Rule 5 Draft Targets

[sportsfan8703]

https://www.mlb.com/news/one-intriguing-rule-5-draft-prospect-for-each-team

The lists of best available players are starting to come out from the MLB.com and BA. The Rule 5 draft is on Weds, Dec. 6th. Picks can actually be traded in this draft.

I could see the O’s targeting a RH pitcher to bring to ST for a bullpen spot. There’s a couple of guys that fit that description. 

CJ Van Eyk from Toronto. Angel Bastardo from BOS.   Matt Sauer NYY. Anthony Hoopi-Tuionetoa TEX. Tyler Owen’s ATL. 

[ScGO's]

I really don't see the os keeping anyone that they draft. Too much depth already.  I guess you take them and see if injuries open up a roster spot after spring training 

[btdart20]

10 minutes ago, ScGO's said:

I really don't see the os keeping anyone that they draft. Too much depth already.  I guess you take them and see if injuries open up a roster spot after spring training 

I agree with this.  Especially since we’ll be picking later.  
 

I don’t know any of the names mentioned above, but TEX and ATL are a good place to start.

[DirtyBird]

15 minutes ago, ScGO's said:

I really don't see the os keeping anyone that they draft. Too much depth already.  I guess you take them and see if injuries open up a roster spot after spring training 

We have the following guys competing for bullpen roles. I don't know who is available in the Rule 5 draft, but i assume somebody in there is worthy of the competition and potentially being better than all of them:

Baker
Baumann
Vespi
Akin
Tate
Webb

[orioles119]

Van Eyk is interesting - he was in Toronto's top 30 before being hit with injuries.

[sportsfan8703]

It’s take your pick on what type of pitcher you want,

- The TJS/Shoulder injury big bodied frame. Most likely a former top pick or prospect. 

- The int’l signing that has taken a bit longer to get going but really doesn’t have much experience above A ball.

- The undersized, over achiever, low rd draft pick, that their stuff might play up in a bullpen role. 

With all that said… I like Matt Sauer from the Yankees. Big frame. Injury history. Former big bonus HS guy in 2017. The Yankees are stacked with relievers so they might have given him extra time to keep going as a SP. 

Sauer and the guy from Texas seem like they have the upside to be high leverage relievers. 

[RZNJ]

A reliever would seem to make the most sense but I haven’t seen one that intrigues me.  I find Troy Johnston interesting but he’d just be competing for O’Hearns spot.

Per Baseball America

Troy Johnston, 1B, Marlins

Johnston turns 27 years old halfway through the 2023 season and he’s a 5-foot-11 first baseman who doesn’t really have other defensive options. That’s why he is unprotected. Here’s why he could get picked: Johnston hit .307/.399/.549 between Double-A Pensacola and Triple-A Jacksonville. He chases more than teams would like, but he hits the ball relatively hard and makes a ton of contact when he swings at pitches in the zone. A team looking for an inexpensive first baseman/DH could pick him and let him compete for the job in spring training, where he would try to become next year’s version of Ryan Noda.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=johnst000tro

[interloper]

23 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

A reliever would seem to make the most sense but I haven’t seen one that intrigues me.  I find Troy Johnston interesting but he’d just be competing for O’Hearns spot.

Per Baseball America

Troy Johnston, 1B, Marlins

Johnston turns 27 years old halfway through the 2023 season and he’s a 5-foot-11 first baseman who doesn’t really have other defensive options. That’s why he is unprotected. Here’s why he could get picked: Johnston hit .307/.399/.549 between Double-A Pensacola and Triple-A Jacksonville. He chases more than teams would like, but he hits the ball relatively hard and makes a ton of contact when he swings at pitches in the zone. A team looking for an inexpensive first baseman/DH could pick him and let him compete for the job in spring training, where he would try to become next year’s version of Ryan Noda.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=johnst000tro

Guy sounds pretty interesting. LH bat, too. I could see a scenario where they select him just to sort of compete in ST and act as injury insurance for guys like O'Hearn.

[RZNJ]

1 minute ago, interloper said:

Guy sounds pretty interesting. LH bat, too. I could see a scenario where they select him just to sort of compete in ST and act as injury insurance for guys like O'Hearn.

That was my thought too.

[emmett16]

1 hour ago, sportsfan8703 said:

https://www.mlb.com/news/one-intriguing-rule-5-draft-prospect-for-each-team

The lists of best available players are starting to come out from the MLB.com and BA. The Rule 5 draft is on Weds, Dec. 6th. Picks can actually be traded in this draft.

I could see the O’s targeting a RH pitcher to bring to ST for a bullpen spot. There’s a couple of guys that fit that description. 

CJ Van Eyk from Toronto. Angel Bastardo from BOS.   Matt Sauer NYY. Anthony Hoopi-Tuionetoa TEX. Tyler Owen’s ATL. 

If the O’s trade up for a higher Rule V pick, this board is going to be down for a while.  

[interloper]

From that article, I'll take a guess at Tyler Owens from the Braves.

Braves: Tyler Owens, RHP (No. 26)
The Braves went over slot to sign Owens out of high school back in 2019, and after shaking off an injury-riddled 2021 season, he's shown some bat-missing ability in both starting and relief roles, reaching Double-A for the first time. He has the kind of power repertoire, with a fastball that touches 98 mph and a hard slider, that could be intriguing coming out of a big league bullpen full-time.

We're already poaching the Braves bullpen coach, why not grab someone from their system while we're at it. 

I want to say anyone with who is right-handed and has upper 90s velocity should be an option because that's our current biggest need. If Cano goes down, our best right-handed power arm is... Webb? 

[btdart20]

36 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

A reliever would seem to make the most sense but I haven’t seen one that intrigues me.  I find Troy Johnston interesting but he’d just be competing for O’Hearns spot.

Per Baseball America

Troy Johnston, 1B, Marlins

Johnston turns 27 years old halfway through the 2023 season and he’s a 5-foot-11 first baseman who doesn’t really have other defensive options. That’s why he is unprotected. Here’s why he could get picked: Johnston hit .307/.399/.549 between Double-A Pensacola and Triple-A Jacksonville. He chases more than teams would like, but he hits the ball relatively hard and makes a ton of contact when he swings at pitches in the zone. A team looking for an inexpensive first baseman/DH could pick him and let him compete for the job in spring training, where he would try to become next year’s version of Ryan Noda.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=johnst000tro

Sounds like a future Cincy Red or Blue Jay.

[IPlayGM]

I wonder if any other team site has forum topics about Rule 5….seems a pretty Oriole thing to discuss.

[interloper]

Just now, IPlayGM said:

I wonder if any other team site has forum topics about Rule 5….seems a pretty Oriole thing to discuss.

If they're not, they should! The Rule 5 is fun. 

Santander and Wells are two of our better players, you know? We just reached into other team's farm systems and said thank you very much I'll have those. I think it's a pretty fun mechanism of the sport. 

[sportsfan8703]

2 minutes ago, IPlayGM said:

I wonder if any other team site has forum topics about Rule 5….seems a pretty Oriole thing to discuss.

When googling a list of top available I noticed that the Marlins, Twins, and Tigers, all had various fan site articles. You know… the other poor teams.