Rule 5 Draft has few surprises

The build up to the Rule 5 draft is usually quite intense, and this year was no exception. But like most R5s, there were few surprises, and the whole thing was over quickly, the hype leading up to it more a product of a thirst for baseball news more than anything else.

You can’t try to sneak a guy like George Bell through the draft anymore. In his baseball information age, there are just too many eyes scouring leagues and stat pages to attempt that.

The Nationals took Red Sox P Thad Ward with the first overall pick. Ward is a guy who ran out of time with the Sox, returning to action only in July after missing 2020 due to Covid, and 2021 to Tommy John. Boston took a calculated risk in leaving him exposed; the rebuilding Nats could still send him back after spring training.

Old friend Ryan Noda was taken second overall by Oakland, and if ever there was an A’s pick, it would be Noda, who Toronto took in the 15th round in 2017. An on-base machine, Noda has never posted an OBP below .372 as a pro, has hit 54 round trippers over the last two seasons with a chase rate of only 20%, and is an excellent defensive 1st Baseman. It’s easy to see him sticking with the Athletics.

The steal of the draft may have been another Red Sox hurler, Noah Song, who hasn’t pitched since 2019 due to a commitment to the US Naval Academy. He was placed on the military list by the Phillies, who took him with the 16th pick. As a result, Song won’t have to be placed on the 40 until he is declared eligible; if that doesn’t occur until after 2023, he will only need to serve 90 days on the MLB roster before he can be sent to the minors. Song is still a long shot, but it’s easy to see why the Phils took him - he was considered a potential day one draft pick in 2019 until his naval commitment.

The Blue Jays, for their part, remained relatively unscathed in the draft. Reliever Adrian Hernandez (who has K’d 24 Mexican Pacific League hitters in 17 IP) and promising LF Gabriel Martinez were not selected in the MLB portion of the draft, although they did lose UT Logan Warmoth, who was selected 6 picks ahead of Nate Pearson in the first round of the 2017 draft. Warmoth didn’t produсe at the plate (.690 OPS over five seasons), and had been used as a multi-position guy over the last few years. Warmoth was selected by Seattle, and hopefully gets a new lease on life with the M’s.

Toronto did add to its corp of minor league catchers by selecting Dodgers farmhand Kekai Rios. A former Hawaii Rainbow Warrior and graduate of the mellifluous Kamehameha High School, Rios was originally drafted by the Brewers, then was grabbed by the Dodgers at last year’s R5 in the minor league phase. Rios was originally deemed a bat-first player, but he’s worked hard to become one of the better defensive backstops in the minors. Rios slashed .218/.316/.635 in the Midwest League last season.

To me, the Rule 5 has been important not necessarily because of the players taken. In my mind, it’s kind of like the last bit of administrative housekeeping organizations do before getting onto the real work of preparing for the upcoming season. It feels like the previous campaign has been put to bed, and now we can focus our attention on the upcoming one.