openings on the 25-man roster.

Gindl had a bit of a down year by his standards in 2012 but still came to camp last year as a non-roster invitee. And while he didn’t make the team, he impressed the Brewers brass enough (.273 AVG, 4 SB) that they had him on their list of potential call-ups last year. Unfortunately, Gindl then got off to a rough start with Nashville, a plague that seemed to permeate much of that roster. But with a BABIP of just .250 in April, Gindl struggled to a .208/.311/.390 slash line. Not exactly confidence-inspiring.

So when the Brewers needed a bat called up, they once again tapped Khris Davis first. Gindl continued to grind and wound up at .274/.341/.456 with eight home runs and 38 RBI over 64 games in Nashville, but the crowning moment was when he finally got the call to head to Milwaukee in mid-July when Ryan Braun finally hit the disabled list with his thumb issues. Overall in 2013 with Milwaukee, Gindl amassed a .242/.340/.439 slash line with 32 hits (14 for extra bases), 17 runs scored, five home runs, 20 walks and 25 strikeouts in 132 at-bats across 57 games.

It was a year of ups and downs for the now 25-year-old Gindl. He would be recalled on three separate occasions during 2013 and would finish the season on Milwaukee’s bench.

For 2014, Gindl came to camp as the likeliest choice for fifth outfielder behind the presumed starters (Davis, Braun, and Carlos Gomez) and the second-best defender of the group, Logan Schafer. Gindl has gotten off to a slow start in Cactus League play however, though they may not have the room on the 25-man roster for a fifth outfielder to start the year anyway.

As a result of several mitigating factors, Gindl is likely to begin 2014 stashed away at Triple-A for at least the short-term. He’ll have the opportunity to get his swing going and could certainly see time this year against some tougher right-handed pitchers at the big league level depending on how things line up both in terms of opponent and situation.

All he’ll truly have to do is what he’s always done: Hit and play solid, if not spectacular, defense.

Something tells me he’s up to the task.

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Miss anyone along the way? Catch up on the Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers profiles to this point:

• #16 Aramis Ramirez
• #18 Khris Davis
• #20 Jonathan Lucroy
• #21 Juan Francisco
• #22 Matt Garza
• #23 Rickie Weeks
• #24 Lyle Overbay
• #25 Hunter Morris
• #26 Kyle Lohse
• #27 Carlos Gomez
• #29 Jim Henderson
• #30 Tyler Thornburg
• #32 Tom Gorzelanny
• #38 Wily Peralta
• #40 Johnny Hellweg
• #41 Marco Estrada
• #45 Alfredo Figaro
• #46 Hiram Burgos
• #47 Rob Wooten
• #49 Yovani Gallardo
• #50 José De La Torre
• #51 Wei-Chung Wang
• #52 Jimmy Nelson
• #53 Brandon Kintzler
• #54 Michael Blazek
• #58 Ariel Peña
• #59 Zach Duke
• #60 Kevin Shackelford
• #61 Jason Rogers
• #63 Brooks Hall
• #64 Mike Fiers
• #65 Irving Falu
• #66 Robinzon Diaz
• BONUS COLUMN: #77 David Goforth, #76 Kevin Mattison, #75 Mitch Haniger, #74 Michael Olmstead, #73 Kentrail Davis, #72 Cameron Garfield, #71 Adam Weisenburger, #70 Dustin Molleken, #67 Eugenio Velez