Luke’s 2018 Rule 5 Draft Preference List

[Luke-OH]

12 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I’m glad both our Rule 5 guys were reasonably high on your list.   

They are both solid picks, I know it might seem like I’m down on Martin because I didn’t have him in my top few guys, but I think he’s a good Rule 5 pick. It’s hard to find MLB quality SS defense with AA experience and pedigree. From what I saw, he was more average to slightly above average at SS, but if you think he’s legit plus there as some have said, then you have to take him, there just aren’t many plus defensive SS.

[murph]

28 minutes ago, Luke-OH said:

They are both solid picks, I know it might seem like I’m down on Martin because I didn’t have him in my top few guys, but I think he’s a good Rule 5 pick. It’s hard to find MLB quality SS defense with AA experience and pedigree. From what I saw, he was more average to slightly above average at SS, but if you think he’s legit plus there as some have said, then you have to take him, there just aren’t many plus defensive SS.

Would Mike Bordick be a good comp? 

[Luke-OH]

5 minutes ago, murph said:

Would Mike Bordick be a good comp? 

I mean if he can get the ball in the air more, make more contact, and be a legit plus defensive SS then he would be a faster Bordick, but the chances of those things all happening are slim to none.

[murph]

1 minute ago, Luke-OH said:

I mean if he can get the ball in the air more, make more contact, and be a legit plus defensive SS then he would be a faster Bordick, but the chances of those things all happening are slim to none.

Yea, I  looked up Bordick stats after I posted that.  Bordick had more pop than I remembered.   Even a .800 ops in 2/3 of 2000 for the O’s.   Whoa!    So I guess that was a stretch.    One can hope though.   

[Luke-OH]

38 minutes ago, murph said:

Yea, I  looked up Bordick stats after I posted that.  Bordick had more pop than I remembered.   Even a .800 ops in 2/3 of 2000 for the O’s.   Whoa!    So I guess that was a stretch.    One can hope though.   

League wide OPS was up those years so it looks better than it is. I believe .800 was about a 100 wRC+, so context neutral league average.

[murph]

29 minutes ago, Luke-OH said:

League wide OPS was up those years so it looks better than it is. I believe .800 was about a 100 wRC+, so context neutral league average.

Good point.   Well hopefully Martin will be flashy defensively some.  Looking for any bright spots in these dark days during the rebuild.  

[Moose Milligan]

Glad we went with infield defense.  Seems like that's an easier thing to pick than a pitcher in the Rule 5.  

[atomic]

1 hour ago, murph said:

Yea, I  looked up Bordick stats after I posted that.  Bordick had more pop than I remembered.   Even a .800 ops in 2/3 of 2000 for the O’s.   Whoa!    So I guess that was a stretch.    One can hope though.   

Bordick hit a total of 8 home runs in 2500 plate appearances in the minors.  Bordick was juicing in his later career.  He left one off season looking like a twig and came back jacked.

[Beef Supreme]

14 hours ago, atomic said:

Bordick hit a total of 8 home runs in 2500 plate appearances in the minors.  Bordick was juicing in his later career.  He left one off season looking like a twig and came back jacked.

I had a face-to-face conversation with him recently. I realize he is probably eating perfectly right and doing massive cardio. But our specs are the same, as listed on bbref. Yet he seemed more like 155 lbs. Looking healthy, to be sure.

[Beef Supreme]

2 hours ago, Luke-OH said:

I mean if he can get the ball in the air more, make more contact, and be a legit plus defensive SS then he would be a faster Bordick, but the chances of those things all happening are slim to none.

Being faster than Bordick won't be the key to Martin's success. He's not going to be a base-stealer of any significance. If he is quick enough to play consistently upper-level defense and hit like Jose Iglesias, he will be valuable to multiple teams over the course of the next five or so years. Both of those will need to be proven at the major-league level before he can be comped with Bordick.

[Luke-OH]

2 hours ago, Beef Supreme said:

Being faster than Bordick won't be the key to Martin's success. He's not going to be a base-stealer of any significance. If he is quick enough to play consistently upper-level defense and hit like Jose Iglesias, he will be valuable to multiple teams over the course of the next five or so years. Both of those will need to be proven at the major-league level before he can be comped with Bordick.

Yeah, pretty much what I was saying is that he’s not comparable with Bordick because he’d need all the things I’ve listed to happen to be like Bordick. I just mentioned in passing that he was faster, I didn’t mean to imply any sort of strong significance to it. He will help on the bases though if he gets on enough, which like I’ve said before is the big question.

[murph]

3 hours ago, atomic said:

Bordick hit a total of 8 home runs in 2500 plate appearances in the minors.  Bordick was juicing in his later career.  He left one off season looking like a twig and came back jacked.

I really dislike absolute statements like this.    No one has any clue whether someone like Bordick juiced or not. No idea at all! 

[Luke-OH]

One of the players on my list is one the move, the Cubs acquired Conor Lillis-White from the Angels. 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/12/minor-mlb-transactions-121318-2.html

Another from the list, Cole Sulser is going to the Rays as part of the three way deal with the Mariners and Indians.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/12/mariners-nearing-acquisition-of-edwin-encarnacion-carlos-santana-indians-trade.html

[Luke-OH]

Here's my blurb on Drew Ferguson, who was picked, he made it to the final cuts from my list. 

 

Drew Ferguson - CF - Astros

An instinctual player with mediocre tools, solid line drive swing but middling bat speed and a lack of physicality, solid glove, can handle CF, but lacks the speed desirable for the position. Very low upside, but a ready 4th/5th OF candidate.

 

[AZRon]

On 12/13/2018 at 3:19 PM, weams said:

32 were protected in the AAA phase. 

Thanks -- can you cite your source for this information and/or provide a list of the protected players?
Major League Rule 2(b) has the following minor league team player "reserve" limits:
AAA - 38
AA   - 37
All others - 35

P.S. There is no longer an "AA Phase" for the minor league phase of the Rule 5 Draft.