Last winter’s Rule 5 draft was relatively busy, as 15 players were selected across 14 teams. Just under half remain with their new organizations. Only three are currently healthy, but that trio has been productive to varying degrees. It has been a couple months since our last look at the class, so let’s check back in to see how the players who have stuck are handling their first taste of the big leagues.
A quick refresh for those unfamiliar with the process: the Rule 5 draft is a means of getting MLB opportunities to players who might be blocked with their current organization. Teams can draft certain players who are left off their original club’s 40-man roster. The drafting team needs to keep that player on the MLB roster or injured list for their entire first season. If they do so, they’d gain the player’s contractual rights permanently. A team can keep an injured Rule 5 pick on the major league IL, but they’d eventually need to carry him on the active roster for 90 days. If the player misses the entire season, the Rule 5 restriction carries over to the following year.
If the drafting team decides not to carry the player on the roster at any point during the year, they need to place him on waivers. If he goes unclaimed, the player is offered back to his original organization — which does not need to carry him on either the MLB or 40-man rosters to take him back.
On An Active Roster
Shane Smith, White Sox RHP (selected from Brewers)
Smith not only made Chicago’s roster, he cracked the Opening Day rotation for the rebuilding club. Most of the time, teams keep Rule 5 pitchers in low-leverage relief until they build enough of a regular season track record to be entrusted with more meaningful innings. The White Sox gave Smith a rare amount of responsibility right out of the gate.
The 6’3″ righty is running with the opportunity. Smith has turned in a 2.68 earned run average through his first 11 starts in the big leagues. He’s striking out a decent 22.3% of opponents behind a 12.2% swinging strike rate — nearly two points higher than the league mark for starters. He leads a five-pitch arsenal with a 95 MPH heater, while opponents are batting .098 in 51 at-bats that end with his changeup.
That changeup has seemingly taken a massive step forward. Baseball America’s offseason scouting report called it a below-average pitch that Smith almost never threw. In mid-April, Eric Longenhagen and James Fegan of FanGraphs wrote that the White Sox had more or less added the pitch to his arsenal, and it’s already a plus offering. They ranked him the #7 prospect in the Chicago farm system at the time, placing him not far outside their overall Top 100. That’s essentially unheard of for a Rule 5 pick.
Smith is going to stick on the roster all season. He looks quite likely to be the Sox’s All-Star representative. They might scale back his workload in the second half, as he only started 16 of 32 appearances and logged 94 1/3 innings last season in the minors. He profiles as a long-term rotation piece, even if he might land in the middle or back end by the next time the White Sox are competitive. The developmental focus now is probably on honing his command. His 9.5% walk rate is a little higher than ideal, and only Nick Lodolo has hit more batters than Smith’s seven. Those are relatively small quibbles. He looks like one of the best Rule 5 finds in recent memory.
Liam Hicks, Marlins C (selected from Tigers)
Hicks, a lefty-swinging catcher, went from the Rangers to the Tigers in last summer’s Carson Kelly deal. While he reached base at a .414 clip in Double-A after the trade, Detroit opted not to add him to the 40-man roster. The rebuilding Marlins grabbed him to back up Nick Fortes, buying more time for highly-regarded prospect Agustín Ramírez to play at Triple-A.
Ramírez hit his way to the big leagues by the middle of April. He’s tied for the rookie lead with seven home runs through his first 34 games, so he’s unlikely to head back down anytime soon. Fortes returned from an oblique strain in early May. The Fish have operated with three catchers on the active roster for the past month, mixing in plenty of designated hitter work for Ramírez along the way.
The 26-year-old Hicks has played far less frequently, but he has been productive of late. At the time of our first Rule 5 update on April 14, he was batting .214 over 35 plate appearances. He’s batting .292 with eight extra-base hits and an equal number of walks and strikeouts (eight apiece) in 73 trips to the dish since then. The Marlins gave him his first major league start as a first baseman yesterday.
Carrying three catchers all season may not be ideal for roster flexibility, but the Fish have ample first base/DH at-bats to go around. Hicks is playing far too well right now to offer back to Detroit. Fortes, who has limited offensive upside and projects as a long-term backup, still has minor league options. The Marlins may not want to have a pair of rookies splitting time behind the plate, but sending Fortes to Triple-A could be an option if they feel they need more defensive flexibility off the bench.
Mike Vasil, White Sox RHP (selected from Mets via Rays and Phillies)
Vasil landed with the Rays via a Rule 5 draft day trade with Philadelphia. Tampa Bay waived the UVA product a couple weeks into Spring Training. The White Sox claimed him to prevent him from being returned to the Mets organization. He’s been pitching out of Will Venable’s bullpen for the season.
The 6’5″ righty has been a solid contributor to the Sox’s pitching staff in his own right. He owns a 2.10 ERA over 17 appearances, usually working 2-3 innings at a time. He’s walking nearly as many batters as he’s striking out, so it’s fair to question how long he’ll be able to keep this up. Vasil sits in the mid-90s over multi-inning stints and is getting ground-balls at a solid 52.5% clip, though. There’s no reason for the Sox to move on right now.
Currently On Major League Injured List
Garrett McDaniels, Angels LHP (selected from Dodgers)
Biceps tendinitis has shelved McDaniels since May 2. The Halos sent him to their Arizona complex on a rehab assignment last Tuesday. They’re allowed to keep him in the minors while he’s building up, but rehab assignments for pitchers can last a maximum of 30 days. Unless McDaniels suffers a setback, the Angels need to decide by June 26 whether to put him back in the MLB bullpen or move on from him.
The Angels bullpen has been an absolute disaster. They’re one of two teams (joining the A’s) whose relief group has an ERA beginning with a 6. There’s not a single Halos reliever who has worked at least six innings with an ERA better than 4.76. The opportunity is wide open, but the 25-year-old McDaniels has been a part of that showing. He has allowed eight runs (seven earned) on 13 hits and eight walks over his first 10 2/3 MLB frames. He’s getting ground-balls at an incredible 74.3% rate, but he’s not missing bats and has allowed home runs on two of the five fly-balls he surrendered.
Angel Bastardo, Blue Jays RHP (selected from Red Sox)
Bastardo underwent Tommy John surgery last June while he was in the Boston system. The Jays selected him knowing they’d stash him on the 60-day injured list for most or all of this season. That delays the decision on whether to keep him in the MLB bullpen, but he’d need to stick on the 40-man roster throughout next offseason and log at least 90 days on the active roster between this season and next for the Jays to get his contractual rights.
Nate Lavender, Rays LHP (selected from Mets)
It’s basically an identical scenario with Lavender, who underwent Tommy John surgery last May when he was pitching for the Mets. He’s more likely than Bastardo to make his return in the second half of this season. In any case, the Rays won’t need to make the decision for at least another month.
Connor Thomas, Brewers LHP (selected from Cardinals)
Behind a 53.5% ground-ball rate, the soft-tossing Thomas managed a sub-3.00 ERA over 56 Triple-A appearances a year ago. He had a solid spring, throwing 11 1/3 innings of four-run ball with 11 strikeouts and five walks. Thomas broke camp in low-leverage relief. He was hit hard in his first two MLB appearances. The Yankees teed off for eight runs (including a trio of homers) over two innings in his debut. Thomas gave up four runs in 3 1/3 frames against the Reds a week later.
The Brewers placed him on the IL with elbow arthritis after the latter appearance. They moved him to the 60-day IL in the middle of May, ruling him out into the first week of June. He’s seemingly a few weeks from making his return, as Milwaukee assigned him to their Arizona complex last week. As was the case with McDaniels, the team will have a few more weeks before they need to make a decision.
Returned To Original Organization
Noah Murdock, RHP (returned to Royals from A’s)
Murdock broke camp with the A’s and made 14 MLB appearances. He was hit hard, though, giving up 25 runs across 17 innings. He was the first Rule 5 pick to be returned to his original club during the season. The Royals assigned him to Triple-A Omaha after he cleared waivers in mid-May. He has given up eight runs over his first 6 1/3 innings there. Murdock was effective in the minors a year ago, when he combined for a 3.16 ERA through 62 2/3 innings between the top two levels.
Evan Reifert, RHP (returned to Rays from Nationals)
Refiert is a slider specialist with well below-average command. He walked 12 batters in 6 1/3 innings during Spring Training, so the Nats returned him to the Rays a couple weeks before Opening Day. Tampa Bay assigned him to Triple-A Durham for his first stint at that level. He’s been fantastic, racking up 29 strikeouts against five walks across 14 1/3 frames. There’s a decent chance he’ll get a look from the Rays at some point this year.
Cooper Bowman, 2B (returned to A’s from Reds)
A righty-hitting second baseman, Bowman got a brief look in camp from the Reds. He had three hits, all singles, in 25 Spring Training at-bats before Cincinnati decided he wouldn’t make the team. The A’s assigned him to Triple-A Las Vegas, where he opened the season on the injured list. He was reinstated in mid-April and has gotten out to a poor start (.229/.343/.349 in 99 plate appearances). Bowman struggled in Triple-A last season but has hit well up through Double-A.
Eiberson Castellano, RHP (returned to Phillies by Twins)
Castellano was trying to make the jump directly from Double-A, where he’d turned in a sub-4.00 ERA with a 31.3% strikeout rate last season. He didn’t command the ball well enough in camp to crack the Twins’ pitching staff, however. Castellano walked 10 batters and surrendered 10 runs over 10 2/3 innings. Minnesota returned him to the Phillies, who assigned him back to Double-A Reading. He fired 10 innings of one-run ball over his first three outings but went on the injured list after his fourth appearance. He’s back from that IL stint but hasn’t been able to find the strike zone in his two post-injury appearances, walking five in a combined 2 1/3 innings.
Gage Workman, IF (returned to Tigers by Cubs and White Sox)
Workman had never played above Double-A, where he struck out at a lofty 27.5% rate. His combination of power, speed and defensive ability nevertheless led the Cubs to select him in the Rule 5 draft. Workman mashed his way onto the Opening Day roster with a .364/.420/.705 line and four homers over 20 games this spring.
The Cubs weren’t able to find much regular season playing time. They gave him all of four starts at third base before moving on. The White Sox gave him an even briefer look after grabbing him in a small trade. Workman suffered a right hip injury within days of landing with the ChiSox. They waived him rather than put him back on the MLB roster once he was healthy.
Workman has been back with the Tigers since May 14. They sent him to Triple-A for the first time. He’s hitting .244/.333/.511 with four homers and a 27.5% strikeout rate in 13 games.
Anderson Pilar, RHP (returned to Marlins by Braves)
Pilar is another Rule 5 pick whose command was an issue in camp. He walked six batters over 5 2/3 innings, giving up nine runs in the process. Atlanta returned him to the Marlins, who assigned him to Triple-A Jacksonville. He’s pitching well, turning in a 3.91 ERA with a near-27% strikeout rate against a manageable 8.2% walk percentage. He could get a look from the Fish, especially if they move players like Calvin Faucher and Anthony Bender by the deadline.
Juan Nuñez, RHP (returned to Orioles by Padres)
Nuñez, who had never pitched above High-A when he was selected, always had an uphill battle to cracking a win-now roster in San Diego. Six walks over five Spring Training innings ensured he’d be offered back to the Orioles. He has an ERA north of 7.00 over his first 14 Double-A innings. Nuñez has fanned nearly 40% of opponents but is walking more than 18%. He has been on the injured list for the past two weeks.
Christian Cairo, SS (returned to Guardians by Braves)
Atlanta was the only team to make two Rule 5 selections. They returned Cairo to Cleveland at the same time they offered Pilar back to the Marlins. Cairo is one of a number of contact-oriented middle infielders in the Guardians’ system. He hit .179 without a home run in 16 Spring Training games. Cleveland assigned him back to Triple-A Columbus, where he finished last season. He’s batting .226 with no homers.