Minor league Rule 5: Who did Pirates take, who did they lose?

The lockout between Major League Baseball and the player’s association is claiming its first victim this week, postponing the Rule 5 draft as to avoid adding players to the 40 man roster at this time. As JJ Cooper of Baseball America reports, the expectation is that once a new collective bargaining agreement is reached, there will be a Rule 5 draft shortly after.

Well, the Major League Rule 5 draft is postponed. The minor-league portion is still on, and will take place Wednesday at 2 p.m.

The Rule 5 is niche enough when it comes to roster construction, and the minor-league phase operates under a similar, but tweaked set of rules. How does it work, and how will it affect the Pirates?

WHAT IS THE MINOR-LEAGUE RULE 5?

The major league portion of the Rule 5 draft is pretty clear cut: You can take an eligible player from another team’s farm system and keep them on the condition that they play a full year in the majors first. While any of the 30 teams can take someone, it definitely is designed to help rebuilding clubs like the Pirates get a crack at a player other teams just can’t put on the roster right now. 

The minor-league phase does not have a restriction that demands a player needs to spend a season at a certain level. As a result, most teams will make at least one selection, and most teams are going to lose at least one player.

Any player who is eligible for the major league Rule 5 draft (college player drafted in 2018 or earlier, player who was drafted or signed at age 18 or younger in 2017 or earlier) is technically eligible for the minor-league phase as well. There’s an extra layer of protection though, as players who are on the Class AAA roster are exempt from the minor-league phase (they can still be taken in the major league portion). 

So Mason Martin will not be available to be drafted Wednesday. Neither will someone like Eddy Yean, who has never pitched above Class Low-A Bradenton, but was transferred to the Indianapolis roster temporarily. AAA rosters can hold up to 38 players, but a team cannot select a player from another team unless there’s a spot open on that roster, so it makes sense to keep a couple spots open to add some depth at certain positions.

And that’s the reality of the majority of the people who will be selected: They’re organizational depth to help round out rosters. No top prospects are going to change teams. But there are a couple hidden gems who go on to be major league contributors, like Ryan Thompson of the Rays and Omar Navarez of the Brewers.

Five players taken in the minor-league phase of the Rule 5 draft made the majors last year: Right-handers Tyler Gilbert, Seth Martinez, Kaleb Ort and Shea Spitzbarth – who made a couple cameos with the Pirates – and catcher Yohel Pozo. Gilbert was the most noteworthy player of that bunch, throwing a no-hitter against the Padres. The Angels selected the contract of infielder Brendon Davis, so another player from last year’s class has a chance at reaching the majors soon.

The next MVP isn’t going to be up for grabs this route, but a couple role players or good Class AAA depth should be.

WHO DID THE PIRATES PROTECT

I can’t say this is the entire list of players the Pirates added to their AAA roster to protect, but this list from a source covers at least the major and mid-level names:

Pitchers: Cam Alldred, Osvaldo Bido, Cody Bolton, Omar Cruz, Yerry De Los Santos, Matt Eckelman Santiago Florez, Oliver Garcia, Joe Jacques, Nathan Kirby, Will Kobos, Travis MacGregor, Oliver Mateo, Cristofer Melendez, Michell Miliano, John O’Reilly, Luis Peralta, Colin Selby, Aaron Shortridge, Hunter Stratton, Tahnaj Thomas, Noe Toribio, Blake Weiman, Eddy Yean

Infielders: Robbie Glendinning, Abraham Gutierrez, Mason Martin

Outfielders: Brendt Citta, Fabricio Macias, Bligh Madris, Calvin Mitchell, Lolo Sanchez

That’s 32 players, and while my list may not be 100% complete, it left spots open for players.

Among the players who are confirmed to not be on the AAA roster, the most notable name is Steven Jennings. The right-hander was the 42nd overall pick in 2017, with the Pirates banking that he would grow into some velocity to pair with his curve, which can get 3,000 RPM of spin. That never happened, and he stayed in the high-80s, low-90s throughout 2021 as he made the transition to the bullpen. Maybe he can still find a little extra heat, but after posting a 6.67 ERA over 29 ⅔ innings of relief for Class AA Altoona, it looks like the Pirates are willing to give him a look elsewhere. Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs listed him as the Pirates’ No. 31 prospect entering the season, if someone wants to kick the tires.

Jennings is joined by another early-round 2017 draft pick: Fourth-round catcher Jason Delay. Delay was a AA All-Star in 2019, but he was banged up last year and doesn’t have a major league bat. 

Infielder Connor Kaiser is another recent high-round draft pick who was left off the roster. The 2018 third-rounder had a horrible offensive season, slashing .195/.280.322 over 168 plate appearances. Teams can do worse than kicking the tires on a recent draft pick from Vanderbilt in the later rounds, but unless Kaiser unlocks something in his swing, it would be a stretch to consider him even as organizational depth at this point.

To round out the list of notables that I know are available, Hunter Owen got a cup of coffee in May, but was quickly outrighted off the roster. He’s organizational depth at the corner infield and outfield spots with some power (20 home runs for Indianapolis), but he struck out in one-third of his trips to the plate for Indianapolis. Right-hander Shea Murray was one of the Curve’s best relievers this year, but he walked 38 over 43 ⅔ innings.

WHO DID THEY TAKE/WHO DID THEY LOSE

The Pirates ended up taking three players: Left-hander Zach Matson, right-hander Nic Laio and infielder Jacob Gonzalez.

Matson, 26, has some intriguing raw stuff, featuring a high spin curveball and a low-90s fastball. Batters had a hard time making contact against it in Class AA, as Matson struck out nearly 40% of his batters faced for the Rockies' affiliate. The trade off is he pitched to a 5.73 ERA, allowing more than half of the runners he allowed on base (47) to score (24) over 33 innings. The report I got on him was the stuff was good enough to keep an eye on him.

Laio, 24, entered the year ranked as a 40 FV player per FanGraphs' rankings, giving him a middle relief/swingman projection. That changed after he posted a 7.80 ERA over 30 innings in Class High-A. His fastball sits at 93 mph, but the analyst I talked to seemed doubtful his stuff would play in the majors. He does have a big 6'5" frame that could signal there's a little untapped velocity to find still.

Gonzalez, 23, was a second-round pick in 2017 and is the son of former major leaguer Luis Gonzalez. He's a corner infielder who may be able to play corner outfield too, and is a contact hitter in what is traditionally a power position. There's some raw power there, but it's never translated into games. He slashed .174/.252/.250 over 103 plate appearances for the Giants' Class High-A affiliate, though he predictably did much better in their complex league.

As for who the Pirates lost, Jennings was taken by the Yankees, and Jonah Davis, who hit 15 home runs across Greensboro and Altoona last year, was picked up by the Cardinals.

The full list of who was drafted can be found at Baseball America.