Taking a look at some interesting pitchers in the Rule 5 Draft
3 years ago
It’s no secret how valuable relievers are in today’s game. And hard throwing relievers even more so. In recent years we have seen Emmanual Clause, and Brudstar Graterol be key pieces in trades for good players. Last season we saw first hand what Tampa Bay did, with their stable of relievers who throw 98.
With that in mind I think the Blue Jays (and all teams) should be looking for that power reliever in the Rule 5 Draft. These pitchers are going to be flawed, if they weren’t they wouldn’t be available. These are pitchers you could take a chance on, see if you can correct that flaw in Spring Training. If you can, great, maybe they make the team and if not you can send them back and all your out is money.
The Blue Jays with the waiver claims they made this week, have a full 40-man roster, making it unlikely they select anyone on Thursday, but if they do, I covered interesting position players last week, and today look at some interesting arms.
Riley Pint – RHP Rockies (23)
It’s not very often that you see top 5 picks from the MLB draft available in the Rule 5 Draft, but here we are. Pint went fourth overall to the Rockies in 2016. He sits 97-99, has touched 102 and has a power curveball. Fangraphs rates him as the 10th best prospect in the Rockies system, making him one of the highest-ranked pitchers available. He’s available in the draft because his control is non-existent. Pint threw just 17.2 innings in 2019 because of injuries, but in those innings he walked 31, had 18 wild pitches, and hit six batters. A team would have to think they could correct his mechanics and help him find the strike zone to take a chance on Pint.
Raymond Kerr – LHP Mariners (26)
It would be much easier to pick a player like Kerr in years prior before the three batter minimum. But a lefty who can dial it up to 100 is going to be intriguing. Eric Longenhagen notes that his splitter flashes plus and that the Mariners have worked on his slider. Kerr is one of the older players available but as an undrafted player, he hasn’t been in pro baseball that long. He’s really only had two full seasons of pro ball under his belt. He did reach AAA in 2019 but it was only for 2.1 innings. He has some issues with walks, but if his secondary pitches improved this past season, he may be someone a team takes and tries to carry all season.
Jason Foley – RHP Tigers (25)
Foley is another big time power arm. He missed the 2018 season due to Tommy John surgery, but came back in 2019 and maintained his really good arm strength. He is just one of five Rule 5 eligible players on THE BOARD who can touch 100 miles per hour. While he didn’t lose arm strength from the surgery, he did lose the feel for his best off-speed pitch, a change-up. Longenhagen says he would be a 40FV prospect if he had his change-up back, which would make him one of the better prospects available. He would be a player you take and see in Spring Training if he can get that feel for his change-up back.
Marshall Kasowski – RHP Dodgers (25)
Kasowski had a very good 2019 season. He reached AA throwing 29.1 innings with a 2.45 ERA, 2.50 FIP and 3.11 xFIP. He struck out 37.1% of batters and allowed a batting average against of just .159. He has a very deceptive delivery, Longenhagen compares it to that of Josh Collmenter. He’s very difficult for hitters to pick up which is why he’s had success. It’s also made it difficult for Kasowski to find the strike zone. He walked 4.91 batters per 9 in 2019. He pitched at the alternate training site for the Dodgers. He had surgery this off-season to reattach his UCL ligament, which could be a selling point for a team. You can put a Rule 5 pick on the IL, like the Blue Jays did with Elvis Luciano, and that makes it easier to carry them for the full season.
Brett de Geus -RHP Dodgers (23)
de Geus had a very successful 2019 season. He reached Hi-A and pitched very well recording a 1.16 ERA, 2.21 FIP, and 2.76 xFIP. He struck out 28.3% of batters while walking just 5.5%. He has a good arm, sitting 94-96 and touching 98, though Baseball America notes his velocity was down this season to 92-94. BA suggests he may have been a candidate to be protected if he wasn’t in the Dodgers system. He was thought highly enough to be brought to the Dodgers alternate training site, so teams will have more information on de Geus than many of the other players available.
Marcel Renteria – RHP Mets (26)
Renteria features an elite slider that generates 3000 rpm. Only Jesse Hahn, had a slider that spun that much in the big leagues last season, per Baseball Savant. He can get his fastball up to 96. He’s a little bit older and that makes him a bit easier to project. ZIPS actually did projections for Renteria, in 45.0 innings ZIPS forecasts a 4.40 ERA and 4.44 FIP. Not terrible but not great, Renteria looks like someone who could at least hold his own as one of the last pitchers on a roster.
Oliver Ortega – RHP, Angels (24)
Ortega has been a starter for most of his minor league career. He is the type of Rule 5 player who could be transitioned to a bullpen role at a higher level. He had a strong 2019 season in High-A, but struggled in five AA starts. He had an 8.64 ERA in those five starts but a 3.06 FIP, thanks to a .390 BABIP and just a 41.9% left on base rate. His velocity sits in that 92-95 range but he can touch 97-98 and could potentially sit at that range if he were just a one-inning reliever.
Re-Available Players
Here are a few players who I wrote about last year who are available again this season.
Zack Brown – RHP Brewers (25)
I was really high on Brown last year, I had him ranked as my top player available. He was the Brewers’ #3 prospect, he was their 2018 minor league pitcher of the year, yes he did struggle at AAA but it was the PCL and the juiced ball. Teams obviously didn’t like what they saw as he went unselected. He has dropped in prospect rankings (down to #12 in the Brewers system) and he made some changes. He reduced his spin rate on fastball 300 rpm dropping it to 2000 rpm. He hasn’t lost any velocity, so appears to be something done intentionally, perhaps to combat pitching in the PCL. We will see if a team takes a chance this time around and makes further changes.
Jordan Sheffield – RHP Dodgers (25)
I was surprised Sheffield wasn’t selected last year. As I mentioned last year, he runs his fastball up to 99, it has a spin rate of 2600. His curveball has 3200 RPM of break, the highest of anyone on THE BOARD. He’s a little older and has pitched in AA. His control isn’t very good, but if he could throw strikes and walk fewer batters he could be an asset in the big leagues.
Darius Valdez – RHP Padres (25)
Valdez is the standard hard-throwing reliever you see available in the Rule 5. He can touch 100, strikes out a ton of batters. He has had double-digit strikeouts per nine in each of the last three seasons. He reached AA in 2019, but had issues with walks and keeping the ball in the park. A talented arm but one that doesn’t seem likely to be picked.
The Top 5
Just like last season here at the five players that I like the most
Raymond Kerr
Brett de Gues
Zack Brown
Jordan Sheffield
Omar Estévez
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