Padres, Reds Could Be Busy For Different Reasons

Zach Vincej (Photo by Bill Mitchell)

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.—The best Rule 5 rumors are still a few hours away.

Around midnight, 1 a.m., 2 a.m., the lobby traffic will start to spill a few secrets in preparation for Thursday’s 9 a.m. Rule 5 draft.

But in preparation for that, and with further updates to come, here are some notes about Thursday’s draft.

It’s impossible to truly line up a “Rule 5 board.” If you think that amateur draft boards can vary from team to team, they have nothing on the Rule 5 draft, where one team’s top available player might not be on another team’s list. It comes down to need and how different teams value risk.

Despite that, here’s an attempt at who are the buzziest names about 11 hours before the draft.

---

Lefthander Ismael Guillon (Reds): Potential lefty reliever who has starting experience too, holds runners well and has solid stuff.

Shortstop Zach Vincej (Reds): Reliable shortstop who hit better than he has before in the Arizona Fall League.

Righthander Francisco Rios (Blue Jays): Rios, a 2016 Futures Gamer, might not be major league ready, but much like Luis Perdomo (a Padres’ Rule 5 pick last year), he has enough upside and pitchability to be interesting.

Lefthander Angel Perdomo (Blue Jays): Perdomo is not ready, but he’s projectable and has more starting upside than most available pitchers.

Righthander Justin Haley (Red Sox): Multiple scouts believe Haley will be picked by a team looking for a swingman/potential back-end starter.

Lefthander Tyler Webb (Yankees): Webb is probably the best lefty specialist reliever available, although Nick Routt (Reds) could argue the point.

Left fielder Andrew Pullin (Phillies): Pullin checks off the analytical boxes after a great season in high Class A/Double-A.

First baseman Anthony Santander (Indians): Santander has a significant shoulder injury. Some teams see that as a disqualifying issue; others might see it as a chance to stash a player who is undoubtedly one of the most talented players in this year’s Rule 5 class.

Watch The Padres

San Diego was easily the busiest team in last year’s Major League Rule 5 draft, as it landed four players thanks to their picks and trades. The Padres very well could do it again. San Diego has only 33 players on its 40-man roster and that roster can charitably be described as thin, especially on the pitching side where the team does not have enough starting pitching to get through the season. Multiple front office officials said they would not be surprised to see San Diego try to find a low-cost starter or two in the Rule 5 draft.

Liking The Reds Players

If you were going to pick which team is most likely to lose someone, it would probably be Cincinnati. Different teams have mentioned different Reds, but there are a number of Reds who are plausible picks.

It starts with Guillon and Vincej, but it moves on to righthander Zack Weiss, shortstop Calten Daal, infielder/outfielder Brandon Dixon, lefthander Nick Routt, righthander Evan Mitchell and righthander Alejandro Chacin.

There are a number of organizations who have more impact talent in the minors, but Cincinnati’s rebuilding effort has the Reds loaded with a number of close-to-major league prospects who have plausible big league futures. They couldn’t protect them all.

New Name

The Twins re-signed righthander Yorman Landa to a minor league deal on Tuesday, just a few days after Landa was not tendered a contract to clear him from Minnesota’s 40-man roster.

Because Landa re-signed before Thursday’s Rule 5 draft, he is eligible to be selected. One could logically point out that a team sold on Landa as a big leaguer could have just signed him to a major league contract and put him on their 40-man roster without the roster restrictions that come with being a Rule 5 pick.

But Landa is yet another high-octane arm in a Rule 5 draft that is full of them. Landa can run his fastball into the high 90s with regularity. He missed the second half of the season with a lat strain, but is expected to be fully recovered for 2017.

Accidentally Left Off

Yes, even with a list of 82 potential Rule 5 picks, there were some names accidentally left off due to the rush of trying to get the list published. So here’s a couple of other names to watch.

Osvaldo Abreu, ss, Nationals: Abreu ranked 15th on the Nationals’ Top 30 coming into the season as he impressed in 2015 at low Class A. Abreu has some bat speed, can run and has some positional versatility. He’s nowhere near a finished product, and he’d be a tough keep as a player without any Double-A experience, but he’s one of the more talented players available.

Mike Hauschild, rhp, Astros: Hauschild is a reliable Triple-A starter with an average 89-93 mph fastball, solid secondaries and a useful statistical resume—9-10, 3.22 with a 3.64 FIP and 2.5 BB/9 and 7.7 K/9. The Padres could do worse if they are looking to fill innings.