MLB Rule 5 Draft 2014 Results: Team by Team Breakdown

The unofficial end of the Major League Baseball Winter Meetings is when the Rule 5 draft takes place on Thursday afternoon. It's often the last order of business for teams before they start to catch flights back to their home offices, though there is the potential to find big league contributors for a low cost. 

Changes to the collective bargaining agreement in recent years have taken some of the flare away from the Rule 5 draft. The players available have plenty of experience in the minors, with at least four years of results depending on when they were signed.     

According to the MLB.com Rule 5 Draft FAQ, players who signed at the age of 19 with four years of professional experience are available, as are players who signed at the age of 18 with five years of professional experience. They also can't be on a team's 40-man roster. 

The length of time players had to spend in professional baseball before being eligible for the Rule 5 draft has increased. As recently as 2006, teams had one less year of control before deciding whether to add a player to the 40-man roster, per Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com.

As a result, it's unlikely a player like Johan Santana (1999) or Josh Hamilton (2006) will be coming out. More often now, the kinds of players taken who will stick in the big leagues are relief pitchers. 

With the explanations out of the way, here is how things broke down in the 2014 MLB Rule 5 draft from the Winter Meetings in San Diego. 

Pick	Team	Player
1	Arizona Diamondbacks	Oscar Hernandez, C (Tampa Bay)
2	Colorado Rockies	Mark Canha, 1B (Miami Marlins)
3	Texas Rangers	Delino DeShields Jr., OF (Houston Astros)
4	Houston Astros	Jason Garcia, RHP (Boston Red Sox)
5	Minnesota Twins	J.R. Graham, RHP (Atlanta Braves)
6	Boston Red Sox	Jandel Gustave, RHP (Houston Astros)
7	Chicago Cubs	Taylor Featherston, SS (Colorado Rockies)
8	Philadelphia Phillies	Odubel Herrera, SS (Texas Rangers)
9	Miami Marlins	Andrew McKirahan, RHP (Chicago Cubs)
10	New York Mets	Sean Gilmartin, RHP (Minnesota Twins)
11	Atlanta Braves	Daniel Winkler, RHP (Colorado Rockies)
12	Seattle Mariners	David Rollins, LHP (Houston Astros)
13	Baltimore Orioles	Logan Verrett, RHP (New York Mets)
14	Philadelphia Phillies	Andrew Oliver, LHP (Pittsburgh Pirates)

Teams that did not make a selection: Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Rays, Milwaukee Brewers, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates, Oakland A's, Kansas City Royals, Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers, Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Angels

Notable Selections

Oscar Hernandez, C, to Arizona Diamondbacks

Uncredited/Associated Press

Oscar Hernandez, the first pick in the Rule 5 draft, has been building buzz in the days leading up to Arizona making its selection. He has hit well throughout his minor league career, as the Diamondbacks' Twitter account shows:

However, the Diamondbacks are gambling on Hernandez being able to take a big leap forward, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times:

Keep in mind that if a player taken in the Rule 5 draft doesn't stick on the 25-man MLB roster, he is offered back to the team that lost him. So if the Diamondbacks don't believe Hernandez is ready for the big leagues, he can end up back with the Tampa Bay Rays. 

One thing that will give Hernandez a chance to stick in the big leagues is his defense. Bernie Pleskoff of MLB.com noted the 21-year-old has a history of being able to throw out runners:

The Diamondbacks don't have anything to lose with Hernandez. They have been reshaping their roster during the Winter Meetings, including trading starting catcher Miguel Montero to the Chicago Cubs, so the team needs depth at the position before spring training starts. 

Delino DeShields Jr., OF, to Texas Rangers

Alex Brandon/Associated Press

This is a classic play by the Texas Rangers, who have built their farm system on high-ceiling athletes with big tools. Delino DeShields was the biggest name taken in the Rule 5 draft, because of his name and previous scouting reports being very kind to him. 

According to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Rangers have every intention of keeping DeShields and giving him a chance to compete for a job in spring training:

In 2013, MLB.com ranked DeShields No. 74 overall on its list of the Top 100 Prospects and noted his potential for four average or better tools (hitting, running, throwing, fielding):

"

Just like his father, he profiles a compact and strong leadoff hitter, though junior might end up with more power than dad had. The younger DeShields did just about everything more consistently in his second full season, from using all fields to drawing walks, from success on the basepaths to improving his glovework. 

"

However, as noted by ESPN.com MLB draft writer Chris Crawford, there's a reason the Houston Astros didn't make more of an effort to keep DeShields despite those tools:

From a performance perspective, DeShields had his worst season since 2011 at Double-A with a .236/.346/.360 slash line, per MiLB.com. He does draw walks (61 in 411 at-bats) and steals a lot of bases, so perhaps the low average was just a product of bad luck. 

According to ESPN.com's Keith Law (subscription required), who had DeShields ranked as the 80th-best prospect prior to 2014, the young outfielder drew huge criticism for his "lack of effort" and said the "on-field effort level is often embarrassing."

Considering DeShields is just 22 years old, he's worth a look for a team like the Rangers. If switching organizations provides the impetus to put forth more of an effort to reach his full potential, it will be worth the risk for Texas. 

J.R. Graham, RHP, to Minnesota Twins

Matt Slocum/Associated Press

J.R. Graham's stock has crumbled over the last two years. He was regarded as a Top 100 prospect by ESPN.com's Keith Law (subscription required) prior to 2013, but injuries limited him to eight starts that season. 

Last year was even worse for Graham, who posted a career-worst 5.55 ERA with 79 hits allowed, 50 strikeouts and 26 walks in 71.1 innings. He's always had to walk a fine line because of his size, being smaller than a prototypical starter at 6'0", 195 pounds, per MiLB.com, but hasn't been able to find success since 2012. 

J.J. Cooper of Baseball America provided a quick synopsis of the Twins picking Graham:

Whether Graham can be that pitcher again or not remains to be seen, though at 24 years old with two years of declining results in Double-A, he has a steep hill to climb. The Twins weren't wrong to take a shot on him, because of the previous history and hoping to catch lightning in a bottle on a player who will cost nothing. 

The first thing Graham has to do is get back to 100 percent health. He hasn't been right since the end of 2012 and the results show that. The Twins can afford to be patient with the right-hander as he works his way back because they don't appear ready to compete in a loaded American League Central.    

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