Rule-5 Eligible Players to Keep an Eye On
My favorite part of the Winter Meetings
In little over a week, Major League Baseball’s Rule-5 Draft will commence in Dallas, TX. For those unfamiliar with the event, it is essentially a draft where MLB clubs can poach particular prospects from other teams.
Specific requirements are present for a prospect to be eligible for selection. For starters, prospects need to have been signed at age 19 or later. These players must have four years of experience in professional baseball. And most importantly, they did not get protected on their respective club’s 40-man roster.
Yes, the casual baseball fan might not be familiar with any of the names taken on December 11th, when the draft is expected to start.
However, many gems are found during the Rule-5 Draft. According to Jonathan Mayo, some of the best Rule-5 picks over the last decade include Anthony Santander, Mark Canha, Garrett Whitlock, and Brad Keller. Roberto Clemente is the most famous (although the rules were somewhat different when he was chosen).
Here are a few notable prospects who could be packing their bags:
Cubs - Christian Franklin, OF
To me, Franklin is probably the most intriguing player available in this year’s Rule-5 Draft. In just 98 games, the Cub’s No. 21 prospect (MLB.com) shined at the dish.
He recorded a strong 135 wRC+, with 5 HR and 38 RBI. Franklin walked at an elite 16.6% clip and did damage on the basepaths with 34 stolen bags. This is a player I see getting a chance on a 40-man roster because of his on-base ability, and knack for being a productive runner.
Franklin’s swing isn’t the prettiest, as he pounds the baseball into the ground most of the time (60% rate in 2024), but he has the speed to get away with it, even at the MLB level.
Via Fangraphs, his raw power grades around 50-55, so I also believe there may be some untapped pop. The Arkansas product turned 25 years old a few days ago.
Twins - Kala’i Rosario, OF
While Rosario is younger (22 years old) and riskier than Christian Franklin, he may boast more upside. The Twins 2020 draftee has never posted a season in the Minor Leagues with a wRC+ under league average.
Ranked as the No. 19 prospect in the Twins system (MLB.com), Rosario can hit the ball 108+ mph and may have the highest raw power in this year’s Rule-5 class. The only problem is he may also hold the most swing-and-miss.
He struck out at a dismal 30.4% clip this season in Double-A, and could seriously get carved up by Big League pitching. The home runs also haven’t come as often as anyone in Minnesota’s system would’ve liked.
Nevertheless, Rosario is intriguing. He punishes left-handed pitching; according to Just Baseball, his OPS vs. LHPs has floated around the .900s. He may not be ready for the Bigs yet.
Rangers - Bryan Magdaleno, LHP
Possibly the best Minor League reliever you’ve never heard of, Magdaleno shined in the Rangers farm system all season long in 2024.
Outside of the Rangers' top 30 prospects on MLB.com, I struggled to find a photo of Magdaleno. I had to grab an image of him from his personal Instagram.
The 23-year-old southpaw pitched to the tune of a 1.27 ERA across three levels of MiLB, and while he doesn’t have much experience past A ball, his stuff looks ready for any MLB bullpen.
An absurd 14.3 K/9, 0.94 WHIP over 42.2 innings in ‘24 (shoutout to Just Baseball for accumulating his stats), Magdaleno has two plus pitches with his four-seam fastball and sinker.
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Had me at left handed reliever