Buck: "We're going to grind the heck out of the Rule 5 draft."

[LookitsPuck]

I think Ryan Flaherty is a very good utility player. And that's not a knock on him at all.

2.1 WAR over 264 games is pretty damn solid for a Rule V pick.

No, he won't hit for average. But he plays solid defense at multiple positions and has some power potential.

McFarland has a 0.8 WAR in 133 1/3 IP for the O's. He improved tremendously in 2014. He's another solid pickup.

Are these guys world beaters? No. Can you find world beaters in the Rule V draft? Possibly, with some seasoning.

Either way, the Rule V draft has been a solid asset for the O's.

[CA-ORIOLE]

I think Ryan Flaherty is a very good utility player. And that's not a knock on him at all.

2.1 WAR over 264 games is pretty damn solid for a Rule V pick.

No, he won't hit for average. But he plays solid defense at multiple positions and has some power potential.

McFarland has a 0.8 WAR in 133 1/3 IP for the O's. He improved tremendously in 2014. He's another solid pickup.

Are these guys world beaters? No. Can you find world beaters in the Rule V draft? Possibly, with some seasoning.

Either way, the Rule V draft has been a solid asset for the O's.

Nice summary. Add in low cost and optionable assets. Pretty hard to hit big on the rule V these days, but these guys were nice pickups.

[UpstateNYfan]

I have mixed emotions whenever the O's grab a rule V guy, but you have a good chance on finding a guy that is willing to work hard to prove his worth and not just a journeyman that is filling his pocket for a couple more years. The more I see BS and DD operate it seems to me that they have a strong belief of the importance of men 16-25 on the roster, not just the first 15. It works.

[brianod]

There is a significant cost to the rule V draft. That cost is keeping a not quite ready player on the 25 man roster all year long. I'm not too sure that it's worth it, even though I do consider Flaherty a valuable player for the O's. I wonder what it would have cost us to trade for Flaherty and give him 500 AAA abs? Probably not much.

[Frobby]

Very rare? Since Flaherty came into the league there have been 24 players who've played at least 20 games at each of 2B, SS, and 3B. Among those 24 Flaherty is 8th in OPS, 7th in fielding runs, 12th in games, and 9th in total rWAR.

The median OPS among these guys is .641, Flaherty is at .652.

If you lower the threshold to >10 games at each of 2B/SS/3B you come up with 45 players.

He's a pretty good utility player, no more, no less. And utility guys are not rare by any measure. Everyone has one. Or three, with two of them stashed in AAA.

Still not a bad Rule 5 pickup if you ask me. We had a need that he has filled nicely and cheaply.

[Can_of_corn]

Still not a bad Rule 5 pickup if you ask me. We had a need that he has filled nicely and cheaply.

He's fine but pretty replaceable in the grand scheme of things.

[brianod]

He's fine but pretty replaceable in the grand scheme of things.

I'm not too sure about that. Name other lefties with pop that can play above average defense at 3 positions and come as cheap as Flaherty.

[Can_of_corn]

I'm not too sure about that. Name other lefties with pop that can play above average defense at 3 positions and come as cheap as Flaherty.

Prove to me that Flaherty can play above average defense at three positions.

[mdbdotcom]

Not that it's predictive of anything, but I was glad to see Flash hold his own in the playoffs. He filled some very big shoes and did a good job.

[scOtt]

There is a significant cost to the rule V draft. That cost is keeping a not quite ready player on the 25 man roster all year long. I'm not too sure that it's worth it, even though I do consider Flaherty a valuable player for the O's. I wonder what it would have cost us to trade for Flaherty and give him 500 AAA abs? Probably not much.

I think you're right and you're also wrong. Flash and TJ were well worth it for us at the time. Almanzar (if kept all year) would have probably hurt us this year. Next year I think a Rule 5 pick would hurt us even more (unless he's a real stud... not likely.) My point is as we went from a bad team to a good team to a great team it hurts us more the better we get.

[brianod]

Prove to me that Flaherty can play above average defense at three positions.

Prove he can't

[olehippi]

Sorry Dan, disagree with you on Almanzar.

He wasn't ready for primetime, even if he had stayed healthy.

I would venture to say that Almanzar was as ready as Schoop, and if not for the injury, could have played a major role at 3B after Manny went down. I'm not saying it would have been the best case scenario, just that it was possible.

[Can_of_corn]

I would venture to say that Almanzar was as ready as Schoop, and if not for the injury, could have played a major role at 3B after Manny went down. I'm not saying it would have been the best case scenario, just that it was possible.

Schoop's glove was ready.

[scOtt]

Schoop's glove was ready.

That will be the deciding factor for Christian Walker too. Gotta play D to be up.

[PaulFolk]

Prove he can't

This is a lazy response. You're basically making a proclamation with no evidence to back it up, then -- when challenged on it -- still providing no evidence and instead asking someone else to do the legwork to prove you wrong.

According to FanGraphs, Flaherty has a career -4 defensive runs saved at shortstop. He has a negative UZR at both shortstop and third base. So the advanced defensive numbers (which are admittedly not perfect) indicate that he's not above average at either of those positions. I'd say he can play OK defense at short and third and is above average at 2B.

Now, back to you. What evidence is there that Flaherty can play above average defense at three positions?