MLB Rule 5 Draft 2020: Date, Start Time, Format and Top Prospects
The Rule 5 draft is an opportunity for teams to uncover a diamond in the rough who has been lost in the shuffle with his current organization.
The draft, which generally signals the end of the annual winter meetings, is for the most part a crapshoot. Teams select players with one loud tool in the hopes everything clicks, or well-rounded players with limited upside who can potentially fill the last spot on the bench or in the bullpen.
Every once in a while, though, a team unearths some serious value.
The most recent Rule 5 success story is Kansas City Royals right-hander Brad Keller, who was plucked from the Arizona Diamondbacks system in the 2017 draft. Johan Santana was famously a Rule 5 pickup by the Minnesota Twins, while other hits include Shane Victorino (PHI), Dan Uggla (FLA), Joakim Soria (KC) and Josh Hamilton (CIN).
Ahead we'll take a look at the pertinent details of this year's draft, including the date, time and draft order, before highlighting a few notable prospects who could be selected.
Date, Time and Format
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Date: Thursday, Dec. 10
Time: 12 p.m. ET
Format
Here are the pertinent rules, courtesy of MLB.com:
- Clubs draft in reverse order of the standings from the previous season.
- Players who signed with their current club at age 18 or younger and have played professionally for at least five years are eligible to be selected, as are those who signed at 19 or older and have at least four years of professional experience.
- 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 picks are assigned directly to the drafting club's 25-man roster and must be placed on outright waivers in order to be removed from the 25-man roster during the upcoming 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.
That last part is important, as it essentially means any player selected in the Rule 5 draft will have to be part of the team's active MLB roster for the entire 2021 season. Otherwise, he has to be placed on waivers and then offered back to his original team before he can be optioned to the minors.
It's also worth mentioning that only teams with an open spot on their 40-man roster at the time of the draft are allowed to select a player, so any roster maneuvering has to be done ahead of time.
Draft Order
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As mentioned, teams will choose in reverse of the 2020 standings, leaving this year's Rule 5 draft order as follows:
- 1. Pittsburgh Pirates
- 2. Texas Rangers
- 3. Detroit Tigers
- 4. Boston Red Sox
- 5. Baltimore Orioles
- 6. Arizona Diamondbacks
- 7. Kansas City Royals
- 8. Colorado Rockies
- 9. Los Angeles Angels
- 10. New York Mets
- 11. Washington Nationals
- 12. Seattle Mariners
- 13. Philadelphia Phillies
- 14. San Francisco Giants
- 15. Milwaukee Brewers
- 16. Houston Astros
- 17. Miami Marlins
- 18. Cincinnati Reds
- 19. St. Louis Cardinals
- 20. Toronto Blue Jays
- 21. New York Yankees
- 22. Chicago Cubs
- 23. Chicago White Sox
- 24. Cleveland Indians
- 25. Atlanta Braves
- 26. Oakland A's
- 27. Minnesota Twins
- 28. San Diego Padres
- 29. Tampa Bay Rays
- 30. Los Angeles Dodgers
Prospect to Watch: OF Buddy Reed, Oakland Athletics
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Buddy Reed entered his junior season at the University of Florida as one of the top prospects in the 2016 MLB draft class and a presumptive first-round pick.
However, questions about his ability to make consistent contact arose after he struck out 62 times in 303 plate appearances that spring, and he wound up slipping to the San Diego Padres in the second round.
Reed was traded to the Oakland Athletics last offseason in the Jurickson Profar trade, and now he's looking for an opportunity to break through in the majors entering his age-26 season.
The swing-and-miss concerns remain after he hit .228/.310/.388 with a 28.6 percent strikeout rate at Double-A in 2019, but with his mix of power (14 HR), speed (23 SB) and the defensive tools to play all three outfield spots, he still has enough upside to potentially catch a team's eye.
"The bat hasn't been as consistent, but he has 20-20 potential if it can all click," wrote Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com.
Prospect to Watch: RHP Alex Speas, Texas Rangers
4 of 5One trait that frequently draws interest in the Rule 5 draft is elite velocity.
In between missing significant time to injury, Texas Rangers right-hander Alex Speas has touched 102 mph with his fastball.
"Speas has one of the best fastballs in baseball, which means a team willing to take a chance on stashing him in the bullpen in 2021 could potentially get a long-term payoff," wrote J.J. Cooper and Josh Norris of Baseball America.
The 6'3", 225-pound right-hander has 107 strikeouts in 71.2 professional innings, though he has pitched just one inning the last two years after undergoing Tommy John surgery midway through the 2018 season.
On the flip side, he has also walked 55 batters for a 6.9 BB/9 walk rate during that same span, and beyond his elite fastball, his secondary stuff remains a work in progress.
Nevertheless, he is the type of boom-or-bust arm teams have targeted in the past, and it wouldn't be the least bit surprising to see him pitching low-leverage innings in an MLB bullpen in 2021.
Prospect to Watch: 2B Omar Estevez, Los Angeles Dodgers
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The Los Angeles Dodgers saw enough in Omar Estevez after he defected from Cuba in 2015 to sign him to a $6 million bonus and pay a matching $6 million tax penalty.
He's been slower to develop than hoped, spending two full seasons at the High-A level, but he hit .291/.352/.431 with 30 extra-base hits in 83 games at Double-A in 2019.
Still just 22 years old, Estevez offers intriguing offensive upside, albeit with a less-than-ideal defensive profile.
After starting his pro career at shortstop, he has slid down the defensive spectrum to second base and doesn't have the glove to fill the utility role that many Rule 5 infielders are asked to fill.
His bat will need to carry him, and there's still reason to believe he can eventually develop into an offensive-mind everyday second baseman. It could take some time, though, and he's a tough stash given his defensive limitations.
All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference and FanGraphs.
