MLB: Rule 5 Draft Explained and Reviewed For All Three Levels

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Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports /

The close of the MLB winter meetings every year is the Rule 5 draft, held Thursday morning. What exactly is it, and who was selected?

How the Rule 5 Works

Because it’s been widely reported over the years how MLB executives will show up to the Rule 5 with their luggage packed, if the primary team executive even bothers showing up, the Rule 5 draft has been seen as an after-thought of the winter meetings by many baseball fans over the years.

This couldn’t be farther from the case. While it is true that you don’t happen to find a Hall of Fame player, a Cy Young Award winner, or an MVP winner in every Rule 5 draft, the truth is that they have been part of the Rule 5. Roberto Clemente was originally selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates from the Dodgers organization as a Rule 5 selection. Johan Santana was selected as a Rule 5 selection in 1999. Josh Hamilton was selected as a Rule 5 selection in 2006.

Many people are aware of the major league portion of the Rule 5 draft, which leads to the drafted player needing to stay on the drafting team’s 25-man roster the entire next season or be offered back to the original drafting team. There are some ways around this, like selecting a player who has just had Tommy John surgery and placing him on the DL all season, but that simply delays the inevitable as the player is still required to achieve one year’s worth of service time before being sent to the minors, or be offered back to his original team.

What less people are aware of are the AA and AAA portions of the draft. These portions of the draft were originally put in place to facilitate movement of minor league players when there were terrible imbalances in the amount of minor league teams and finances available to fund those minor league teams for all organizations. It was supposed to allow for players in deep organizations to have a chance at the majors if they were stuck in a system with no major league job for the foreseeable future. The AA portion has been phased out starting this season, so it’s just referred to as the “minor league phase” or the AAA phase now.

The modern minor league portion of the Rule 5 is used primarily for roster filler purposes, i.e. getting a lefty reliever for the AAA club or getting a catcher for the upper levels, but there still are guys that come through that portion and are quite productive, including two World Series relievers in the last 20 years, Jeff Nelson and Guillermo Mota, who each were minor league Rule 5 selections.

Let’s take a look at this year’s selections, starting with the Major League portion of the draft!

Next: MLB Portion

Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

MLB Portion, 2 rounds, 18 selections

The San Diego Padres ended up absolutely dominating this draft, as they have now traded for all three of the top selections in the draft, but we’ll take a look at each player picked:

Round 1:
1. Minnesota Twins – Miguel Diaz, RHP, Milwaukee Brewers, Video – Traded to the Padres, Diaz could be a legit reliever right now with an upper 90s fastball and a wicked slider. He missed time due to a fracture in his elbow in 2015. Likely to stick in the bullpen.
2. Cincinnati Reds – Luis Torrens, C, New York Yankees, Video – The Padres traded for this selection. Torrens tore the labrum in his shoulder and missed his entire 2015 and missed a piece of his 2016 recovering. Excellent defender with good offensive skills, but very, very raw for MLB.
3. San Diego Padres – Allen Cordoba, SS, St. Louis Cardinals, Video – Fairly high-end offensive profile, but he’s never played beyond rookie ball. Very young at only 21 (just turned so on Tuesday), but going to have a rough adjustment to big league ball unless the Padres work out a trade to hold onto him after this pick.
4. Tampa Bay Rays – Kevin Gadea, RHP, Seattle Mariners – Advanced pitchability guy who took a step forward with his stuff last year to a mid-90s fastball. Could start or use his three-pitch mix for multiple innings in the bullpen with very solid control.
5. Atlanta Braves – Armando Rivero, RHP, Chicago Cubs, Video – Older for this draft at 28 years old, but Rivero was a Cuban defector, and he has incredible velocity on his fastball and a hard slider, which allowed him to rack up 105 strikeouts in just 67 2/3 innings in the PCL last year. Should stay in the Braves bullpen all season.
6. Oakland Athletics – Full Roster
7. Arizona Diamondbacks – Tyler Jones, RHP, New York Yankees, Video – Bounced from the Twins to the Braves to the Yankees in the last three season in the minors, Jones is a guy with solid velocity that can get up to the upper 90s. He lacks a consistent secondary pitch, so he lives on location of the fastball, which is a dangerous thing at the big league level, but it is a heavy sinking fastball when he’s on top of it right.
8. Philadelphia Phillies – Full Roster
9. Milwaukee Brewers – Caleb Smith, LHP, New York Yankees, Video – Considered a likely bullpen guy out of the draft, Smith finally made that transition in late 2016, and he could be an excellent LOOGY, which is often what you see found in the Rule 5.
10. Los Angeles Angels – Justin Haley, RHP, Boston Red Sox, Video – Traded to the Padres, who then traded him to the Twins in their trade to acquire Diaz, Haley is a guy who could stick as a back end starter with present control and command, but not really overwhelming stuff. Likely ideally a swingman in the big leagues.
11. Colorado Rockies – Passed
12. Chicago White Sox – Dylan Covey, RHP, Oakland Athletics, Video – Drafted in the first round out of high school, Covey made a smart choice to stay home to learn to manage a newly-found diagnosis of Type I Diabetes rather than sign, attending the University of San Diego. He’s been solid in Oakland’s system, and he had a very good year where he finished in AA in 2016 which could lead to him being ready in 2017 to take a 5th spot in a rotation or be a bullpen swingman.
13. Pittsburgh Pirates – Tyler Webb, LHP, New York Yankees, Video – Webb jumped three levels in 2014 and looked to be knocking on the big league door, but he missed time due to a tendon injury, and they’ve been easing his workload up since, but he showed the ability to be an excellent LOOGY.
14. Miami Marlins – Passed
15. Kansas City Royals – Passed
16. Houston Astros – Roster Full
17. New York Yankees – Roster Full
18. Seattle Mariners – Roster Full
19. St. Louis Cardinals – Passed
20. Detroit Tigers – Daniel Stumpf, LHP, Kansas City Royals, Video – Fitting the type of guy you can get in the Rule 5, Stumpf was picked up by the Phillies from the White Sox last season, jumped three minor league levels to the major leagues with Philadelphia, and then ended up in KC’s system. The Royals left him unprotected, and he should fit well for the Tigers as a LOOGY type.
21. San Francisco Giants – Passed
22. New York Mets – Roster Full
23. Baltimore Orioles – Aneury Tavarez, OF, Boston Red Sox, Video – Tavarez is a guy who still exudes raw athleticism, but he struggles with his strike zone judgement. He’ll be a long shot to make it, but he has the athleticism that could do it if the team could live with the low walk rate.
24. Toronto Blue Jays – Glenn Sparkman , RHP, Kansas City Royals, Video – Returning from Tommy John surgery in 2016, Sparkman had a solid season that finished with him in AA. Sparkman’s stuff isn’t elite, but he makes it play up with a deceptive delivery. He works with a low-90s fastball, cut change, and a hard slider as his three best pitches, which could be a potentially effective mix out of the bullpen.
25. Los Angeles Dodgers – Roster Full
26. Boston Red Sox – Josh Rutledge, IF, Colorado Rockies, Video – Rutledge has been with the Red Sox before, and this is an excellent way to acquire a guy who has major league experience for a cheap cost in the Rule 5 rather than the free agent market.
27. Cleveland Indians – Hoby Milner, LHP, Philadelphia Phillies, Video – Transitioned to the bullpen in 2015 and made it to AAA in 2016 in the Phillies system. Excellent LOOGY potential with the ability to work on both sides of the plate with an excellent curve and control.
28. Washington Nationals – Passed
29. Texas Rangers – Mike Hauschild , RHP, Houston Astros, Video – A command/control guy who has walked less than 2.5 per 9 innings over his entire minor league career, has the stuff to be a solid swing man or even see his stuff play up to be a 6th/7th inning guy in the bullpen. Pretty decent return on a 33rd round draft pick.
30. Chicago Cubs – Passed

Round 2 (only those with an open roster spot that did make a selection in round 1 are able to continue to round 2):
1. Cincinnati Reds – Stuart Turner, C, Minnesota Twins, Video – Highly regarded entering the 2013 draft, the Twins were excited to get Turner in the 3rd round, but his bat has simply not developed the way they were hoping. Excellent defender with surprising agility and defensive ability for a big (6’2, 225) catcher.
2. San Diego Padres – Passed
3. Arizona Diamondbacks – Passed
4. Baltimore Orioles – Anthony Santander, OF, Cleveland Indians, Video – Barely missed my top 10 list for the Indians, which is the level of talent Santander has. He made an adjustment to his swing that will likely lead to more strikeouts, but it did allow him to tap into his solid power. Perfect organization in Baltimore to work with his limited defensive profile (RF/DH only) while utilizing his switch-hitting power bat.
5. Toronto Blue Jays – Passed
6. Cleveland Indians – Passed

Next: Minor League portion

Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports /

Minor League Portion – Four Rounds, 39 Players Selected

While the names may not be widely known, the minor league portion had some very intriguing picks this season:

Round 1:
1. Minnesota Twins – Passed
2. Cincinnati Reds – Jose Adames , RHP, Miami Marlins – Hard thrower, doesn’t miss many bats, bullpen guy
3. San Diego Padres – Trevor Frank, RHP, Cleveland Indians – Excellent command and aggressive nature in the bullpen
4. Tampa Bay Rays – Ty Hensley, RHP, New York Yankees – Former first rounder with elite arm when healthy, but has been through shoulder injury, hip surgery, and now TJS that he’ll return from in 2017
5. Atlanta Braves – Cesilio Pimentel, LHP, Pittsburgh Pirates – Big velo, heavy fastball from the left side with minimal secondary stuff currently
6. Oakland Athletics– Passed
7. Arizona Diamondbacks – Jon Fitzsimmons, RHP, Cleveland Indians – Returned from TJS in 2016 with elite K rate in low-A as bullpen piece
8. Philadelphia Phillies – Jorge Flores, SS, Toronto Blue Jays – Extremely undersized guy (5’5, 160) that’s a glove first guy with minimal offensive skills
9. Milwaukee Brewers – Art Charles, 1B, Cincinnati Reds – Big guy with a big swing that missed 2016 with injury
10. Los Angeles Angels – Matt Williams, SS, St. Louis Cardinals – Good defender with excellent OBP, but not much else offensively
11. Colorado Rockies – Anthony Bemboom, C, Los Angeles Angels – Defender who does well handling pitchers but no offensive skills
12. Chicago White Sox – Passed
13. Pittsburgh Pirates – Passed
14. Miami Marlins – Cal Towey, OF, Los Angeles Angels – Excellent OF defender with minimal power or speed, but good OBP
15. Kansas City Royals – Kelvin Magallanes, RHP, New York Yankees – Throws hard, can’t find the plate currently
16. Houston Astros – Eduardo de Oleo, C, Arizona Diamondbacks – Big arm at catcher with power at the plate, but minimal ability to contact
17. New York Yankees – Jorge Saez, C, Toronto Blue Jays – Broke through in third year at high-A. Solid defensive profile with compact swing that doesn’t indicate big power.
18. Seattle Mariners – Paul Paez, LHP, New York Mets – Tiny guy (5’7) that pounds the zone with a four-pitch mix out of the bullpen with average stuff
19. St. Louis Cardinals – Austin Wilson, OF, Seattle Mariners – 2nd round pick from Stanford, excellent offensive potential, but no consistency yet, especially in strike zone recognition
20. Detroit Tigers – Sean Donatello, RHP, Miami Marlins – Big time ground ball specialist that misses nearly no bats
21. San Francisco Giants – Passed
22. New York Mets – Passed
23. Baltimore Orioles – Jefri Hernandez, RHP, Cincinnati Reds – Been very solid when he moved to the bullpen, but cannot stay healthy
24. Toronto Blue Jays – Philip Walby, RHP, Washington Nationals – Heavy upper-90s fastball with a slider that he’s getting on top of better now and was able to get swing and miss this year
25. Los Angeles Dodgers – Edward Paredes, LHP, Detroit Tigers – after three seasons in Indy Ball, pitched at AA and able to generate Ks
26. Boston Red Sox – Harrison Cooney,RHP, Los Angeles Angels – Stuff has been very hittable before injury cost him nearly all of 2016
27. Cleveland Indians – Passed
28. Washington Nationals – Passed
29. Texas Rangers – Matt Smoral, LHP, Toronto Blue Jays – Tall (6’8) lefty drafted in the first round compensatory in 2012 and signed for $2M out of high school. Has not been healthy since, but has big pedigree still and stuff that he can’t control
30. Chicago Cubs – Kevin Cornelius, SS, New York Yankees – Contact hitter with good bat-to-ball skills and solid defensive skills at third, able to handle short

More from Call to the Pen

Round 2 (any team whose AAA reserve roster is not full and have not passed are eligible to continue drafting in Round 2 and subsequent rounds):
1. Tampa Bay Rays – Jairo Munoz, RHP, Philadelphia Phillies – has not been able to be healthy, but has excellent stuff
2. Atlanta Braves – Passed
3. Arizona Diamondbacks – Grant Sides, RHP, Cleveland Indians – Reliever for AA that threw very well for Akron in 2016
4. Philadelphia Phillies– Passed
5. Milwaukee Brewers – Matt Ramsey, RHP, Miami Marlins – Came back from TJS this season and had big strikeout totals up to AA
6. Los Angeles Angels – Adrian Almeida, LHP, New York Mets – Solid stuff, but cannot consistently locate
7. Colorado Rockies – Passed
8. Miami Marlins – Nick Maronde, LHP, Cleveland Indians – Pitched in majors in 2014, first full season in 2016 after TJS with heavy sinking fastball
9. Kansas City Royals

– Passed

10. Houston Astros – Jared Mortensen, RHP, Tampa Bay Rays – Made the move to the bullpen after initially signing with the Rays out of independent ball. Stuff played up in bullpen, but location was not present like he had previously.
11. New York Yankees – Colten Brewer, RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates – Hard, heavy sinker that works in the rotation still, but could make a good bullpen weapon
12. Seattle Mariners – Chuck Taylor, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks – Undersized raw athlete that’s never been able to translate the tools into skills yet
13. St. Louis Cardinals – Passed
14. Detroit Tigers – Elvis Rubio, OF, Milwaukee Brewers – Raw athlete with excellent size to still dream on at only 21
15. Baltimore Orioles – Brian Moran, LHP, Atlanta Braves – Oft-injured polished LOOGY is really more org filler than anything at this point
16. Toronto Blue Jays – Passed
17. Los Angeles Dodgers – Kyle Grana, RHP, St. Louis Cardinals – Tremendous K rates out of the bullpen as he’s taken one step at a time in the minors as a reliever. Numbers suggest more to come, but hard to get great reports on him.
18. Boston Red Sox – Joshua Smith, LHP, Pittsburgh Pirates – Reached AAA, but really struggled with location, in spite of excellent raw stuff
19. Texas Rangers – Zachary Bird, RHP, Atlanta Braves – High profile pitcher considered amon the top 20 prospects in the Dodgers and then Braves orgs, but simply cannot locate and totaled an 8.87 ERA in high-A last season
20. Chicago Cubs – Passed

Round 3:
1. Tampa Bay Rays – Passed
2. Arizona Diamondbacks – Daniel Lockhart, SS, Chicago Cubs – Son of longtime utility infielder Keith Lockhart, not the same level of defensive ability or even league-average contact skills
3. Milwaukee Brewers – Passed
4. Los Angeles Angels – Mario Sanjur, C, Detroit Tigers – High defensive profile before being signed out of Panama, but has not made it out of short-season ball.
5. Miami Marlins – Alex Yarbrough, 2B, Los Angeles Angels – Regarded as a high-contact hitter out of Ole Miss, but has struggled in upper levels
6. Houston Astros – Passed
7. New York Yankees – Passed
8. Seattle Mariners – Passed
9. Detroit Tigers – Passed
10. Baltimore Orioles – Passed
11. Los Angeles Dodgers – Passed
12. Boston Red Sox – Passed
13. Texas Rangers – Fernando Miranda, RHP, Atlanta Braves – Did not pitch in organized ball in 2016, though the Braves still owned his rights. Made all of 5 appearances in A-ball before not throwing in 2016.

Round 4:
1. Los Angeles Angels – Passed

Next: Revised Red Sox Top 10 Prospects

There it is – the entire write up, 57 players selected overall. Some were impressive, some were head-scratchers, and the Padres stole the headlines!

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