2007 Rule 5 Draft Options

[Hairps]

This year's Rule 5 Draft will be held December 6th at the Baseball Winter Meetings in Nashvegas.

Here's another Rule 5 primer, courtesy of the SoSH wiki MLB Rules & Procedures Page:

Rule 5 Draft

The Rule 5 Draft was created as a way to prevent teams from hoarding minor league talent. Without the Rule 5 draft, teams could hold minor leaguers in their farm system indefinitely, where that player may have a legitimate shot of making the big club with a different organization.

Under the Rule, teams must protect (by adding them to the 40 man roster) minor league players within three or four years of signing them. Three years for players who are 19 on June 5 preceding the signing of their first contract. Four years for players who are 18 at the same time. If a team does not add a player to the 40 man roster within the prescribed time period, that player can be drafted by another team.

There is a catch however. In order to discourage teams from drafting minor leaguers arbitralily, the drafting team must keep that player on their major league roster for one complete season. If the drafting team does not meet this requirement, then the player must be offered back to thier original team at one half of the $50,000 drafting price. Because the minor league players selected in the Rule 5 draft are usually marginal prospects or very raw, relatively few players are selected through the Rule 5 draft each year.

Minor League Phases

There are also two minor league phases to the Rule 5 draft: the AAA and AA phase. In addition to setting a 40-man roster, organizations are required to submit a AAA and AA roster of players eligible for the Rule 5 draft. Note that these rosters are larger than regular-season AAA and AA rosters and their composition during this phase is determined by the organizations evaluation of a player, not the player's current level; the organization will place players they value more highly on the AAA roster.

After the Major League phase, the AAA phase takes place, in which other organizations can pluck players on other teams' AA rosters. During the AA phase, organizations can take Rule 5-eligible players on neither roster. The minor league Rule 5 draft is primarily a roster-filling exercise and players taken rarely reach the major leagues, not to mention establish themselves as big-league players. Unlike the Major League phase, players drafted in the AAA phase are not required to play at AAA, nor are AA draftees required to play in AA. It costs $12,000 to select a player in the AAA phase and $4,000 in the AA phase.

Here's a list of Sox-eligible players, courtesy of the SoxProspects wiki:

Pitchers: Abe Alvarez, Alberto Gil, Barry Hertzler, Beau Vaughan, Adam Blackley, Andrew Dobies, Carlos Gonzalez, Matt Goodson, Emilis Guerrero, Tommy Hottovy, Jimmy James, Mike James, Willy Mota, Argenis Paulino, Lincoln Holdzkom, Chris Smith, Jose Vaquedano, Charlie Zink, Daniel Haigwood

Catchers: John Otness

Infielders: Zach Borowiak, Chritian Lara, Andrew Pinckney, Iggy Suarez, Scott White, Manny Arambarris, Chad Spann

Outfielders: Mickey Hall, Bryan Pritz

Here's a list of Theo Era Sox Rule 5 selections, also courtesy of the SoxProspects wiki:

2006

11) Nick Debarr (from TB) (returned)

2005

10) Jamie Vermilyea (from Tor) (returned)
AAA-19) Victor Ramos (from ChC)
AAA-32) Jason Richardson (from Atl)
AAA-44) David Bacani (from NYM)

Selected from Boston:
AAA) Henry Cabrera (by Pit)
AAA) Vince Harrison (by StL)

2004

11) Adam Stern (from Atl)
AAA-21) Tony Granadillo (from StL)
AA-6) Steve Langone (from LAD)

Selected from Boston:
AA) Milton Tavarez (by Tor)

2003

15) Lenny DiNardo (from NYM)
19) Colter Bean (from NYY) (returned)

2002

R1) Javier Lopez (from Ariz) (traded)
R2) Matt White (from Cle) (returned)
R2) Adrian Brown (from Pit) (outrighted)

Selected from Boston:
R1) Wilfredo Ledezma (by Det)
R3) Jerome Gamble (by Cin) (returned)

This post has been edited by Hairps: Dec 5 2007, 12:36 PM

[Hairps]

JAMIE D'ANTONA - 3B/1B/C - ARZ

ml Stats:

CODE

Year  Age Tm  Lg  Lvl Aff   G    AB    R    H   2B  3B  HR  RBI  BB   SO    BA   OBP   SLG   OPS
+----+----+---+---+---+---+----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+----+----+----+-----+-----+-----+----+
2003   21 YAK NWL A-  ARI   70   271   46   75  18   1  15   57   35   60  .277  .359  .517  .876            
2004   22 TOT               87   344   47  101  21   2  13   64   18   52  .294  .329  .480  .809
          LNC CAL A+  ARI   68   273   45   86  18   1  13   57   16   36  .315  .353  .531  .884
          ELP TEX AA  ARI   19    71    2   15   3   1   0    7    2   16  .211  .233  .282  .515
2005   23 TEN SOU AA  ARI  125   410   58  102  25   2   9   49   44   67  .249  .322  .385  .707
2006   24 TEN SOU AA  ARI  126   461   72  143  29   0  17   67   54   88  .310  .382  .484  .866
2007   25 TCN PCL AAA ARI  128   483   79  149  43   5  13   86   40   57  .308  .362  .499  .861
+----+----+---+---+---+---+----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+----+----+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
1 Season          A-        70   271   46   75  18   1  15   57   35   60  .277  .359  .517  .876
1 Season          A+        68   273   45   86  18   1  13   57   16   36  .315  .353  .531  .884
3 Seasons         AA       270   942  132  260  57   3  26  123  100  171  .276  .346  .426  .772
1 Season          AAA      128   483   79  149  43   5  13   86   40   57  .308  .362  .499  .861
+-----------------+---+--------+-----+----+----+---+---+---+----+----+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
5 Seasons                  536  1969  302  570 136  10  67  323  191  324  .289  .353  .471  .824
+-----------------+------------+-----+----+----+---+---+---+----+----+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+

Part of ARZ's Conor Jackson/Carlos Quentin draft class, D'Antona now kinda looks to be a 3B prospect without a real position. There's a lot of "power-hitting potential" chatter in his old scouting reports. Supposedly has a cannon for an arm, which may help to explain his recent move to catcher. Looks like he cut his K rate down significantly last season, FWIW.

[xjack]

What jumps out at me from those lists is how utterly uneventful the Rule 5 draft has been for the Sox. Rule 5 always seems more interesting than it turns out to be.

That said, I hope other teams' scouts focus on Abe Alvarez's so-so stuff and mediocre ERA, allowing him to go undrafted. I've been saying for a couple years that the Sox should try him out as a LOOGY, and they finally took my advice (ha, ha). His success against lefties in '07 (.221 batting average, 29 Ks and 10 walks in 30 innings) was masked by an unlucky 5.64 ERA.

With Javier Lopez arbitration eligible (not to mention bad), there's an opening. The other benefit Alvarez brings is he could presumably double (sometimes) as a long man.

[ToxicSmed]

I wouldn't mind picking up an extra arm for the 'pen. As we know, with middle relievers, it is nice to be able to throw a lot against the wall to see what sticks.

Carlos Guevara from the Reds organization seems like a pretty solid bet. He is a lefty reliever who put up solid numbers last year at AA. He may not be able to hack it as a LOOGY, but his splits were pretty good, holding lefties to a .167/.232/.298 line. If Lopez is on his way out and the team still wants a left handed specialist, Guevara wouldn't make a bad replacement.

[saintnick912]

Looking at that list, it seems like Rule 5 has been a negative for the Sox overall. They have picked up one useful player in Lopez, and one Canadian national hero who caused all sorts of problems when they tried to keep him on the roster in Stern. They've lost Ledezma, who was useful for the Tigers. This is pretty much what you'd expect, as it's harder for a contending/high budget team to make room for the marginal sorts that the rule was designed to promote the prospects of. That the Tigers were able to benefit is appropriate since they were pretty down and out at the time and had room to give major league tryouts. It is fun to watch and speculate and hope for the next Johan Santana though.

[yecul]

Boston's only mistake has been trying to make too much out of it. You can't sacrifice flexibility and quality as a contender to keep mediocrity.

They are going to have a LOOGY. That doesn't even see to be an option. At this point I would prefer to see them use internal options that can go up and down. If Alvarez is considered an option then it gives you some flexibility -- snag a Rule V guy and hope he sticks, or you dump him for Abe.

This is not an endorsement of having a LOOGY, but at this point it's more of an inevitability than anything.

[mt8thsw9th]

Looking at the list of available Red Sox, the group that jumps out are Alvarez, Dobies and Hottovy. I still don't understand why those three relatively low-ceiling lefties (all that operate around the mid 80s with their fastballs) were drafted in the 2nd to 4th round.

Anyways, I think if they grab anyone, it will be a position player, I really think the team is set in terms of pitchers, but of course it wouldn't hurt to preview someone in Spring Training and hope you catch lightning in the bottle. I just really hope they finally get away from having a LOOGY this season, especially if they're going with a 6 man rotation. However, if they see a lefty in the Rule 5 draft they think can get out both lefties and righties, then and only then should they take a flyer.

[Hairps]

TUG HULETT - 2B - TEX

ml Stats:

CODE

Year  Age Tm  Lg  Lvl Aff   G    AB    R    H   2B  3B  HR  RBI  BB   SO    BA   OBP   SLG   OPS   SB
+----+----+---+---+---+---+----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+----+----+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+----+
2004   21 SPO NWL A-  TEX   70   247   54   69  17   0   0   23   68   67  .279  .435  .348  .783   19
2005   22 CLN MWL A   TEX  106   385   70  102  22   3   1   45   90   87  .265  .402  .345  .747   20
2006   23 TOT              125   474   82  141  27  11   2   52   92   97  .297  .411  .414  .825   24  
          BAK CAL A+  TEX   77   289   46   84  19   7   2   37   61   61  .291  .415  .426  .841   15
          FRI TEX AA  TEX   48   185   36   57   8   4   0   15   31   36  .308  .405  .395  .800    9  
2007   24 OKL PCL AAA TEX  132   517   95  142  31   2  11   67   64  114  .275  .359  .406  .765   20

+-----------------+---+--------+-----+----+----+---+---+---+----+----+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+----+
4 Seasons                  433  1623  301  454  97  16  14  187  314  365  .280  .397  .385  .782
+-----------------+------------+-----+----+----+---+---+---+----+----+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+----+

His dad played in the majors, which seems to be important to some people. He went to Auburn, same school as Mark Bellhorn and Toni Tennille, award-winning singer and half of the singing group "Captain & Tenille." Also, last season was the first he ever had an OBP below .390. Ever.

This post has been edited by Hairps: Nov 26 2007, 01:00 PM

[TomRicardo]

His dad played in the majors, which seems to be important to some people. He went to Auburn, same school as Mark Bellhorn and Toni Tennille, award-winning singer and half of the singing group "Captain & Tenille." Also, last season was the first he ever had an OBP below .390. Ever.

Unless he can play short and Cora finally dies of bird SARS, this guy is a waste of bench space which is already tight due to the 50 starters on the team.

[Hairps]

CHRIS LUBANKSI - OF - KCR

From the Former-Top-Draft-Pick-Still-Young & Toolsy-OF Bracket:

CODE

Year  Age Tm  Lg  Lvl Aff   G    AB    R    H   2B  3B  HR  RBI  BB   SO    BA   OBP   SLG   OPS
+----+----+---+---+---+---+----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+----+----+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
2003   18 RY1 AZL Rk  KCR   53   221   41   72   4   6   4   27   18   50  .326  .377  .452  .829    
2004   19 BUR MWL A   KCR  127   483   64  133  26   7   9   56   43  104  .275  .335  .414  .749    
2005   20 HDT CAL A+  KCR  126   531   91  160  38   6  28  116   38  131  .301  .349  .554  .903
2006   21 WCH TEX AA  KCR  137   524   93  148  34  11  15   70   72  112  .282  .369  .475  .844
2007   22 TOT              113   409   53  106  20   4  15   56   44   91  .259  .325  .438  .763
          WCH TEX AA  KCR   64   241   33   71  14   3   9   34   28   43  .295  .361  .490  .851
          OMA PCL AAA KCR   49   168   20   35   6   1   6   22   16   48  .208  .273  .363  .636
+----+----+---+---+---+---+----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+----+----+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
5 Seasons                  556  2168  342  619 122  34  71  325  215  488  .286  .349  .471  .820
+-----------------+------------+-----+----+----+---+---+---+----+----+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+

Last year's Baseball America Top 10 Royals Prospects:

1. Alex Gordon, 3b
2. Luke Hochevar, rhp
3. Billy Butler, of
4. Chris Lubanski, of
5. Tyler Lumsden, lhp
6. Erik Cordier, rhp
7. Mitch Maier, of
8. Justin Huber, of/1b
9. Billy Buckner, rhp
10. Brent Fisher, lhp

[Hairps]

FERNANDO HERNANDEZ, JR. - RHP - CHW

ml Stats:

CODE

Year  Age Tm  Lg  Lvl Aff  W   L   W-L%   G   GS  CG SHO  GF  SV   IP     H    R   ER   HR  BB   SO
+----+----+---+---+---+---+---+---+-----+----+---+---+---+---+---+------+----+----+----+---+----+----+
2003   18 GRF PIO Rk  CHW   1   3  .250   24   0   0           7   23     23   10    7       10   14
2004   19 TOT               3   3  .500   30   0   0           4   48     43   20   14       17   62             
2005   20 WSW CAR A+  CHW   4   1  .800   45   0   0   0  16   1   70     83   44   40   6   30   59
2006   21 WSW CAR A+  CHW                 57   0   0   0  34  13   65     50   24   14   4   32   81
2007   22 BIR SOU AA  CHW   1   3  .250   60   0   0   0  27   9   85.1   73   30   29   4   23   84
+----+----+---+---+---+---+---+---+-----+----+---+---+---+---+---+------+----+----+----+---+----+----+
5 Seasons                   9  10  .474  216   0   0   0  77  34  291.1  272  128  104  14  112  300
+-----------------+-----------+---+-----+----+---+---+---+---+---+------+----+----+----+---+----+----+

Not an overwhelming strikeout rate, but he's consistently maintained a GB% of 50% or higher. And, he's still young.


JESSE INGRAM - RHP - TEX

ml Stats:

CODE

Year  Age Tm  Lg  Lvl Aff  W   L   W-L%   G   GS  CG SHO  GF  SV   IP     H    R   ER   HR  BB   SO
+----+----+---+---+---+---+---+---+-----+----+---+---+---+---+---+------+----+----+----+---+----+----+
2004   22 TOT               4   1  .800   23   0   0           5   34     19    7    5       16   45
          SPO NWL A-  TEX   4   1  .800   22   0   0           4   32     19    7    5       16   45
          CLN MWL A   TEX   0   0          1   0   0           1    2      0    0    0
2005   23 BAK CAL A+  TEX   0   2  .000    8   0   0   0   5   2    6     15   15   14   1   11    8
2006   24 TOT                             42   0   0   0  27  13   78     54   33   27   5   27  117
          BAK CAL A+  TEX                 27   0   0   0  15   9   59     34   20   16   3   22   95
          FRI TEX AA  TEX                 15   0   0   0  12   4   19     20   13   11   2    5   22
2007   25 FRI TEX AA  TEX   3   1  .750   56   0   0   0  46  26   62     43   31   29  10   28   70
+----+----+---+---+---+---+---+---+-----+----+---+---+---+---+---+------+----+----+----+---+----+----+
4 Seasons                   7   4  .636  129   0   0   0  78  46  180    131   86   75  16   82  240
+-----------------+-----------+---+-----+----+---+---+---+---+---+------+----+----+----+---+----+----+

Better strikeout rates. Seems some folks like this guy.

This post has been edited by Hairps: Nov 26 2007, 11:57 PM

[Hairps]

BP's Bryan Smith weighs in with AFL players who could get taken:

Finding available Rule 5 talent is an annual practice for scouts in the Arizona Fall League, but in 2007, there’s no question the list of solid players in 2007 is smaller than usual. However, there’s no reason why [Chris]Lubanski (OF - KCR), [Dusty] Hughes (RHP - KCR) , [Lincoln] Holdzkom (RHP - BOS), [Fernando] Hernandez (RHP - CHW), and [Jarrett] Grube (RHP - COL) should not be chosen.

[Hairps]

ERIC YOUNG, JR. - 2B - COL

"Talk about an impressive young man. He gets out of the box quick. He's always forcing the defense to make plays with good turns around the bases. I like the way this guy plays the game: very aggressive. And he's got a tool that never slumps."

-- Lancaster manager Chad Epperson

ml Stats:

CODE

Year  Age Tm  Lg  Lvl Aff   G    AB    R    H   2B  3B  HR  RBI  BB   SO    BA   OBP   SLG   OPS   SB   CS
+----+----+---+---+---+---+----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+----+----+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+----+---+
2004   19 CAS PIO Rk  COL   23    87   20   23   5   1   0    7   20   13  .264  .402  .345  .747   14   1
2005   20 CAS PIO Rk  COL   63   219   48   66   7   7   3   25   35   52  .301  .404  .438  .842   25  10
2006   21 ASH SAL A   COL  128   482   92  142  28   6   5   49   67   75  .295  .391  .409  .800   87  31
2007   22 MOD CAL A+  COL  130   540  113  157  29  11   8   63   46  105  .291  .359  .430  .789   73  18
+----+----+---+---+---+---+----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+----+----+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+----+---+
2 Seasons         Rk        86   306   68   89  12   8   3   32   55   65  .291  .403  .412  .815   39  11  
1 Season          A        128   482   92  142  28   6   5   49   67   75  .295  .391  .409  .800   87  31
1 Season          A+       130   540  113  157  29  11   8   63   46  105  .291  .359  .430  .789   73  18
+-----------------+---+--------+-----+----+----+---+---+---+----+----+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+----+---+
4 Seasons                  344  1328  273  388  69  25  16  144  168  245  .292  .382  .418  .800  199  60  
+-----------------+------------+-----+----+----+---+---+---+----+----+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+----+---+

Dude's fast.

This post has been edited by Hairps: Nov 29 2007, 02:35 PM

[Hairps]

Baseball America has an Early Rule 5 Preview:

Here are some players to keep an eye on, in order of their Rule 5 helium:

Randor Bierd, rhp, Tigers

Brian Barton, of, Indians

Garrett Guzman, of, Twins

Carlos Guevara, rhp, Reds

Samuel Deduno, rhp, Rockies

They mention another 20 players in the article.

[mt8thsw9th]

Brian Barton would be quite the intriguing pick, though I doubt he'd be there when the Red Sox pick. A cost controlled right-handed hitting outfielder that can play all three positions sounds like something the team could really use.

[The Boomer]

This really doesn't deserve its own thread but fits well here. The Sox signed a reasonable emergency age 29 reliever as a minor league FA they can stash at AAA who, based on his extended career (with only 4 ML innings just this year), nevertheless has a reasonable chance to help out in a pinch.

Here is the news:


Red Sox signed RHP Lee Gronkiewicz to a minor league contract.

Gronkiewicz, a top minor league reliever for years, finally got to make his major league debut last year, allowing one run in four innings for the Jays. He ended up with a 2.41 ERA and an 83/10 K/BB ratio in 74 2/3 IP between Double- and Triple-A. He'll probably be a late-game reliever at Pawtucket, but there are worse 12th pitchers in the AL.

Here are his career stats:

http://wahoo99.baseball.sportsline.com/pla...ayerpage/585619

Not too shabby for someone who so far just had enough time for his first cup of coffee in the majors only this year.

[941827]

Red Sox signed RHP Lee Gronkiewicz to a minor league contract.

Lots more info about him here.

[BigMike]

So since they signed him to a minor league deal, would that make him eligible for the rule 5 draft, or are we past the deadline???

[philly sox fan]

So since they signed him to a minor league deal, would that make him eligible for the rule 5 draft, or are we past the deadline???

No he is eligible and could be taken. This happened a few years ago to some scrub utility infielder with some MLB experience. I think that the Phillies and O's were involved. One team signed him to a ml deal and then the other team took him in the rule 5 draft.

[findguapo]

No he is eligible and could be taken. This happened a few years ago to some scrub utility infielder with some MLB experience. I think that the Phillies and O's were involved. One team signed him to a ml deal and then the other team took him in the rule 5 draft.

Chris Gomez if I remember correctly