Rule 5 Draft: Hernandez, DeShields at top
With all the trades going down in the last few days -- if the hot stove were more than just a metaphor, it would have exploded by now -- it's easy to forget that the Rule 5 Draft was scheduled for Thursday, meaning a whole batch of Minor Leaguers were sent on the move for completely different reasons.
Before we get into who went where, a quick reminder on how the Rule 5 Draft works. Players who were signed when they were 18 or younger and have played five years or more and those who signed at 19 or older with four years of experience are eligible to be picked, so long as they weren't protected on their parent club's 40-man roster. (Or in the case of the Triple-A phase, they must be protected on the Triple-A roster.) A pick in the Major League portion of the Rule 5 Draft costs a club $50,000, but the player must remain on the team's 25-man roster for the entire 2015 season (barring injuries) or be offered back to his original club. Only three (Adrian Nieto, Tommy Kahnle, Wei-Chung Wang) of the nine players selected last year met this requirement in 2014.
Here are the players that were selected in the Major League and Triple-A portions of the 2014 Rule 5 Draft with comments on each. (Note: no player was selected in the Double-A portion, a la Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson last year, and passed picks were not included in the table below.)
Rule 5 Draft selections
MAJOR LEAGUE | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
PICK | NAME | POS | NEW ORG | OLD ORG | 2014 NOTES |
1 | Oscar Hernandez | C | ARI | TB | .249 average, .701 OPS, nine HR in Class A; 40.1 percent CS rate |
2 | Mark Canha | 1B | COL | MIA | Traded to A's; .303 average, .889 OPS, 20 HR in Triple-A |
3 | Delino DeShields | OF/2B | TEX | HOU | Astros' No. 12 prospect; 54 SB, .236 average, 11 HR; 101 SB in 2012 |
4 | Jason Garcia | RHP | HOU | BOS | Traded to Orioles; 3.67 ERA, 59 K in 56 1/13 IP as reliever; can touch triple digits |
5 | J.R. Graham | RHP | MIN | ATL | Former top Braves prospect; 5.55 ERA, 1.47 WHIP in 71 1/3 IP in Double-A; battled shoulder problems in 2013 |
6 | Jandel Gustave | RHP | BOS | HOU | Traded to Royals; 5.01 ERA, 82 K in 79 IP at Class A; can touch triple digits |
7 | Taylor Featherston | SS | CHC | COL | Traded to Angels; .260 average, .760 OPS, 16 HR, 33 2B at Double-A |
8 | Odubel Herrera | 2B | PHI | TEX | .315 average led Texas League, .771 OPS, 21 SB between Double-A/Class A Advanced |
9 | Andrew McKirahan | LHP | MIA | CHC | 2.08 ERA, 57 K, 14 BB in 65 IP as reliever at Double-A/Class A Advanced |
10 | Sean Gilmartin | LHP | NYM | MIN | 3.71 ERA, 133 K, 44 BB in 145 2/3 IP at Triple-A/Double-A; former Braves prospect traded to MIN last offseason |
11 | Daniel Winkler | RHP | ATL | COL | 1.41 ERA, 71 K in 70 IP at Double-A, led Minors in K's in 2013; underwent Tommy John surgery in June; won't be ready until mid-season |
12 | David Rollins | LHP | SEA | HOU | 3.81 ERA, 77 K, 1.23 WHIP in 78 IP at Double-A |
13 | Logan Verrett | RHP | BAL | NYM | 4.33 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 119 K, 34 BB in 162 IP at Triple-A |
14 | Andrew Oliver | LHP | PHI | PIT | 2.53 ERA, 85 K and 47 BB in 65 IP at Triple-A; former Tigers prospect; moved to bullpen full-time in 2014 |
TRIPLE-A | |||||
PICK | NAME | POS | NEW ORG | OLD ORG | 2014 NOTES |
1 | Tim Crabbe | RHP | ARI | CIN | 4.13 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, 60 K in 93 2/3 IP at Triple-A |
2 | Kyle Simon | RHP | COL | PHI | 2.64 ERA, 1.30 WHIP in 75 2/3 IP as Double-A reliever |
3 | Rock Shoulders | 1B | TEX | CHC | .222/.341/.397, 12 HR in 91 games at Class A Advanced; 2012 Moniker Madness champion |
4 | Luis Flores | C | HOU | CHC | .253/.388/.371, five HR in 67 games between Double-A/Triple-A |
5 | Greg Peavey | RHP | MIN | NYM | 4.64 ERA, 123 K, 43 BB in 143 2/3 IP between Double-A/Triple-A |
6 | Peter Tago | RHP | CWS | COL | 6.00 ERA, 1.85 WHIP, 48 K, 47 BB in 60 IP at Class A Advanced |
7 | Ariel Ovando | OF | CHC | HOU | .237/.287/.289 at Class A Short Season; yet to play above Class A; expected to become pitcher |
8 | Cam Maron | C | CIN | NYM | .282/.387/.362, three HR, two 3B, 15 2B in 98 games at Class A Advanced |
9 | Matthew Tomshaw | LHP | MIA | MIN | 3.50 ERA, 1.32 WHIP in 136 1/3 IP at Class A Advanced; 2011 42nd-round pick |
10 | Juan Gamboa | SS | SD | NYM | Played in Mexican League in 2014; .306/.386/.472, seven HR, 50 RBIs; .195 average with .540 OPS at Class A Short Season in 2013 |
11 | Luis Urena | OF | TB | PIT | Has yet to pitch in Minor Leagues; 6-foot-4; 22 years old out of Dominican Republic |
12 | Steven Rodriguez | C | ATL | ARI | .263/.365/.383 in 48 games between Class A Advanced/Double-A; 44.2 percent caught-stealing rate |
13 | Delvi Francisco | RHP | CLE | PHI | 7.44 ERA, 1.69 WHIP, 47 K, 32 BB in 52 IP as reliever at Class A/Class A Short Season |
14 | Ramon Del Orbe | RHP | SF | MIA | 3.70 ERA, 44 K, 25 BB in 56 IP as reliever at Class A/Class A Short Season |
15 | Jheyson Manzueta | RHP | DET | MIA | 4.37 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 37 K, 25 BB in 59 2/3 IP as reliever at Class A Advanced/Double-A |
16 | Tyler Waldron | RHP | STL | PIT | 3.00 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 46 K, 13 BB in 51 IP as reliever at Class A Advanced/Double-A/Triple-A |
17 | Peter Lavin | OF | LAD | PHI | .287 average, .773 OPS, 11 HR, 11 SB in 128 games at Class A Advanced/Double-A |
18 | Sean Halton | OF | BAL | MIL | .293 average, .777 OPS, eight HR, three 3B, 29 2B in 122 games at Triple-A; had .687 OPS in 42 games with Brewers in 2013 |
19 | Chris Curley | 3B | LAA | CWS | .286 average, .721 OPS, five HR, four 3B, 31 2B in 131 games at Double-A; hit 24 HR in Class A Advanced in 2013 |
20 | Hiram Martinez | SS | TEX | MIA | .229 average, .536 OPS in 31 games between Class A Short Season/Class A |
21 | Euclides Leyer | RHP | CIN | CWS | 4.53 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, 50 K in 55 2/3 IP as reliever at Class A Advanced |
22 | Harold Riggins | 1B | MIA | CIN | .250 average, .757 OPS, 10 HR, 37 RBIs in 93 games at Class A Advanced/Double-A |
23 | Mikey O'Brien | RHP | TB | BAL | 4.40 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 89 K in 114 2/3 IP at Class A Advanced/Double-A/Triple-A in Reds system |
24 | Brett Jackson | OF | SF | ARI | .208 average, .649 OPS, six HR, five SB in Minors; played in seven games for D-backs; former Cubs top prospect |
25 | Alex Santana | RHP | LAD | BAL | 3.20 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, .179 average-against, 48 K in 39 1/3 IP at Class A Short Season/Class A |
26 | Pedro Ruiz | SS | LAA | ARI | .244/.342/.352 in 62 games at Class A Short Season |
27 | Alex Burgos | LHP | MIA | DET | 4.19 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, 60 K in 62 1/3 IP mostly as reliever at Class A Advanced/Double-A |
28 | Randy Fontanez | RHP | LAD | NYM | 3.74 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 66 K in 65 IP as reliever at Class A Advanced/Double-A |
29 | Kentrail Davis | OF | LAA | MIL | .245/.354/.337, two HR, two 3B, 23 2B, 14 SB in 108 games at Double-A |
30 | Nate Samson | SS | LAD | ARI | .274/.363/.444 in 36 games at Double-A |
Sam Dykstra is a contributor to MiLB.com.