2014 MMB Rule V Draft Recap

Thanks to everyone who showed up, and made the night exciting! For those who couldn’t show up, thank you for sending in your lists ahead of time. In the end, it was 31 players taken over 4 rounds. Full draft picks can be found here: http://maxretrobaseball.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=111

Many storylines unfolded, so here’s recapping what went down in those 3.5 hours:

Twins (+3, -1): A man on a mission of taking over the worst team in the league last season, GM Jay didn’t miss the chance to help out his fortunes next year – grabbing 3 useful pieces at the top of the draft. 1st over all pick Michael Blanke has a good shot of making the roster as the back-up catcher to Joe Mauer.

 

Pirates (+1, -1): GM Josh took a solid lefty reliever in Michael Belfiore from the O’s, but in hindsight, his decision to not protect Daniel Rosenbaum (who was taken later by the same O’s) could prove to be costly, and a tough price to pay for Belfiore.

Brewers (+2, -1): New GM Gary took little time to turn heads on Monday, opting to flip his 1st round pick Daniel Mateo in a trade after the draft. The Brew Crew’s 2nd round pick in Ben Rowen could prove to be a useful arm in a dilapidated bullpen.

 

Mets (+0, -1): GM Ryan sat out the Rule V, and is committing to stay in house with his roster options heading into the winter. Losing lefty RP Zach Britton however, will hurt a bit.

 

Astros (+0, -2): The Astros has an incredible amount of talent stockpiled in their system, and despite their efforts to make room on their 40 man roster in the days leading up to the draft, GM Charles still faced a tough roster crunch that prevented his team from picking up any ammunition on draft night.

Yankees (+2, -0): With a bullpen ERA of 4.62 that ranked 14th last season, new Yankees GM Dave did a solid job in addressing that last night – picking up two major league ready arms in Brian Omogrosso and Deunte Heath.

 

Royals (+2, -2): The Royals lost two very young bats in Daniel Mateo and Cheslor Cuthbert last night, but GM Luke can take solace in the fact that because they both have not played above AA, it will be a tough task for the teams who picked them to roster them for the entire year. 2nd round pick lefty RP Craig Breslow from the Rockies can be a serviceable LOOGY out of the pen.

 

White Sox (+0, -4): The White Sox lost the most players last night, 4. But the greatest comfort for 2nd year GM Jess is in what the club protected last minute and didn’t lose out on. Some of those names: Aaron Altherr, Ethan Martin, Miguel A. Gonzalez, were by far, the most heavily scouted players in the league leading up to this draft. But ensuring that this very talented trio of players stay Sox property will in turn help the team is many more ways than any player they could have picked up on the draft. Essentially, the Sox did pick up players last night: 3 of them.

Rangers (+0, -1): All of Texas was nowhere to be seen in last night’s draft.

 

 

Orioles (+2, -2): Daniel Rosenbaum was a great stealth pick for a club starving for pitching, and seems primed to contribute right away.

 

Indians (+0, -1): Max reports changes are coming for his Indians, but those changes will need to come from trades or FA signings, as the Tribe chose to sit out this one.

 

Cardinals (+0, -0): One of the few teams who came away from the draft just as they had entered it, Charles’s Cardinals chose to spend a quiet night after making some serious noise throughout the league in trades the past 3 weeks. Sure they could have used an extra player or two to try out in Spring Training, but protecting Heath Hembree (after a trade from the Angels) was ultimately more paramount.

 

Diamondbacks (+0, -2): Losing two promising arms in Chase Anderson and David Holmberg will be very tough pills to swallow, if they manage to survive the whole season with their new teams.

 

 

Cubs (+3, -1): New GM Brett may have been a tad optimistic in picking 3 young guys without much talent in the upper minors, but you still have to applaud the effort in bringing in talent to a club that is just on the cusp of contending. No harm no foul, it definitely can’t hurt.

 

 

Dodgers (+0, -2): Dodgers GM Shane Kalepp was MIA last night, rumored to be away on a last minute scouting trip.

 

 

Giants (+2, -1): GM Trey has shown in the past that he can find cost-effective ways to improve his ballclub, and his 2 picks last night are no different. Despite a 7 weeks injury, Zach Britton may turn into a new diamond in the rough for the Giants – following in the footsteps of the likes of Mark Buehrle, Shawn Marcum, and Justin Wilson.

 

Rockies (+2, -2): There is always room for pitching in Colorado, and Rockies will give plenty of chances to their 2 picks David Holmberg and Billy Bullock.

 

 

Phillies (+0, -1): GM Noah was rumored to be aching to find a backup catcher and a 5th OF in last night’s draft, but an inability to clear up his roster crunch proved to be fatal to the Phillies. Already with albatross contracts that are bloating up the team’s payroll, Noah will surely be kicking himself for missing out on a tremendous opportunity to pick up talent at negligible costs.

 

Rays (+2, -1): The Rays did a great job in scouting Cesar Hernandez, as the 24 year old SS was virtually ignored on most GMs’ lists. Upon closer inspection, Hernandez fits the mold of most players who are taken from Rule V drafts – a major league ready utility man who teams can comfortably give the 25th roster spot to. GM Ryan will surely use every chance to see if Hernandez can stick.

 

Athletics (+4, -0): New GM Rocky didn’t hesitate in stockpiling talent last night, as the A’s were the only team that went through 4 rounds of drafting. All of that without even losing a single player of their own. Rule V draftees rarely find the chance to stick with their new teams for all of a season – so it still remains to be seen what Rocky’s plans are for these new faces.

 

Marlins (+2, -0): The ONLY team in the NL East to participate in this year’s Rule 5 draft, the Marlins not only put a good showing last night, but also made out with a decent pair of players as well. Already have traded away OF Kyle Jensen earlier in the day (in lieu of having to protect him [although one may wonder as to why protecting Jensen and keeping Jensen have to be mutually exclusive events]), the Marlins further bolstered their OF stash with picks of Jamie Johnson and Juan C. Perez. Both players show GM Sy’s emphasis on defense, and has enough of a floor to be enticing to potential suitors down the line.

Red Sox (+0, -0): Always one to tinker with his Sox, GM Ben smartly chose to sit this one out – as it was probably the better decision to protect the greater assets on his 40 man rather than to sacrifice anyone of them for one night of fun. Sometimes, it’s also good to party poop.

 

Blue Jays (+0, -0): With the bevy of major league ready pitching talent taken last night, the Blue Jays may have missed on a great opportunity to continue building upon their pitching.

 

Mariners (+1, -0): Mariners GM Jason creatively turned 1 pick into 2 last night, with a late night trade with the Brewers. Both Ariel Pena and Daniel Mateo may need some more coaxing with major league competition, but present vacancies on the Mariners’ 25 man roster (made possible by earlier consolidation of talent through trading) may just allow this pair to players to learn and grow at the Major League level.

 

Nationals (+0, -0): Nationals GM Gabe was unavailable for comment, possibly due to still celebrating his team’s championship.

 

Padres (+0, -0): The Padres certainly had room on their 40 man to pick up a couple of projects last night, but GM Tim had other ideas – like making hard tacos for the whole league to enjoy.

 

Braves (+0, -2): Matt and his Braves were very particular in who they were after last night, but being so low in the order pretty much ensured that they would get last dibs on their favorite choices.

 

Tigers (+0, -3): In Wes Darvill, GM Steve made an effort in addressing a long known issue at 2B for his Tigers. However, losing 3 players in 3 rounds is everyone GM’s nightmare, especially during tough financial times.

 

Reds (+1, -0): GM Bryan changed his mind last minute, and jumped into the fray with a pick from Houston for RHP Brian Moran. The Reds are primed to jump out of the gate contending, but it’s never a bad idea to take on a project at hardly any cost.

 

Angels (+0, -0): The team with the best record last season chose to sit out the Rule V, and was lucky enough to leave it unscathed.