MLB Rule 5 Draft 2023: Date, Start Time, Format and Top Prospects

MLB will hold its annual Rule 5 Draft Wednesday afternoon as part of its Winter Meetings, with teams hoping to find the next Mark Canha or Anthony Santander, both players who helped their teams to the playoffs in 2023 and heard their names called as part of the event in previous years.

The draft is not exactly science, with teams taking a risk or two on players that exhibit raw tools and ability that intrigues general managers enough to select them and bear the financial burden should the decision not work out.

Those selected are based almost exclusively on potential, with teams hoping they develop into future contributors.

Ahead of Wednesday's draft, find out how the Rule 5 works, what order teams will pick in, and which players are worth keeping an eye on with this preview of the 2023 edition.

Date, Time, and Format

AP Photo/LM Otero

Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred speaks during a news conference after an owners meeting in Arlington, Texas, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Date: Wednesday. December 5

Time: 2:00 p.m. ET

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Format (via MLB.com)

• Clubs draft in reverse order of the standings from the previous season.
• Players signed at age 18 or younger need to be added to their club's 40-Man roster within five seasons or they become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft. Players who signed at age 19 or older need to be protected within four seasons.
• Not every club will make a selection, but those that do pick a player must pay $100,000 to the club from which said player was selected.
• Rule 5 Draft picks are assigned directly to the drafting club's 26-man roster and must be placed on outright waivers in order to be removed from the 26-man roster in the subsequent season. 
• Should the player clear waivers, he must be offered back to his previous team for $50,000 and can be outrighted to the Minors only if his original club does not wish to reacquire him.
• A Rule 5 Draft pick can be placed on the Major League injured list, but he must be active for a minimum of 90 days to avoid being subject to the aforementioned roster restrictions in the next campaign.

Draft Order

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 01: Brent Rooker #25 of the Oakland Athletics celebrates a home run against the Los Angeles Angels in the eighth inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on October 01, 2023 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Clubs draft in reverse order of the standings from the previous season.

1. Oakland Athletics
2. Kansas City Royals
3. Colorado Rockies
4. Chicago White Sox
5. Washington Nationals
6. St. Louis Cardinals
7. Los Angeles Angels
   
8. New York Mets
9. Pittsburgh Pirates
10. Cleveland Guardians
11. Detroit Tigers
12. Boston Red Sox
13. San Francisco Giants
14. Cincinnati Reds
15. San Diego Padres
16. New York Yankees
17. Chicago Cubs
18. Miami Marlins
19. Arizona Diamondbacks
20. Minnesota Twins
21. Seattle Mariners
22. Toronto Blue Jays
23. Texas Rangers
24. Philadelphia Phillies
25. Houston Astros
26. Milwaukee Brewers
27. Tampa Bay Rays
28. Los Angeles Dodgers
29. Baltimore Orioles
30. Atlanta Braves
    

RHP Coleman Crow, New York Mets

Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images

TEMPE, AZ - FEBRUARY 21: Coleman Crow #91 of the Los Angeles Angels poses for a photo during the Los Angeles Angels Photo Day at Tempe Diablo Stadium on Tuesday, February 21, 2023 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

The New York Mets acquired righty Coleman Crow from the Los Angeles Angels in the trade for Eduardo Escobar but the 22-year-old prospect has yet to pitch for the team following Tommy John surgery.

Drafted in the 28th round in 2019 by the Angels, Crow has played his entire career in the minors, where he accumulated a 4.33 ERA and a win-loss record of 15-6. He was better than those numbers indicate in 2023, with an ERA of 1.88, 31 strikeouts, and a WHIP of 0.63 in two starts.

Still young and with four pitches to choose from, he has the potential to develop into a starter for any team willing to take a flier on him in the Rule 5 Draft.

Whether teams shy away from him based on his surgery earlier this year is the question.

OF Grant McCray, San Francisco Giants

Grant McCray strikes out far more than he should (29.3 K rate according to MLB.com), but he makes up for it with ability that could intrigue a team to take a chance on him.

McCray has hit 41 home runs since 2021, driven in 174 RBIs, and stolen 119 bags over the course of his professional career, impressive stats that reflect a player with raw talent that cannot be manufactured.

Good coaching can make up for his propensity to swing the bat and his offensive skill set will be of benefit for a team looking to enhance that particular part of its roster.

With a career fielding rate of .976, and a total number of errors that fell from eight to three in 2023, he also has the potential to help a team defensively.

Is he a polished player? Not by any means, but with the right organization behind him, McCray could develop into a surprise.

That he has not played above A ball at this point, though, makes the probability that he gets that call rather unlikely.