Explained: Who is the Primary Rule 5 Keeper for Each Team?

FAN BOTS

Thank you for watching the video     Link:https://www.mlb.com/tigers/news/rule-5-draft-recent-picks-who-stayed-with-team     Important warning⚠️⚠️   My friend, please check the accuracy of the information. The information I provide may be  incorrect, late, or outdated.  #PrimaryRule5Keeper#EachTeamKeeperExplainedDM

Transcript

00:00Alright, let's walk through this interesting list together. We're talking about the Rule 5

00:05draft in Major League Baseball. Now, it's one thing for a team to pick a player in this draft,

00:10but it's a much bigger challenge for that player to actually stick on the big league roster for

00:14the entire next season. That's what we're looking at here. The last player each team successfully

00:19kept for a full year, American League East, Toronto Blue Jays. That was Elvis Luciano,

00:25a right-handed pitcher. Back in 2018, he was only 18 and hadn't pitched above rookie ball when

00:30Toronto took him from the Royals. He worked out of the bullpen, often for multiple innings,

00:35and put up a 5.35 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 33.2 innings. Before an elbow injury ended his season

00:42in June, he hasn't pitched in the majors since and is now with the Yomiuri Giants in Japan, 2024.

00:49Baltimore Orioles. They kept Tyler Wells, RHP, after taking him from the Twins in the

00:542020 draft. He was solid out of the bullpen that first year, posting a 0.91 whip with 65 strikeouts

01:02in 57 innings. He moved to the rotation for the next two seasons, accumulating 2.8 BWAR and even

01:10pitched out of the bullpen in the 2023 playoffs. Elbow issues led to surgery in 2024, but he came

01:17back to make four starts in September, Tampa Bay Rays. Their guy was Kevin Kelly, RHP in 2022,

01:25taken from the Guardians. This side armor became an important reliever, leading Rays relievers with

01:3067 innings and a 3.09 ERA. He used a sinker and a sweeper from that low arm angle to keep hitters

01:37guessing. Boston Red Sox. The most recent one is Justin Slayton, RHP in 2024. The Mets picked him

01:44from the Rangers and immediately traded him to Boston. In his two big league seasons, he's posted

01:49a 3.43 ERA with an 83-19 strikeout to walk ratio over 80 games, New York Yankees. You have to go way

01:56back for this one. 50 years. The last was Billy Parker, INFF, in 1973. Interestingly, he spent three

02:05years in their system but never played in New York for the Yankees. He's also noted as the last Negro

02:10leaguer to play in the AL or NL, who wasn't part of a publicity stunt. American League Central,

02:16Cleveland Guardians. They kept Trevor Steffen, RHP, from the 2021 draft, taken from the Yankees.

02:23He had a 4.41 ERA with 75 strikeouts in 63.1 innings for Cleveland that first year,

02:30pitched well for two more seasons, then had Tommy John surgery, missing all of

02:342024. Kansas City Royals. They had a double success in 2017 with Brad Keller, RHP, and Birch

02:42Smith, RHP. Keller, originally taken by Cincinnati from Arizona, was traded to KC and became a major

02:48success, compiling 9.0 BWAR over six seasons with the Royals. Smith, taken from the Mets,

02:55also stuck on the roster in 2018. Detroit Tigers. In 2022, they kept Mason Inglart, RHP,

03:03from the Rangers. The results were middling, 5.46 ERA in 56 innings, but he stayed on the roster

03:10until a hip injury in July. His best pitch was a mid-80s slider, Minnesota Twins. Their last was

03:16J.R. Graham, RHP. In 2014, he appeared in 39 games for the Twins in 2015, finishing with a 4.95 ERA.

03:27Arm issues led to him being designated for assignment in 2016, and his last pro appearances were in the

03:33minors for the Yankees. Chicago White Sox. They have two recent ones from 2025, Shane Smith,

03:42RHP, and Mike Vassil, RHP. Smith, the number one overall pick from the Brewers, made the All-Star

03:50team as a rookie, a rare feat for a Rule 5 pick. Vassil was drafted by the Phillies from the Mets,

03:56sent to the Rays, and then claimed off waivers by Chicago, where he excelled as a multi-inning reliever,

04:01American League West, Los Angeles Angels. Their pick was Deolis Guerra, RHP. In 2015, he was unusual,

04:10because he'd already pitched in the majors before being taken. He pitched well for the Angels in 2016,

04:173.21 ERA in 44 games, and bounced around several teams through 2021, Houston Astros. They kept Josh

04:24Fields, RHP, in 2012. He pitched three seasons for the rebuilding Astros, before they traded him to

04:32the Dodgers at the 2016 deadline for a minor leaguer named Jordan Alvarez, who would become the 2019 AL

04:40Rookie of the Year. Oakland Athletics. The Ennorn Candiceurs. Incorpor Ennorn N1 Thelwan.

04:48Per a stick in the 20-ton 23 draft. Mitch Spence, RHP from the Yankees, stuck with the A's all of 2024.

04:56He was a workhorse, one of only four rookies to top 150 innings that year, amassing 1.6 BWAR.

05:03His second year, 2025, was less productive, mostly spent in the bullpen. Seattle Mariners. They kept

05:10Johan Ramirez, RHP in 2019. He was the only 2019 Rule 5 pick to post a positive WAR, 0.5, with his selecting

05:19team, putting up a 2.61 ERA in 20.2 innings out of the bullpen for Seattle, Texas Rangers. Their last was

05:26Carlos Tochi, off, in 2017, a once-top international prospect. He hit 225 in 120 at-bats for Texas in 2018,

05:36and hasn't played in the major since. National League East. Atlanta Braves. They kept Dan Winkler,

05:45RHP in 2014, even though he was recovering from Tommy John surgery, that let them stash him on the

05:51injured list until he debuted in 2015. He became an effective reliever for them, in 2017 and 2018,

05:59Miami Marlins. In 2025, they found their starting catcher via Rule 5, grabbing Liam Hicks from the

06:06Tigers. The bat-first backstop hit 247-346-346, with six homers in 119 games. New York Mets. Their

06:16success was Sean Gilmartin, LHP, in 2014. He excelled in his first relief season for the Mets in 2015,

06:242.67 ERA in 50 games, but couldn't sustain it in the following years. Washington Nationals.

06:31In 2024, they kept shortstop Nassim Nunez for his elite defense and speed. Despite a light bat,

06:38in limited action, 78 plate appearances, he hit .246 and ranked in the 95th percentile for sprint speed.

06:46Philadelphia Phillies. A year after finding Odubel Herrera, they kept Tyler Goodell, OOF.

06:52In 2015, he played 92 games in 2016, but hit only 192, and hasn't returned to the big leagues since,

07:02National League Central. Milwaukee Brewers. They kept Taiwanese lefty Wei Chung Wang in 2013,

07:09despite him having only 74.1 minor league innings above A-ball, he appeared in 14 games as a rookie,

07:16St. Louis Cardinals. In 2024, they kept reliever Ryan Fernandez, picked from the Red Sox, he made 62

07:23appearances, finishing with a 3.51 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 66.2 innings. Chicago Cubs. They

07:33kept Trevor Megel, RHP, from the 2019 draft. He didn't pitch for them until 2021, was later claimed

07:40by the Twins, and then traded to the Brewers, where he became an all-star closer in 2025.

07:48Pittsburgh Pirates. They kept lefty Jose Hernandez in 2022. He jumped from AA to the Pirates' bullpen

07:54in 2023, appearing in 50 games and missing bats at a high rate, 11.0 K9, despite a 4.97 ERA.

08:04Cincinnati Reds. Their last was catcher Stuart Turner in 2016. He appeared in 37 games

08:10for the Reds in 2017, but hasn't been back to the big leagues since National League West.

08:15Arizona Diamondbacks. With the first pick in 2014, they took defensively gifted catcher Oscar

08:21Hernandez from the Rays. He appeared in 18 games as a 21-year-old, and stayed on their 40-man roster,

08:27until 2017, Los Angeles Dodgers. You have to go back to 2009 for the Dodgers, with Carlos

08:34Monasterios, RHP. He had a 4.38 ERA in 32 games as a swingman in 2010, but blew out his elbow the next

08:43year, and never pitched for them again. San Francisco Giants. In 2022, they acquired Blake

08:50Cebol. COF. Via trade, after the Reds drafted him from the Pirates. He was a semi-regular as a rookie,

08:57hitting 13 homers in 110 games, while catching and playing left field. San Diego Padres. In 2024,

09:05they kept Steven Kolek. RHP. A former Mariner starter, who had moved to the bullpen. He worked

09:11with a six-pitch mix, but had inconsistent results. 5.21 ERA in 46.2 innings. He was traded to the Royals

09:19in 2025, Colorado Rockies. They kept Anthony Molina, RHP, in 2024, after taking him from the Rays.

09:29Used as a reliever, he had uneven results over 35 games and 59.2 innings. He pitched sparingly for

09:36them in 2025, before being claimed off waivers by the Braves. So, which of these Rule 5 success stories

09:43do you find the most surprising or impressive? Let me know your thoughts below.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended