Once again MLB has spoken, and the Dodgers farm system was the #1 shopping source for Rule 5 draftees. In the Major League Phase, the acquiring team “buys” the player for $100,000 and must keep that player on the roster for the entire 2021 season, or offer the player back for $50,000. Overall, 2 of the top 7 picks of the Major League Phase were Dodgers. RHRP Brett de Geus was the #2 selection and went to the Texas Rangers. RHRP, and former 1st round draft pick out of Vanderbilt, Jordan Sheffield was the #7 overall pick going to Colorado.
There were 18 Major League Phase draft picks, 56 MiLB Phase, and 74 total. The 18 ML Phase draft picks were the same as were drafted in 2016 and 2017, and the most selected since 19 in 2010. The total of 74 draftees were the most since 79 were selected in 2004. It was a very robust Rule 5 Draft.
All in all, the Dodgers had 8 players selected over both the Major League Phase (2) and the Minor League Phase (6). No other team had as many selected. NYY and Tampa Bay had 7 selected, while Toronto, NYM, and Twins had 5. 25 teams lost at least one MiLB player. Boston, Seattle, Atlanta, Washington, and Milwaukee did not have any players selected in the Rule 5 Draft.
There were 18 selections overall in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 Draft. The New York Yankees had three selected, while the Dodgers, Minnesota, Baltimore, and Cleveland each had two Major League Phase players selected. Seven other teams lost one player in the Major League Phase.
For the acquiring teams, 16 teams made one selection while two teams (Baltimore and Oakland) had two each. The Dodgers did not participate in the Major League Phase selection.
The first overall selection went to the Pirates who drafted highly regarded but erratic Dominican RHP, Jose Soriano, from the Angels. Soriano was the Angels #13 prospect, and just turned 22 in October. He has not pitched above Low A in his career. Soriano has a 70 fastball but a 45 control. In 2019, Soriano issued 5.9 walks/9 innings. That clearly is not sustainable at the ML level. His MLB Pipeline Scouting Report indicates that what he needs is innings. Soriano had TJ surgery early February 2020. I would suspect that Pittsburgh could hide Soriano on the IL through June. 17 months after TJ surgery is not unheard of. They can start to build him up at their Florida complex and then hide him the rest of 2021 in the bullpen. Soriano can then be optioned in 2022. Pittsburgh knows they are not competing in 2021, so I would suspect that they are planning on keeping him. This will cost Pittsburgh $570,500 to keep him on the roster for the entirety of the 2021 season. That is somewhere between a 3rd and 4th round Rule 4 Amateur Draftee.
There were eight draftees who were on their team’s Top 30 Prospects:
- Jose Soriano (RHP) – Angels #13 to Pittsburgh
- Brett de Geus (RHP) – LAD #27 to Texas
- Jose Rivera (RHP) – Houston #14 to LAA
- Luis Oviedo (RHP) – Indians #25 to NYM
- Dedniel Nunez (RHP) – Mets #18 to SFG
- Paul Campbell (RHP) – Rays #24 to Miami
- Trevor Stephan (RHP) – NYY #24 to Cleveland
Of the 18 Major League Phase draftees, 15 were RHP, 2 OF, and 1 SS. Surprise, surprise…pitching was the position of preference in the draft.
Dodger Losses:
Brett de Geus (23) – Dodgers #27 prospect (Initial Texas ranking #29) – Brett has above average fastball (60) and curve (60). He does have a third pitch, but it is an inconsistent slider, that could be further developed. MLB Pipeline Scouting Report:
Los Angeles’ player development staff helped de Geus upgrade his pitches, but it may the Rangers who benefit because they grabbed him in the Rule 5 Draft at the end of 2020. After topping out at 95 mph with a straight fastball in 2018, he now deals a 93-98 mph heater with running action. He also has improved his breaking pitches and now operates with a low-80s curveball with power and depth and an upper-80s slider/cutter.
De Geus’ confidence improved along with his stuff, and he did a much better job of attacking hitters last season (2019), when his walk rate dropped to 1.9 per nine innings from 3.9 in his debut. His ability to generate strikeouts and weak ground-ball contact could make him a late-inning relief weapon.
Brett was my favorite LAD prospect. I have been advocating for him since 2018 in Ogden. He went from Rookie League 2018 to High A in 2019, and excelled. Overall in 2019, he pitched 61.2 innings and registered a 1.75 ERA and a 0.941 WHIP. He had 72 strikeouts along with 13 walks (5.54 SO/W). In the 2019 Arizona Fall League he was relatively unhittable. He was not scored on, and allowed 2 hits in 9.1 IP. He had 11 K’s and 2 BB’s. He was added to the LAD 60 man roster for 2020, and spent the season at the USC alternative training site. I thought he had Caleb Ferguson type helium allowing him to possibly rise from AA to MLB in 2021. He is a solid 2 pitch reliever and misses bats. He had a 2.00 Ground Out/Air Out ratio at Rancho, making him a legit ground ball pitcher. In a brief review of the potential Texas bullpen, he has a very legit chance to stick. I am not a scout by any means, but if I thought that de Geus could make the LAD roster at some point in 2021, I would have to think that Texas could keep him on the 2021 roster for the full year. Rookie relievers can stick. If Texas offered Brett back, I would think that AF would accept. He now joins Willie Calhoun and AJ Alexy as former Dodger draft picks on the Texas Rangers roster. I will miss Brett de Geus and will follow him closely with Texas.
Jordan Sheffield (26 in June) – Unranked as a prospect in LAD and Colorado MiLB system – This was Jordan’s second year as a Rule 5 Draft eligible pitcher. He went undrafted last year, and while many did not include him as a potential draft pick, I thought that he might have been and stated so on Wednesday. Again I am not a scout, but I did follow an obscure publication that hinted that some teams were looking at Sheff as a possibility. He is a former #1 draft pick out of Vanderbilt, that never could stay strong as a starting pitcher. He had questionable control and threw way too many pitches (and still does). He was converted to relief half way through 2018, without a lot of success in his 7.0 IP. But the Dodgers saw enough potential in him as a reliever that they sent him to Arizona Fall League where he pitched much better. In 9.1 IP he allowed 2 runs for a 1.93 ERA with a 1.071 WHIP. He still had control problems with 7 K’s and 4 BB’s in those 9.1 IP. In 2019, Jordan pitched decently at both Tulsa and Rancho. He had a combined 55 IP, and a 3.27 ERA and 1.364 WHIP (because of his walks). He had 74 Ks and 43 BBs for a rather poor 1.72 SO/W ratio. He allowed more walks (43) than hits (32). He is a flyball pitcher with a 0.46 GO/AO ratio in 2019. That ought to be fun in Colorado. I think the Dodgers had very high hopes for Jordan, but he never could sustain himself as a starting pitcher, and his control is too volatile for relief. IMO he will be offered back to LAD, and AF will decline. There is no upside for Jordan Sheffield as a Dodger. He needs a new start with another team.
The Dodgers lost six players in the MiLB Phase, and selected two. The Rays also lost 6 players in the MiLB Phase. NYY, Toronto, NYM, and Texas lost 4 each. Three teams did not select any player in either the Major League Phase or the MiLB Phase. Acquiring teams must pay $24,000 for each of their draftees. There are no roster restrictions for the MiLB phase draftees. Dodgers players lost in the Minor League Phase:
- Round 1 – Shea Spitzbarth (RHRP) goes to Pittsburgh (1st overall MiLB pick)
- Round 1 – Tyler Gilbert (LHP) goes to Arizona
- Round 1 – Errol Robinson (SS/2B) goes to Cincinnati (Great news for Errol, I wish him lots of luck)
- Round 1 – Chris Roller (CF) goes to Cleveland
- Round 3 – Drew Jackson (SS/2B) goes to Mets
- Round 3 – Marcus Chiu (Utility) goes to Miami
MiLB Phase draftees are generally considered organizational depth. They are not considered significant prospects. A couple years back, Shea Spitzbarth was a star at ST, but could never distance himself from the other pitchers to distinguish himself as a legit MLB reliever. He has been passed by a number of relievers in the LAD organization. He gets a chance to start over in Pittsburgh, a team that needs a lot of pitching.
Another of my favorite people, Errol Robinson (26), was drafted in the 6th round out of Ole’ Miss. He started out well and moved fast. He moved to AA in his first full year in professional ball (2017). But he stalled. In his third year at Tulsa (2019) he had a .310/.390/.400/.790 batting line, and was promoted to AAA where he struggled. Errol has a great smile, and while I do not expect he will ever be a ML regular, he might make it as 26th man with Cincinnati. I wrote the following in August 2017 – https://ladodgertalk.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=1813&action=edit
Drew Jackson (27) was drafted by Seattle in the 5th round out of Stanford in 2015. LAD acquired him in a trade that sent Chase De Jong to Seattle in March 2017. This was Drew Jackson’s second time selected in the Rule 5 draft. In 2018, Drew was selected by the Phillies in the Major League Phase. He was immediately traded to Baltimore for future considerations. He did not stick with Baltimore and was returned to the Dodgers. Like Errol Robinson, he is listed as SS but plays quite a bit at 2B, and was being developed more in CF to become that Tim Locastro type utility player. The Mets have a surplus of middle infielders who can be groomed to be that super utility player, but I hope that NYM gives him a good look in ST.
Prior to ST last February, the Dodgers traded Kyle Garlick to Philadelphia for LHRP Tyler Gilbert (27). Tyler was a 6th round selection in the 2015 draft out of my alma mater, USC. Obviously, I had my hopes up for Tyler. And Gilbert has been a very effective reliever at AAA in both 2018 and 2019 with the Phillies. In 351 IP. Tyler has a 3.36 ERA and a 1.171 WHIP. He has a 4.17 SO/W ratio, and a fairly even GO/AO ratio of 1.06. He was not invited to the USC alternative training site, so he has lost a full year of development. Arizona does need relievers, so I expect Tyler to get a ST invite with a chance to make the roster.
Chris Roller (24) never piqued my radar too much. He was a 30th round pick in 2017 out of McLennan JC (TX). He has reached as high as Low A at Great Lakes. In 2019, he slashed .274/.359/.455/.814 at Great Lakes. DC might be able to shed more light on Chris than I can. Cleveland needs OF, and while he is not nearly close enough to be considered a candidate in 2021, I think he is worth a shot for Cleveland to see if they can develop him.
Marcus Chiu (24) is another that never piqued my interest. He was a 15th round pick out of Marin CC (CA) in 2017. He played a full year at Rancho in 2019 where he hit .215/.341/.383/.724. He plays 1B, 2B, 3B almost equally. He has also played corner OF. Marcus gets a chance with a very young organization that seems to be on the upswing.
Dodgers Acquired:
In the 1st round of the MiLB Phase the Dodgers selected Catcher Ryan January from Arizona. Ryan will be 24 in May and was an 8th round draft pick in 2016 out of San Jacinto College. He is a LH hitter. The Dodgers have selected multiple players out of San Jacinto College, so they probably have a well-respected scout in Texas who has seen him play. He has played mostly at the Short Season Northwest League. However in 2017, after a productive 2016 season in the Pioneer League, he was suspended 50 games for testing positive for the banned stimulant Amphetamine, and did not play at all in 2017. He was a mid-season All-Star in the 2016 Pioneer League.
A scouting report on him said,
“his pop from the left side of the plate is his best offensive tool and he was able to get to it fairly consistently with Missoula, even hitting four long balls in August as he tired out a bit.
“He played regularly behind the plate with Missoula and is eager to show he can stick there,” the report said. “He does have a strong arm, but the rest of his defensive game needs refinement.
The report also suggested that January “might be athletic enough to handle an outfield corner or a move to first, where his bat could profile well.”
In 2016 in junior college with the San Jacinto Gators, January hit .370 with five home runs, a team-high 11 doubles and 24 RBI during the regular season. He then hit a tournament-high four home runs during the JUCO World Series in June.
The Dodgers have lost several catchers in the last year, so Ryan looks to be very much organizational depth, with a potential upside down the road. He has played very little professional ball. With 426 ABs, Ryan is batting .239/.361/.394/.755, 13 HRs and 53 RBIs. He does strike out at a 30% clip. Dodger prospect…HR power with a lot of swing and miss.
In the 2nd round, the Dodgers selected OF Roimer Bolivar. Bolivar is 21 (yesterday) and bats RH. He comes from Caucagua, Venezuela. He spent his first three professional seasons in the DSL. He is the epitome of a lottery pick. He is a speedy OF with little to zero power. But he is another of those Venezuelan contact hitters. In 651 PA he has 119 Ks and 80 BBs. In 2019, he had 39 BBs and 30 Ks. His batting lines have jumped every year:
- 2017 – .184/.286/.229/.515 – Age 17
- 2018 – .267/.367/.327/.694 – Age 18
- 2019 – .323/.471/.432/.903 – Age 19
No power, but a .471 OBP is quite impressive. His career K rate is 18%, but for 2019 it was 14.7%. He is a stolen base threat, that gets better every year in this category as well:
- 2017 – 11 SB, 8 CS
- 2018 – 12 SB, 7 CS
- 2019 – 15 SB, 5 CS
He was a tad older for the DSL, but I suspect that if he continues to put up impressive OBP numbers he should move quickly. He will probably start out in the Arizona League, but hopefully move up to RC by year end. I would like to see what he could do in Great Lakes as a 21 year old in 2022.
Overall the Dodgers netted $296,000 in cash on the Rule 5 Draft.
Discussion (106)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Just for giggles, 1941 opening day Brooklyn Dodgers lineup…C Mickey Owen, 1B, Dolph Camilli, 2B Billy Herman, 3B, Cookie Lavagetto, SS Pee Wee Reese, LF Ducky Medwick, CF, Pete Reiser, RF, Dixie Walker. Not a bad starting 8, and they won the pennant that year.
I do not for one minute claim that I totally get what AF is doing. I also know that I have never run a major league baseball team. Nor will that opportunity arise, of that I am certain. What I know about baseball is knowledge that I have acquired from long years of watching the game, a lot of reading, and a few years playing the game myself. Not at the high level that some here achieved. I played like the title of the movie says, For love of the game. Success is measured by titles. Success in baseball is not guaranteed. So many things can happen over a 162 game season, and usually these are not factored in. What I do know about AF is that he stocks his minor league teams with a lot of talent that has been to the bigs. The 5 signings yesterday are testament to that. I saw an interview with him on the Dodger site. Very interesting stuff. He quoted John Wooden, the famous UCLA basketball coach who’s teams won 10 NCAA titles, including 7 in a row. Unheard of today. Wooden said, winning takes talent, box checked, the Dodgers have loads of it. Repeating takes character. Ahh. Now I get it a little more. What AF wants for this team is to repeat. But he is not going to get players who he feels do not have what they would consider, good clubhouse character. Free thinkers like Bauer need not apply. Do not pass go and do not collect 30 million bucks from LA. Make no mistake, AF wants the taste of victory again. So, how does he accomplish this? First off, he follows his instincts and does not jump in without making sure of his choices. Face it, at least 4 of the 8 free agents they have are getting significant interest from teams in the majors. Some have been connected to multiple teams. And AF told all of his free agents to explore their options. I hear more about Joc, Kike and JT than I do about the others. The only buzz I hear about Baez is his desire for a 3 year deal. Ain’t happening in LA old friend. Practically no buzz on Treinen. None on McGee either. They resigned Nelson so he is the first domino to fall. There have not been many trades, but there is a multitude of talk. I totally expect it to stay like this until after New Years. That is when a lot of the action took place last year. Thank goodness that 2020 is coming to a close. I cannot remember a year as screwed up as this one has been since 1968. There was a ton of turmoil that year.
Jeff, so much work you had to have spent on this one. Far much more than I’ll be able to even file as ” I read that somewhere” but I also can’t claim I have my full wit these days. Still thank you for trying to reach this kid. You can lead a kid to knowledge, but you can’t make him think.
General question to everyone here.
There’s a lot of talk about Bauer and Snell. Who would you rather have and why?
Bauer is a free agent with a qualifying offer, so you lose a draft pick. Snell, you would have to trade for and he won’t be cheap because of his team friendly contract. Bauer will of course cost more money. Snell would cost at least a top 5 and a top 10-15 prospect in the system then throw in a high upside lower level prospect. No AJ Pollock trades.
Kershaw will soon be 33. Price is 35. A very affordable #1 starting (lefty) ACE pitcher is on the table and we have an abundance of resources to make a trade for him. AF said he wanted to be a piggy, then be a piggy and go get Snell. We certainly don’t want to face a deGrom/Snell combo in the playoffs or a Cole/Snell combo in the WS. A Buehler/Snell combo sounds much more appealing to me.
Next, steal LeMahieu from the Yankees, It’s time to move on from JT.
Finally, try to extend Seager.
That’s it. Easy as Uno, dos, tres.
Bear, these are the AF moves that used to drive you crazy. Winning a WS hasn’t changed his ways! Have to think one of these moves hits and he’s even a bigger genius! Wonder if AF is gonna at least grab one present from the top of the toy chest?
Jimmy Nelson comes back too. I guess they’re trying to replace de Gaus and Sheffield with better options? I would think that one of those guys gets added to the 40 when Ferguson goes on the 60 day DL. Good moves. One of them is bound to work out?
Old home week. We’ve also signed Brock Stewart. Why he would want to come back here where he has little to no chance of making the major league club is beyond me. There are so many teams desperate for bp help that I can’t believe someone else wouldn’t have given him a minor league deal.
Dodgers just signed Brandon Morrow to a MiLB contract. 2017 again????
Texas just signed Dahl. One year 3 mil. Would have loved him as a Dodger for that! I say he has a big comeback year in 21!
David Dahl signed a one year deal with Texas for $3MM. I like this deal for Texas. Throw out last year’s numbers. I have no idea why Dahl played. He has no spleen so his auto immune system was non-existent. I am sure that he had that on his mind.
For the record of the five pitchers on my list Corey Kluber is my least favorite because he’s a starter. I only listed him because if for some reason the Dodgers couldn’t sign any of the relievers on my list then I would go after Kluber even though it would push one of our starters to the bullpen. But I would rather not push one of our starters to the bullpen I’d rather sign as many of those relievers on my list as possible.
Brad Hand and Kirby Yates both have lopsided splits. But they’ve gotten the job done even with those lopsided splits. I definitely wouldn’t sign Brad Hand because there’s more right handed batters than left handed batters. But I wouldn’t be opposed to signing Yates.
I am intrigued about Liam Hendricks. The thing with him though is that prior to two years ago he basically sucked. So the question that I have is, is he the real deal.
I will rank the five pitchers on my list according to most wanted to least wanted.
Sean Doolittle
Joakim Soria
Pedro Baez
AJ Ramos
Corey Kluber
And again I wouldn’t be against signing Liam Hendricks and Kirby Yates.
Good Andrew Friedman quotes on MLB.com today…
“As we sit here in the middle of December, we feel really good about the core group that we have in place,” Friedman said. “We have a couple of areas we’d like to address before Spring Training and have had a lot of conversations going with free agents, as well as with the 29 other teams. We feel like there’s a good enough amount of supply out there of what we’re looking for that we’ll end up in a good spot.
“Obviously, we couldn’t be any happier with how the 2020 season ended, but now it’s incumbent upon us to turn the page and focus on doing all we can to repeat. Looking back over time in baseball and seeing how difficult that has been is a challenge all of us are focused on.”
At face value I like what he’s saying. It sure looks like he’s going to be filling a couple of holes. It doesn’t sound to me like he’s looking for platoon players.
I think retaining JT is a good possibility, but I don’t think there’s a snowball’s chance in hell that he’s going to be as good as he’s been in the past. I just think an imminent physical breakdown is about to happen. I base this on his hampered base running in the post season and his knees that need injections during every Spring Training. But, if the price for an upgrade is prohibitive in prospect capital, or potential free agent targets get deals that AF isn’t going to match, I believe JT’s more of a reluctant plan B for a team with REPEAT aspirations. I like that AF thinks there’s enough supply to be able to get a deal done. That statement definitely applies to the girth of quality relievers available.
I remain highly optimistic as I do each year around this time. Nothing to complain about since I don’t see a lot of guys coming off the table. It definitely made my day to read the words that he’s focused on a repeat. Even if I know that’s what he needs to say. This team does have a great core and we can really go on a run here.
DODGERS NAME CLAYTON MCCULLOUGH FIRST BASE COACH
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers announced their Major League coaches for the 2021 season with Clayton McCullough serving as the new first base coach and the return of bench coach Bob Geren, hitting coach Brant Brown, third base coach Dino Ebel, hitting coach Rob Van Scoyoc, assistant hitting coach Aaron Bates, pitching coach Mark Prior, bullpen coach Josh Bard, assistant pitching coach Connor McGuinness and game planning and communications coach Danny Lehmann.
McCullough, 40, will enter his seventh season with the Dodgers organization and his first as the Major League first base coach. The North Carolina native has served as a minor league field coordinator and helped oversee the Dodgers’ operation at the alternative site on the USC campus last season. Prior to joining the Dodgers organization in 2015, McCullough worked for the Toronto Blue Jays organization from 2006-2014, serving as the manager of the GCL Blue Jays (2006-2007), Class-A Lansing Lugnuts (2008-2009), Advanced-A Dunedin Blue Jays (2010-2011) and Class-A Vancouver Canadians (2012-2013). He posted a combined record of 629-559 during his managerial career in the Blue Jays organization. The former East Carolina Pirate standout was originally drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 22nd round of the 2002 First-Year Player Draft, playing four seasons in the Indians system before beginning his coaching career.
2021 Coaching Staff
Dave Roberts – Manager (sixth season)
Bob Geren – Bench Coach (sixth season)
Mark Prior – Pitching Coach (fourth season)
Josh Bard – Bullpen Coach (second season)
Robert Van Scoyoc – Hitting Coach (third season)
Brant Brown –Hitting Coach (fourth season)
Clayton McCullough – First Base Coach (first season)
Dino Ebel – Third Base Coach (third season)
Aaron Bates – Assistant Hitting Coach (third season)
Connor McGuinness – Assistant Pitching Coach (second season)
Danny Lehmann – Game Planning & Communications Coach (third season)
From The Athletic, where Gammons has a lot more:
While the Dodgers may engage in talks with the Rockies on Nolan Arenado, the rules of the road are that Colorado has to take back a ton of money, and Andrew Friedman is not trading good young players. Not Kody Hoese or Michael Busch. Not Andre Jackson or Landon Knack or probably even Josiah Gray
I don’t seem to understand the Milb portion of the rule 5 draft. I know we lost DeGeus & Sheffield due to them not being on the 40-man roster and being in the minors for 4 or 5 years depending on their ages when first signed. I know they each cost Texas & Colorado $100,000 and they must stay on their rosters for 2021 or be offered back to the Dodgers at half price. What’s the rules regarding the other 6 players we lost. Why do they only cost $24,000 and do they have to stay on the AA or AAA team for the whole season or be offered back at half price? I would think not, but what are the rules regarding those 6? Just in the system way too long?
Revisit the 2019 Rule 5 Draft – There were 11 players selected in the Major League Phase of the draft. Of the eleven, nine were kept by the drafting team. Both of Baltimore’s selections were returned. One of those returned had a decent campaign. Of the nine that were retained, seven played at the ML level with the team that drafted them (or traded to), and two were offered back but eventually stayed with the team that drafted them.
1) Rony Garcia (RHP) – Drafted by Detroit from NYY and was retained. Pitched at the ML level in 2020 for Detroit.
2) Brandon Bailey (RHP) – Drafted by Baltimore from Houston and returned to Houston. Pitched fairly well at the ML level in 2020 for Houston. 5 games, 7.1 IP, 2.45 ERA, 1.227 WHIP, 4 Ks/3 BBs.
3) Sterling Sharp (RHP) – Drafted by Miami from Washington (Nats #13 prospect), and was retained. Pitched at the ML level in 2020 for Miami.
4) Stephen Woods (RHP) – Drafted by KC from Tampa Bay and was offered back to Tampa Bay but stayed with KC. Woods did not play at the ML level in 2020.
5) Yohan Ramirez (RHP) – Drafted by Seattle from Houston and was retained. Ramirez had a fairly productive summer in Seattle. He pitched in 16 games, 20.2 IP, 2.61 ERA, 1.403 WHIP, 26 Ks/20 BBs, 3 saves and no blown saves, with 1 hold. He pitched a scoreless inning with one K against LAD on August 20, 2020.
6) Mark Payton (OF) – Drafted by Cincinnati from A’s and was retained. He played at the ML level in 2020 for the Reds. He is 29, so he is certainly not a high level prospect, but he has produced at AAA (.334/.400/.653/1.053 with 30 HRs). He also played on Team USA in Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
7) Dany Jimenez (RHP) – Drafted by San Francisco from Toronto and was retained. He pitched at the ML level in 2020 for SFG.
8) Vimael Machin (SS) – Drafted by Philadelphia from Chicago Cubs. Philadelphia traded him to Oakland where he was retained. He had 71 PA at the ML level in 2020 with Oakland.
9) Trevor Megill (RHP) – Drafted by Chicago Cubs from San Diego. He was offered back to San Diego but remained with Chicago. He did not play at the ML level in 2020.
10) Jonathan Arauz (SS/2B/3B) – Drafted by Boston from Houston (Astros #25 prospect) and was retained. He had 80 PA for Boston in 2020 and batted a respectable .250/.325/.319/.644. He is 22 years old, and should stick with Boston.
11) Michael Rucker (RHP) – Drafted by Baltimore from Chicago Cubs. He was returned to Chicago. He did not play at the ML level in 2020.
Admittedly last year was an anomaly. But the teams did not know about the virus at the time these players were drafted. Players selected in the ML Phase do not always have productive 1st years like Dan Uggla. Actually most do not have productive years at all. Just enough to be hidden by non-contending teams. But they showed enough to be retained on the roster for the entire year. It is a lot easier to hide a player on a 28 man roster than a 25 man (previous ML roster size). If the players are not ready, they can be optioned this year without losing them this year. Both Yohan Ramirez and Jonathan Arauz both showed enough to be considered for the ML roster in 2021.
Manager for Blue Jays Rk/A/A+ teams (2007-2013) before joining Dodgers
Clayton McCullough just named new Dodger first base coach. Who, pray tell, is Clayton McCullough?
You do not need to go back to Clemente for productive Rule 5 draftees unless you only consider HOF players:
Johan Santana (already mentioned)
Shane Victorino (already mentioned)
Josh Hamilton
Dan Uggla
Joakim Soria
George Bell
Odubel Herrera
Marwin Gonzalez
Hector Rondon
Matt Mantei
Fernando Vina
Frank Catalanotto
Willy Tavares
Miguel Batista
Jay Gibbons
Scott Posednik
Graeme Lloyd
Antonio Alfonseca
Luis Ayala
Guillermo Mota
Scott Sauerback
Jorge Sosa
Derrick Turnbow
Not HOF but had productive ML careers.
Hey Badger, during our conversation yesterday, which I re-read, I think I got confused between Reading and Redding. Were you a PA guy or a Ca guy?
By bad if I had the wrong part of the country. Ignore me. I’m old!
The Brewers have acquired LHP Leo Crawford from the Dodgers as the player to be named to complete the December 2 trade for RHP Corey Knebel.
MLBTR has a story about the restructuring of the minor leagues today. Interesting read. I am wondering what the new Draft league will look like. A league where the draft choices get to show their stuff. Should be interesting.
Johan Santana, Joaquin Soria, Darrell Evans, George Bell, Dan Uggla, Josh Hamilton were all rule 5 guys.
Wow! Clemente in rule 5 and Pedro Martinez in trade. Two of the worst GM moves of all time!
Has there ever been a star come out of Rule Five draft?
I will pass on all of Eric’s choices for the pen. Even Pedro. And Kluber is damaged goods. You have no clue what you are going to get out of him. And why in blue blazes would you want to move starters to the bull pen when every one says that is where the teams strength is? Makes no sense. Now is the time for Urias and May to earn their spurs. Gonsolin can go down there. But Urias and May should be starters PERIOD. I have to go to Colorado Springs to take a neighbor to her orthopedic surgeons appointment. And it is a SNOW DAY !! Oh joy. Nothing I like better than driving in inclement weather.
The Dodgers are nearing a minor league pact with Carlos Asuaje, per J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group (via Twitter). The 29-year-old utility-man appeared in 175 games for the Padres from 2016 to 2018 with a triple slash of .240/.312/.329. He saw 49 games of action with the Lotte Giants of the KBO in 2019. On a minor league deal, Asuaje is likely to get an invite to Spring Training, but he’s likely being brought on board primarily to serve as minor league insurance.
January? Why?
My favorite prospect is still Ruiz, with Gray close behind. I’d like to see DJ Peters get some at bats. He’s the ugliest blind squirrel in our cage. Betwee AA-AAA in ‘19 he OPS’d over .800. 4 seasons in the minors .865 OPS. At 6’6” 245 pounds he’s the kind of hitter where nobody leaves their seat when he’s due up. Let’s see him. Or send him to Colorado where he would hit 40.
I don’t know. Rule 5 draft? No actual winter “meeting”? Meh. This winter feels like one of those winters with a lot of mud. Strange feeling in the air. It’s like we’re in bunkers. Our political scene is a global embarrassment. It’s half time and Covid is winning. College basketball looks like it should be shut down and now the NBA is walking backwards on this early start thing. Pac12 football seems like it can’t get going and isn’t even considered in the playoff structure. Spring? People won’t be there. MLB season? 162 games? Not likely. We’ve had a cheating scandal, the Nationals out of nowhere then the Dodgers in a 60 game season with cardboard cutouts in the stands. We’re talking about it but, do we know what we’re talking about?
Well, we do have the Rams. So far so good with that.
de Gaus and Sheffield might still have a career ahead of them. But, there was little chance they were going to get much of an opportunity next year. Good for them that they get an opportunity with teams that may be able to utilize their services. Hopefully, this means that the Dodgers are eyeing pitching upgrades, otherwise one or both would have been added to the 40 man.
I’m hoping we do better than Eric’s list although Kluber might be worth a look. Baez is probably the surest bet to have a good year, but will ultimately melt down when you bring him into action with runners on base in the post-season. I think we can do much better with the likes of Kendricks, Hand, Clippard, Bradley, Holland, Jeffress, Treinen, Yates and the list literally goes on and on. There’s so many good bets, why try again with the likes of AJ Ramos and El Gasolino? This is a great change to upgrade and make the best pen we’ve had in years.
It would be so sweet to beat down the Padres with Yates and Hand.
I don’t see January staying behind the plate for the Dodgers; the team has too many quality catching prospects in front of him including Carson Taylor who the team drafted in the fourth round last June. His bat will determine whether he becomes a prospect, and a position change will give him the best chance to move quickly through the organization. Interesting that Baseball America has the Dodgers drafting Bolivar as a pitcher – could be a typo, or Dodgers see his arm strength better suited on the mound.
AF had to know that de Geus would be picked which leads me to believe that he does not think as much of him as we do!
I came across this note on Roimer Bolivar.
Venezuelan outfielder Roimer Bolivar originally looked like he was going to sign with the Red Sox. Then just before July 2, Major League Baseball banned the Red Sox from signing any players during the 2016-17 signing period. The Rays jumped in and signed Bolivar for $280,000. Bolivar, 17, was one of the top outfielders in the 2016 class. He’s built like a Division 1 wide receiver, with an athletic, projectable frame (6 feet, 170 pounds) and loud tools. Bolivar is a center fielder whose speed and arm strength are both plus, though he will need to improve his outfield instincts. Bolivar has a high physical upside if everything clicks, though he’s still more tools than polish. He has strong hands, good right-handed bat speed and makes hard contact when he connects. Bolivar has a chance to hit for power, but his approach will have to improve to become a better hitter against live pitching. Bolivar trained with Wilmer Becerra.
AC – I cannot add a lot about Chris Roller. His was a surprise selection since he didn’t play above the Class-A level. He did seem to be a sparkplug for the Loons and as a 30th round selection gave it his all. He is a good fielder and has some base stealing ability. He showed a bit of power in a pitcher’s league with 21 doubles, 8 triples and 7 home runs in 88 games with the Loons in 2019. I can recall that a number of his hits were significant hits at needed points in the game.
https://www.milb.com/video/roller-makes-diving-catch-c31000004097
My list of free agents that I hope Friedman takes a look at. 2 of them have injury concerns, so medicals will be needed to be looked at.
Corey Kluber
Joakim Soria
AJ Ramos
Sean Doolittle
Pedro Baez
Look up their career OPS stats overall and career OPS vs right handed and left handed batters. Pretty impressive.
I’ve said the bullpen needs to be upgraded or better yet a house cleaning. Corey Kluber is a starter not a reliever. But why not add a starter and move a couple of our starters from last year to the bullpen to strengthen the bullpen.
I’m not taking anything away from the relievers that most would talk about like Brad Hand, Liam Hendriks and any other popular relievers. But I have looked at their career OPS stats overall and vs right and left batters and I either see lopsided splits or bad stats overall except recently in the last 1 or 2 years.
De Geus was your favorite?
But why though?