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9/26/19

Mets Unofficial Rule 5 Draft List - Revised 11/19/19


Now that the Mets have been officially eliminated from the post season, we can start thinking about the Mets Rule 5 draft eligible players. 

Johan Santana, Roberto Clemente, George Bell.  What do they all have in common?  They were all rule 5 draft picks. 

The Mets will have a number of players becoming Rule 5 draft eligible this winter, and while I am not saying any of them will be the next Johan Santana or Roberto Clemente, the Mets will need to make some decisions to either add them to the roster or risk losing them. 

— A player must have signed when they were 19 years or older and played professional baseball for four years are eligible. Players who signed at 18 and have played five years are also eligible.
— Players currently on a team's 40-man roster are "protected" and are not eligible for selection in the Rule 5 Draft.
— If a team chooses a player in the Rule 5 Draft, they will pay $100,000 to the team he was chosen from.
— The receiving team will put the player on its Major League 25-man roster for all of the following season and must be active for a minimum of 90 day.
— If the player does not remain on the Major League roster, he is placed on outright waivers. If he goes unclaimed, he is offered back to his original team for $50,000. If the original team declines, the receiving team may option him to the minor leagues.
— Teams are allowed to trade players selected in the Rule 5 Draft. However, rules regarding roster placement are applied to the player's new team.
— There are three phases to the Rule 5 Draft: Major League, Triple-A and Double-A.
Based on that I put together the list of current Mets minor leaguers that are potentially eligible for the Rule 5 draft this December 2019.  Unless they are added to the 40-man roster, they could be lost for the $100,000 draft fee.

With the likes of Todd Frazier, Juan Lagares, Joe Panik, Rene Rivera, Zack Wheeler, Rajai Davis and potentially others leaving the team at the end of the year, the Mets will have some roster spots available.

I have highlighted the ones in orange that I think should be protected.  The ones in yellow may also be considered. 


Team
Name 
Pos
YrOB
Signed
Age Signed
Syracuse
P
1993
2014
21
Syracuse
P
1995
2014
19
Syracuse
P
1993
2015
 22
Syracuse
P
1994
2013
 19
Syracuse
C
1997
2014
 17
Syracuse
CF
1993
2014
 21
Binghamton
P
1996
2016
 20
Binghamton
P
1994
2013
 19
Binghamton
P
1993
2015
 22
Binghamton
P
1994
2015
 21
Binghamton
P
1995
2016
 21
Binghamton
P
1993
2015
 22
Binghamton
P
1996
2015
19
Binghamton
P
1994
2015
 21
Binghamton
C
1993
2015
22
Binghamton
C
1993
2015
22
Binghamton
2B
1997
2014
17
Binghamton
SS
1998
2015
17
Binghamton
SS
1998
2015
17
Binghamton
3B
1994
2016
22
Binghamton
3B
1993
2015
22
Binghamton
LF
1995
2016
21
St, Lucie
P
1996
2016
20
St, Lucie
P
1994
2014
20
St, Lucie
P
1995
2016
21
St, Lucie
P
1996
2015
19
St, Lucie
P
1994
2016
22
St, Lucie
P
1996
2016
20
St, Lucie
P
1995
2013
18
St, Lucie
P
1995
2015
20
St, Lucie
C
1992
2015
23
St, Lucie
C
1993
2016
23
St, Lucie
1B
1997
2015
18
St, Lucie
SS
1996
2014
18
St, Lucie
2B
1995
2016
21
St, Lucie
LF
1995
2015
20
St, Lucie
CF
1997
2015
18
St, Lucie
RF
1996
2014
18
Columbia
P
1996
2014
18
Columbia
P
1995
2015
20
Columbia
P
1996
2014
18
Columbia
P
1997
2015
18
Columbia
C
1997
2015
18
Brooklyn
P
1995
2014
19
Brooklyn
P
1996
2016
20
Brooklyn
C
1996
2016
20
Brooklyn
SS
1997
2014
17
Brooklyn
RF
1997
2014
17
Brooklyn
RF
1999
2015
16
Brooklyn
LF
1998
2015
17
Kingsport
P
1996
2016
20
Kingsport
P
1996
2013
17
Kingsport
C
1998
2015
17
Kingsport
2B
1999
2015
16
Kingsport
CF
1997
2013
16
GCL Mets
P
1996
2014
18


As it has been well documented here, Matt Blackham has been a solid relief pitcher in AA and AAA for the Mets over the last two years.  With the lack of relief pitchers on the Mets and in the major leagues, I think it would be wise for the Mets to add him to the 40-man roster and give him a chance to pitch in the majors next year.

Next up, Harol Gonzalez.  After a 6-4 record and 3.14 ERA this year in Binghamton, Harol was called up to pitch at AAA Syracuse.   While other Binghamton pitchers called to Syracuse struggled (for example Anthony Kay, Mickey Jannis, and Stephen Villines), Harol excelled.  In 7 starts he went 6-0 with a 2.68 ERA and was a big reason why Syracuse came back from a ten-game deficit to force a tie breaking game at the end of the year.  With Zack Wheeler potentially leaving as a free agent, another starting pitching option may be good to keep.

Two catchers are highlighted for two different reason, Ali Sanchez for his glove and Patrick Mazeika for his lefty power bat and ability to play first.  I think teams always need good glove catchers and a lefty catcher that also can play first gives a team some flexibility. Patrick can sub for Pete Alonso when he needs a break. Also, having three catchers would mean that on days Wilson Ramos rests, Wilson can be used as a pinch hitter without using the last catcher available on the bench.

I highlighted Blake Taylor because he had a real nice season for Binghamton after being called up from St. Lucie going 0-1 with a 1.85 ER in 18 games and 39 innings with 45 Ks, 12 BBs and .95 WHIP.  He even earned a late season call up to Syracuse.  It could be that the Mets choose to swap him out for Daniel Zamora or try to keep both.

After hitting .333 in 31 games for St. Lucie, Luis Carpio was called up to Binghamton where he hit .263 in 82 games.  I see him as a possible addition depending how the roster shakes out.

Finally, Hansel Moreno.  He started the year in St. Lucie but struggled at first and was sent back to Columbia.  He hit .276 in Columbia in 32 games then was promoted back to St. Lucie where he hit .216 in 77 games.  However, I put him as a maybe as he was player of the week July 7th to the 13th with a .476 average in 7 Games, 10 hits in 21 at bats. 

What are your thoughts?  Do any of these players merit 40-man roster protection?

10 comments:

  1. Useful list, John.

    My take?

    I definitely protect Blake Taylor, because he sure looks like he could be MLB ready soon (if not already) and another MLB team would almost have to snatch him up. He killed lefties in 2019 and was very decent against righties. I think he will see considerable time with the Mets in 2020.

    Carpio, I'd be quite surprised if someone took this year - he seems like he needs another season to be MLB ready, so it would be hard for another team to park him on their 25 man, and I am not sure how high his ceiling is.

    Hansel Moreno - no one would claim him after hitting just .236 in A ball this year. So, he won't be on the 40 man. Doing so would be a waste of a protected 40 slot.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I would add Blackham and Gonzalez to the 40-man.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well I'm hoping Wheeler fills Wheeler's spot on th 40, so I'll leave that out of the discussion. Legares & Rajai become Cespdes & Dom Smith off the 60-D, nd Drew Smith & Rhame become 2 of Frazier, Panik & Rivera.

    That leaves one slot without DFA'ing someone. I'd like to protect Blackham, Gonzalez and (at least) 1 of the catchers. Means cutting 3 or 4.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for putting this list together. I agree on Blackham and Gonzalez; I would add Blake Taylor as well since he is a fairly good bet to be selected otherwise. A 22-year-old lefty who looks a full-time convert to the bullpen is exactly the type of player who should go in the top 10 of a Rule V draft.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Excellent work, John.

    I don't track the minor leagues as closely as the parent club, so this type of information is valuable when you are looking into the offseason and ways to improve.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Adonis Uceta and Joe Zanghi would be worth consideration...we need bullpen arms for sure.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Good choices too Reese. I hope they get a chance.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'd like to see Wheeler re-signed. Maybe have Szapucki, Gonzales, and K. Smith all in AFL (Winter Ball) getting ready. The only positional player should maybe be Ali Sanchez as well.

    And then decide on David Peterson, Ryley Gilliam, and Matt Blackham if they should go to0.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Updated list - one you did not highlight that an MLB article suggested might be protected is Jordan Humphreys - that would be a big gamble for another team, though.

    ReplyDelete