There were 13 players selected in the Major League phase of the 2014 Rule 5 Draft, and nearly halfway through the year, a surprising percentage remain with their new clubs. Here’s a look at each of the Rule 5 picks, where they’re currently playing and if they have a chance to remain with their team…
- Oscar Hernandez, C, Diamondbacks: Selected out of the Rays organization despite never having appeared above Class-A, Hernandez broke his hamate bone in Spring Training and has been on the DL all season. As MLBTR’s Jeff Todd noted at the time, that actually made it a bit easier to get some time to evaluate Hernandez, as the D-Backs can see him on a Minor League rehab assignment and don’t have to roster such an inexperienced bat all season. Hernandez is on his rehab assignment now, and the early returns at the plate aren’t good (.200/.259/.280 in nine games). Jarrod Saltalamacchia’s hit poorly, though, so perhaps the team will prefer Hernandez’s big arm for that spot.
- Mark Canha, 1B/OF, Athletics: Selected by Rockies out of the Marlins organization, Canha was immediately traded to Oakland for right-hander Austin House and cash. Canha hasn’t been great for the A’s, but he’s provided league-average production at the plate to go along with passable corner defense. At this point, it would be a surprise if Canha didn’t finish the season with the team.
- Delino DeShields, Jr., OF, Rangers: The Rangers plucked the former No. 8 overall pick out of the Astros organization, perhaps hoping that DeShields could be a speedy bench piece. DeShields, like the Rangers club as a whole, has been far better than most expected, hitting .269/.358/.386 and going 13-for-15 in stolen base attempts. A hamstring injury has had him on the DL for much of June, but he’s on a rehab assignment right now and should return to the team in short order. DeShields’ .368 BABIP will likely regress, but he’s been the game’s second most-valuable baserunner, per Fangraphs, despite his limited playing time. He certainly seems likely to remain with the Rangers.
- Jason Garcia, RHP, Orioles: The Astros were the team to technically select Garcia out of the Red Sox organization, but Houston quickly traded him to Baltimore for cash. Garcia pitched poorly in 13 innings to open the season before landing on the disabled list with a shoulder injury that has since seen him transferred to the 60-day DL.
- J.R. Graham, RHP, Twins: A former top prospect with the Braves, Graham was selected by the Twins on the heels of an injury-shortened 2014 season. He’s seen a lot of time in mop-up duty, but Graham has delivered a solid ERA, albeit with less encouraging peripherals. In 35 2/3 innings, hs has a 3.03 ERA with 6.8 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and a 39.1 percent ground-ball rate. The Twins have said they plan to retain Graham, who’s averaging better than 95 mph on his fastball.
- Jandel Gustave, RHP: Gustave was selected by the Red Sox out of the Astros organization, then traded to the Royals. Kansas City tried to put him through waivers this spring but lost him to the Padres, who ultimately returned him to Houston. He has a 2.54 ERA but a 17-to-13 K/BB ratio in 28 1/3 innings with Houston’s Double-A affiliate.
- Taylor Featherston, INF, Angels: The Angels acquired Featherston for cash considerations after the Cubs selected him from the Rockies. The Halos seem committed to keeping Featherston, as he’s still on their roster despite just 60 plate appearances this season. The 25-year-old hasn’t hit — .127/.169/.218 — but he’s provided sound defense at three positions late in games and in his rare starts.
- Odubel Herrera, CF, Phillies: The Phillies nabbed Herrera out of the Rangers’ organization after a strong Double-A showing in 2014, and the infielder-turned-outfielder has seen the bulk of time in center for the Phils. He’s hitting just .251/.282/.359, but the Phillies are the exact kind of team that can afford to give a Rule 5 pick regular at-bats as opposed to costing him valuable reps via limited usage. He’ll remain with the team.
- Andrew McKirahan, LHP, Braves: The Marlins were the team to select McKirahan, but the Braves claimed him off waivers in Spring Training. McKirahan cracked the Opening Day roster with the Braves, but he pitched just 4 1/3 innings before being suspended 80 games for a positive PED test. The Braves will get a second look at him on a rehab stint in the minors before they have to make a call. He’s eligible to be activated on July 20.
- Sean Gilmartin, LHP, Mets: The Mets took Gilmartin out of the Twins organization and converted the former first-round pick (Braves, 2011) from a starter into a reliever. The result has been a 1.88 ERA with 6.8 K/9, 3.8 B/9 and a 50 percent ground-ball rate in 24 innings. Curiously, Gilmartin has significant reverse platoon splits in his first taste of big league action.
- Daniel Winkler, RHP, Braves: Winkler was the Braves’ actual selection out of the Rule 5. Winkler is recovering from 2014 Tommy John surgery and has yet to pitch in 2015 at any level. He’s on Atlanta’s 60-day DL.
- David Rollins, LHP, Mariners: Seattle took Rollins out of the Astros organization, and the lefty made a strong case in Spring Training to break camp with the team’s bullpen. However, he was suspended 80 games for PED usage and wound up on the restricted list. Rollins is on a rehab assignment now and could still pitch with the Mariners in 2015. Rollins has tossed 7 1/3 innings of scoreless ball in rehab and will have served his suspension after four more games.
- Logan Verrett, RHP: The only other player to be returned to his team at this point, Verrett was selected by the Orioles out of the Mets organization. Baltimore lost him on waivers to the Rangers, who carried him on the roster briefly before eventually returning him to the Mets. Since being returned, Verrett has debuted with his original organization at the big league level.
The Mets have been fortunate with both Gilmartin and now Verrett, although there will be a log jam with Mejia and Blevins, so could a trade be imminent? Or will they try to keep Gilmartin at all costs.
They were pretty intent on keeping Gilmartin in Spring Training, willing to take a third lefty north with the team. I’d imagine that given his solid performance thus far, they’re even more set on retaining him. Plus, I don’t think Blevins is on a throwing program yet, so they have some time on that front.
They will keep Gilmartin, it would take a lot to give up on him at this point. He would have to seriously nosedive into the realm of massive negative value.
The ideal bullpen is: Familia, Black, Parnell, Mejia, Blevins, Gilmartin.
Goedell and/or Robles can be a 7th man in that ideal Mets pen.
I think Robles needs to work on his breaking pitches a little more, and Goedell might very well be on track for Tommy John.
is Alex Torres doing that bad that he wouldn’t make their pen?
He isn’t as good as any of those other guys, and Gilmartin isn’t going anywhere. Also Alex Torres has options remaining.
Collins’ use of the Torri (both The Great Gazoo & Carlos) has been less than ideal, but despite that TGG’s numbers haven’t been bad. His biggest issue is consistently finding the strike zone. When he does he can be quite effective, when he doesn’t….it’s pretty ugly. I wouldn’t mind if they optioned him to AAA because the Mets’ BP has a lot of quality arms in it fighting for spots and unless TGG can locate his pitches much more consistently he shouldn’t be considered anything more than an “extra guy” for low leverage situations.
When Blevins returns, there’s a good chance the Mets might simply DFA Alex Torres, since he has pitched poorly to good results. Mejía actually has reverse splits, and can be used in a LOOGY role as well.
Whether Oscar Hernandez hits this year or not, the Dbacks plan on activating him & keeping him on the 25-man roster all season. With Castillo playing well since the trade, Hernandez would likely serve as the backup this season & could spend 2016 in the minors if he is still struggling with the bat.
Now, we should have a follow-up story on whether or not any front offices made mistakes by leaving those Rule 5 picks unprotected. Oscar Hernandez, although highly regarded, was just too far from the show to imagine a team would select him and that he’d make it through the whole year on a 25-man roster. Arizona had no catching, so it made sense that they’d try to take a shot here, but I can’t fault Tampa. Most of the list are borderline guys that I wouldn’t have put on the 40-man. J.R. Graham didn’t have the results, but given his stuff and recovery, he perhaps should have been added. I think the two big oversights were Delino DeShields Jr. and Sean Gilmartin. Gilmartin showed ability starting in triple A last year and his stuff is obviously playing up in the pen. He should have been protected. DeShields was highly regarded and a former top pick. I know he had a low average at double A last year, but his eye for the zone (walk rate) and speed and projectability to be a future leadoff man… big mistake for Houston to lose this prospect in the Rule 5. I know they have a roster crunch for 40 man spots, and will have the same problem this offseason, but you cannot lose such valuable assets for nothing. Hopefully Jeff Luhnow has learned a lesson and will trade up on some assets…maybe L.J. Hoes, Villar, Gattis, Presley, and Straily for Hamels, Giles and $10M. The Astros may have to add one more piece but they have the prospect depth. Keuchel, McHugh, Feldman, McCullers, and Velasquez may be a nice looking rotation for 2016, but adding Hamels for the next 4 years (guarantee the team option to get him to agree to the trade in return for removing the vesting option at a $4M additional cost) would be a cost-effective addition (considering similar free agents will get 5-6 year deals at higher AAVs) to the top of the rotation providing depth as the young pitchers develop and increase their workload (and most teams need an extra starter to deal with injuries anyway). They could always deal Feldman next Spring if they wanted as well. If he shows he’s healthy and productive by the end of the year, he’ll have value on the one year and $8M remaining. Regardless, making a bold move to upgrade before the trade deadline this year will help the team in present and the future as well as remove the 40-man logjam issue that caused them to lose a prospect for nothing already.
I agree that Gilmartin and probably DeShields should’ve been protected. (I’d have protected Graham, too.)
The package you list for Hamels is way too light, though. If that were all it took to get Hamels, then Hamels would’ve been gone long ago. There’s no real prospect value in that package — it’s basically spare parts and Gattis, who some would argue isn’t much more than a spare part.
I think Houston didn’t protect DeShields because he had attitude problems, and if Houston get Hamels, their going to have to part with 1-2 of Velasquez, Mcullers, Santana, or Tucker plus more minor prospects, not the spare parts you mentioned
Steve, thanks for your response. I do think Gattis has some real value considering he is a 25 HR guy with a low salary and is controlled for 3 more years via arbitration. He was traded just 6 months ago for Michael Foltynewicz and Rio Ruiz (i.e., two well-regarded prospects). The other “spar parts” have drawn interest, are having success at AAA, and many are on the 40-man (e.g. Hoes). I think Villar has more upside than Galvis and, again, is a SS at minimum salary. I could see Santana or Tucker being in the package. Also, Brett Oberholtzer, Max Stassi, Asher Wojciechowski, and Michael Feliz are others that could be in this conversation. McCullers is probably untouchable at this point and going nowhere. Regardless, the point is simply that they have the prospect depth to make a significant acquisition and doing so could alleviate the 40-man roster logjam thereby avoiding the risk of losing a prospect or two in the next Rule 5 draft (again). Without doing so, I believe the Astros will have several eligible players likely to be taken without the space to add them.
Villar should be a bench guy at tops, Oberholtzer has been terrible… If the Phillies want one of Betts/Swihart from Boston, Houston will almost surely have to give up Appel, McCullers, or Santana. The only untouchable should be Correa