Rule 5 Draft

Written by Greg Fertel | 11 December 2008

Hi all. Sorry for my extended absence from the site, I blame my busy school schedule and the lack of major prospect news since the end of the HWB and AFL. As you may or may not know, today was the Rule 5 draft, in which players who have a certain number of years in an organization without being placed on the 40-man roster are eligible to be drafted. The Yankees left some pretty significant talent unprotected this year because there is a lot of pitching depth in the upper minors, and the major league contracts of Andrew Brackman and Juan Miranda are taking up 2 spots. The Yankees had 4 players taken in the major league portion of the draft, and lost 2 in the AAA phase. The AA phase is currently occurring, but I will update as it happens. The players taken in the major league phase must stay on the 25-man roster of the drafting team, so it is possible that the Yanks will be getting some or all of these guys back. The Yankees did not draft anybody, I imagine because they did not have any 40-man space.

Major League Phase:

Reegie Corona: Corona, a SS/2b from Trenton, was taken #2 overall in the major league phase by Seattle. Corona, at age 22 is a solid up-the-middle defender who posted a solid .274/.345/.365 line in AA this season. While I don't see him as having huge upside, he could have been be a solid utility player for the Yankees down the road. Not a huge loss, but he's a fairly high-floor guy who could be useful to a mediocre team like the Mariners.

Zachary Kroenke: Kroenke, a lefty reliever from Scranton (and Joba Chamberlain's teammate at Nebraska), was taken #12 overall by the Marlins. Kroenke posted a solid 2.85 ERA with about a strikeout per inning between Trenton and Scranton, posting his best numbers in 10 innings in AAA. He has a solid fastball-slider repertoire, and put up good numbers this season, but with the Yankees' current bullpen depth (especially after resigning Marte), there wasn't going to be much need for Kroenke in the majors this season, or possibly at all. Not a huge loss, but he could be a useful piece in the Marlins bullpen eventually.

Jason Jones: Jones has flown under the radar for the past few seasons, and posted great numbers in 2008 while repeating in Trenton (because of overcrowding in AAA), going 13-8 with a 3.26 ERA between Trenton and Scranton. He has been thought of as more of a pitchability guy who has succeded in the minors due to smarts more than stuff. He was taken 14th by the Twins, who could use more cheap pitching depth, though he probably doesn't have more than back of the rotation upside.

Ivan Nova: The 21 year-old Nova, taken #20 by San Diego, is probably the highest-ceiling guy who the Yankees lost in the major league portion. He is also by far the rawest, posting a 4.36 ERA in Tampa, with over a hit per inning and 109 strikeouts against 46 walks in 148 2/3 innings. His performance was inconsistent all year, looking dominant at times but other times being too hittable for a guy with his stuff. Nova throws a low-90's fastball with movement that can get groundballs, and has a changeup and curveball that have the potential to be above-average to plus. This is the type of player that it hurts to lose, but on the other hand, given how far from the majors he was (and how inconsistent he was even in high-A) it wouldn't surprise me if he doesn't make the 25-man roster and we get him back at the end of Spring Training. I wonder if San Diego plans to use him out of the bullpen, or if they were trying to find a diamond in the rough on a guy with great stuff and mediocre performance.

AAA Portion

Andres Santos: Santos was drafted #3 overall in the AAA phase by the Pittsburgh organization. Santos is an interesting case, as he is a hard throwing lefty (could reach the mid-90's), who has had injury problems, including a shoulder surgery in the past few years. Because he spent this season pitching in the Dominican Summer League, it is hard to get a read on him, but the numbers were impressive: a 1.85 ERA, and 49 strikeouts against 16 walks in 48 2/3 innings. Keep in mind, however, this is the lowest level of professional ball, and Santos, who just turned 22, was old for the league. He is a very intriguing player because of his left-handedness and his ability to throw hard, but nonetheless, the fact that he doesn't have pro experience above the DSL would make me question if he is ready to handle AAA. I wonder what the PIrates' plans would be for him, but he certainly has a lot of upside.

Josue Selenes: Selenes is a 23 year-old reliever who was taken #23 by the Oaklans organization. I don't really know anything about his stuff, but he posted good numbers, a 2.55 ERA with 33 strikeouts against 14 walks in 35 1/3 innings between Staten Island and Tampa. Impressive, but nothing eye-popping, and I don't think he is a huge loss.

We'll see what ends up happening in the lower phases, and how many of the major league guys make it through spring training, but the fact that the Yankees lost so many players is an indicator of their solid minor league depth. Losing Corona will probably have the biggest effect on the major league team, though he likely doesn't project to be more than a solid utilityman. Santos and Nova have the ceilings to make the Yankees potentially regret losing them, but both are so far away (especially Santos), that time is working against them. Jones, Kroenke, and Selenes seem more like depth guys at this point, who are unlikely to make it to the majors as Yankees. Guys who I was concerned about losing, such as Alan Horne, JB Cox, and Kevin Whelan were not taken.