Thanks to Baseball America and the Dayton Dragons for the photo
One of the more overlooked aspects of the baseball offseason is the Rule Five Draft. Although players selected in the draft rarely stick, there are some big examples of players who do, such as Dan Uggla, Josh Hamilton and Johan Santana.
Before we get to the analysis, a quick overview of the draft itself for those of you who may not be aware of the rules:
In order for a player to be eligible to be selected, he has to be either 3 years (if signed at 19 or older) or 4 years (if under 19) removed from being drafted/signed by their organization, and not be on the 40 man roster. If selected, a player must remain on the selecting team’s 25 man roster the entire season. To prevent abuse, each selection costs the drafting team $50,000. In addition, each selection must remain on the drafting team’s roster for at least 90 days. Got it? Good. Let’s get to the picks.
Picked first overall was Terrell Young. Young has had an up and down career with the Reds. He has good arm strength, but has had a tough time with his control. He has never pitched above high A ball, so he has quite the jump ahead of him.
Skipping to 4th, the Padres drafted Donald Veal, a former top prospect of the Cubs. Veal had a tough year last year, posting a 4.52 ERA and 1.59 WHIP, but throws in the mid 90s, and if he makes it through 2009 could be a good bullpen guy down the road. And hey when you’re the Padres you can afford to punt a roster spot for 2009.
Another interesting pick is Lou Palmisano, picked 5th by Baltimore. A former 3rd round pick, Palmisano has struggled with injuries, but he did have a .368 OBP and 11 homers in 2007 at AA Huntsville. Depending on what the Orioles do with Matt Weiters, he could stick around, although being a catcher battling knee injuries probably isn’t a good combo.
Jumping to 9th, the Tigers selected a guy I’ve always been interested in, Kyle Bloom from the Pirates. How he didn’t make Pittsburgh’s 40 man roster is beyond me, it’s freakin Pittsburgh. Bloom is 25, and improved his mechanics last year which resulted in a jump in velocity, leaving him as a guy who sits at 92 with fairly decent secondary stuff. Could stick as a mop up guy, but in the end I think the Pirates will get him back or the Tigers will trade him to a team not competing in 09.
At 11, the Royals drafted, and then subsequently traded to the Mariners, Jose Lugo formerly of the Twins. Lugo had a 4.04 ERA in Fort Meyers last season. Described as having a plus, and potential plus-plus, fastball, I’d be fairly shocked if he stuck.
At 15 the Diamondbacks selected James Skelton, a catcher from the Tigers. Most people think Skelton won’t stick at catcher, but the fact remains the guy has a career .416 OBP in the minors.
At 21 the Twins selected Jason Jones, an rhp from the Yankees. Jones is a big fella (6′ 5″, 225) but doesn’t have a great fastball. He mainly throws cutters and sinkers, and could be their next Nick Blackburn. With Boof Bonser and Phil Humber already on the roster it seems unlikely that Jones will stick unless one is traded.
The Mets took Darren O’Day 23rd, still augmenting their bullpen, still oblivious to the fact that Scott Schoenweis is still their guy against lefties. O’Day isn’t anything special, but the side-arming righty is about a 50/50 proposition for sticking.
Perhaps the most intriguing guy went 25th to Milwaukee. Many people thought Eduardo Morlan, traded from Minnesota to Tampa in the Delmon Young/Matt Garza swap, would be selected a lot higher. But a drop in velocity (from 95 down to high 80s). I have to think Morlan will either stick in Milwaukee or be a useful trade chip.
Other notables were: Rocky Cherry, taken by the Mets, who has more upside than O’Day as he has a 95 mph fastball with a very good slider, and Anthony Hatch, who was a star at Nicholls State, was taken by the Dodgers in the AAA phase.
Only two teams, the Padres and Mets, made more than one selection in the major league portion of the draft. The Brewers (4) made the most selections in the minor league portion.
When’s the drop-dead date on all these guys?
I think it’s painfully clear that MLJ doesn’t do comment-driven posts.
clown resembles that remark.
But how many of these guys did you actually watch?
/Irish
Not Comment Driven..how dare you..Fetch listed these guys in some sort of order…Lists = Comments..sweet crap
you amaze me with your minor league knowledge. how does one find the time?
sparty..he lives in North Dakota…they do nothing but long to be Canadian and bang cattle..he has the time
nick, resembles or resents?
Clown just bought a ticket to ND. He’s already exhausted the cattle supply in Texas.
You’d think he would just hop the border to OK? I guess my northeast brain will never understand those college rivalries.
I actually fish, not ranch. But it’s all the same.
When used properly, “I resemble that remark” effectively parries an intended insult. The insult is deflated because the recipient accepts the characterization as accurate. It is particularly effective against those who have the innate need to attempt to “zing” everyone with which they come into contact. By “resembling” rather than “resenting” the zing, you take the fun out of it for the zinger and they move on to other victims.
/jmorris
haha. sorry.
Yankees lost 4 players in the Rule 5. Does that mean their farm system is getting better?
/prospect n00b
Fetch, Terrell Young made quite an impact during his stint with the Dayton Dragons.
Btw, those grassy knoll seats are a great spot to watch a game in Dayton, and for 8 years or so, the only ones available due to every year’s full season sellouts.
Great story, Rex. We do things right in southern Ohio.
/grew up 45 minutes from Dayton.
/grew up 45 minutes from Dayton.
with that being said, i’ll have to assume that the over/under on women from your family that i’ve banged is somewhere around 4.
Counting Nick, there are exactly 5 women in his family…I’ll take the over.
Hef, truth be told, it was often outdoors, in the mud and the rain and it’s possible a man slipped in. [shrugs] There’d be no way of knowing.
Welcome to the family, Rex.
Is today half day Friday at MLJ?
Company retreat today, cbh.
Make sure you take it to them in the basketball game clown.
sorry, cbh. i’m still in bed.
roman is defiling a truck or two in the mlj parking lot. fetch is sifting through job offers from way better blogs than this.
clown is teaching a class at the local clown college called “How to Sit Still in a Child’s Room For Long Periods of Time, But Then Move to Another Spot in the Room While the Aforementioned Child Sleeps, Subsequently Scaring the Bejeezus Out of Him Or Her When They Wake Up and Realize the Clown Has Moved”.
everyone else called in sick.
“fetch is sifting through job offers from way better blogs than this.”
+1 Rex
fetch-waiting for your answer….
clown is teaching a class at the local clown college called “How to Sit Still in a Child’s Room For Long Periods of Time, But Then Move to Another Spot in the Room While the Aforementioned Child Sleeps, Subsequently Scaring the Bejeezus Out of Him Or Her When They Wake Up and Realize the Clown Has Moved”.
I hope he fares better than I did in that one.
it’s definitely a 400 level class, as well as requires the patience of a ninja assassin.
answer for what sparty?
forget it…
way to go, fetch. sparty only hires those that are sharp as a tack.
fetch fail.
I’m a dumbass apparently.