The Best Rule 5 Draft Picks Of The 21st Century
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We are almost a quarter of the way through the 21st century already, which means there have been more than 350 MLB Rule 5 picks and thousands of MiLB Rule 5 picks since the century began. We’re updating our look at the best Rule 5 picks of the 21st century, and this time we’re upping the difficulty by picking a full 26-player roster.
See also:
Everyone on this team “stuck,” which means they fulfilled the Rule 5 Draft eligibility requirements. For MLB Rule 5 draft picks, that means that they remained on their new team’s MLB roster for the entirety of the following season without being optioned to the minors. MiLB Rule 5 picks are immediately part of their new organization with no roster restrictions. We did not include players who were picked but eventually offered back to their old clubs.
Starting Pitchers
Teams don’t often find a plug-and-play starting pitcher in the Rule 5 draft. Anyone who fits that description gets protected, but a few pitchers managed to slip through the cracks.
Brad Keller, RHP, Royals (2017): Keller was a revelation in 2018. The one-time D-backs minor leaguer went 9-6, 3.08 in 140 innings for Kansas City and eventually became the ace of the rotation. Keller was at his best in the coronavirus-shortened 2020 season, as he went 5-3, 2.47 in nine starts. He has battled injuries since then, but he is 38-57, 4.34 overall in 720 MLB innings.
Mitch Spence, RHP, Athletics (2023): Spence is the lone 2023 pick on this team. In his rookie season, he proved a bright spot for the Athletics, sliding into the rotation while going 8-10, 4.58 in 151 innings. It wasn’t an overwhelming season, but the one-time Yankee has shown he fits in the team’s long-term plans.
Tyler Wells, RHP, Orioles (2020): A Twins minor leaguer, Wells made a solid impression as a reliever in the O’s bullpen in 2021. He then moved into the rotation in 2022. Wells went 14-13, 3.93 in 222 innings over the 2022-2023 seasons, but he missed most of the 2024 season because of Tommy John surgery.
Garrett Whitlock, RHP, Red Sox (2020): Whitlock was a bit of a wild card when the Red Sox selected him in 2020. He was coming off the lost 2020 season after injuries ended his 2019 season with the Yankees’ Double-A Trenton club. He was an exceptional reliever as a rookie, going 8-4, 1.96 in 73 innings. He moved into a swingman role in 2022 and 2023, and made four solid starts in 2024 before an oblique injury wiped out most of his season.
Jorge Sosa, RHP, Rays (2001): Sosa had been a Mariners’ 2000 MiLB Rule 5 pick. The Brewers took him a year later in the MLB Rule 5 draft, but placed him on waivers during spring training. Tampa Bay picked him off waivers, and then kept him on the roster all season as a swingman. He made 41 starts for the Rays, but it was his 2005 season with the Braves that stands out. Sosa went 13-3, 2.55 in 134 innings for the best season of his nine-year MLB career.
Relief Pitchers
This is a ripe area for the Rule 5 Draft. Rule 5 relievers are easier to plug into a bullpen with some flaws (control, lack of a third pitch or a durability issues). While there are positions where it’s a struggle to fill the roster, this is a position where there are more good options than roster spots.
Joakim Soria, RHP, Royals (2006): The Royals were impressed with Soria’s work in the Mexican Pacific winter league. He quickly repaid their astute scouting by becoming the team’s closer as a rookie. Soria posted a 1.60 ERA while picking up 42 saves the following year, as he made his first of two all-star appearances. Soria ended up pitching in 14 MLB seasons, recording 229 saves over 773 games.
Ryan Pressly, RHP, Twins (2012): The Twins did an excellent job spotting Pressly’s talent and plucking him from the Red Sox. He spent five and half seasons in the Twins’ bullpen, but his best work came after he was traded to the Astros, where he’s been a two-time all-star as the Astros’ closer.
Darren O’Day, RHP, Mets (2008): The Mets picked O’Day from the Angels. He made their Opening Day roster, but before long he was waived. The Rangers claimed him, which meant he was still subject to Rule 5 roster restrictions. Texas didn’t have much of a decision to make, as the sidearmer posted a sub-2.00 ERA in 68 appearances that season. O’Day had a 15-year MLB career and made an all-star team.
Héctor Rondón, RHP Cubs (2012): Teams sometime hope if they can pick a reliever and bury him deep in the bullpen to fulfill Rule eligibility requirements, it will pay off down the line. The better approach is to pick a reliever who can help right away. Rondón did that, making 45 appearances as a rookie. By 2015, he posted a 1.67 ERA as the Cubs’ closer, picking up 30 saves. He was part of the Cubs’ World Series bullpen in 2016 and then returned to the World Series with the Astros in 2019.
Javier Lopez, LHP, Rockies (2002): The three-batter rule has largely eliminated the lefty specialist reliever. But before that, teams spent a lot of effort trying to find a LOOGY in the Rule 5 draft. Lopez is one example where it worked. He made 75 appearances for the Rockies in 2003, and went on to have a 14-year MLB career. He made 839 appearances and won four World Series with the Red Sox (2007) and Giants (2010, 2012 and 2014).
Josh Fields, RHP, Astros (2012): When the Astros were awful in the early 2010s, they did a good job of finding talent in the Rule 5 draft. Fields was a Mariners 2008 first-round pick, but he was taken out of the Red Sox farm system in 2011. Fields had three solid seasons in Houston’s pen, but probably more importantly, he was traded to the Dodgers for Yordan Alvarez in 2016. He pitched quite well for Los Angeles in 2016-2018, but the Astros are the winners of that trade.
Trevor Stephan, RHP, Guardians (2020): Stephan missed the 2024 season because of an elbow injury, but before that, he’d thrown 60+ innings in each of first three seasons with the Guardians. His best season so far was in 2022, as he went 6-5, 2.69 in 63.2 innings.
Tommy Kahnle, RHP, Rockies (2013): Kahnle was a Yankees minor leaguer who held his own as a Rockies rookie in 2014. He was soon traded to the White Sox and then dealt back to New York. He has bounced around since, but keeps ending up back with the Yankees. He earned some fame this postseason when he kept throwing only changeups. As a 10-year MLB veteran with 390 appearances, he’s a solid well-traveled setup man.
Catchers
There aren’t a lot of catchers taken in the Rule 5 Draft and even fewer stick. But thanks to the MiLB portion of the Rule 5 Draft, there’s still a solid choice.
Omar Narvaez, White Sox (2013 MiLB Rule 5 pick): The Rays have struggled throughout the 21st century to produce catchers, but arguably the best they produced is one who got away. The White Sox drafted Narvaez out of the Rays’ minor league system in the 2013 MiLB Rule 5 draft. He made it to Chicago in 2016 and has gone on to have a solid 10-year MLB career. His best seasons were 2019 and 2021 (when he made the All-Star Game). He has played nearly 700 games as a backup/starting catcher for the White Sox, Mariners, Brewers and Mets.
Luis Torrens, Padres (2016): San Diego used trades to dominate the 2016 Rule 5 Draft, which is something you don’t normally see. Torrens was one of three Padres selections. Plucked out of the Yankees’ farm system, Torrens was buried on the Padres’ bench in 2017, returned to the minors in 2018, made it back to San Diego in 2019 and was traded to the Mariners in 2020 in the Austin Nola deal. He topped 100 games for the Mariners in the 2021 season, which is his only year as a semi-regular.
Infielders
Mark Canha, 1B, Athletics (2014): Canha fits the Moneyball profile of the early 2000s A’s. He gets on-base. Canha had a .349 career OBP and at his best he posted a .396 OBP in 2019 and a .387 OBP in 2020. He didn’t have the power profile for a first baseman/corner outfielder, but he has had a lengthy (10-year) and productive career as a solid hitter who spent his best years in Oakland, but has also played for the Mets, Brewers, Tigers and Giants.
Dan Uggla, 2B, Marlins (2005): Uggla is one of those rare Rule 5 picks who made an overwhelming instant impact. A D-backs minor leaguer, Uggla was an all-star as a rookie, hitting 27 home runs in his MLB debut. He followed it up by hitting 30+ home runs in each of the next five seasons. A three-time All-Star, Uggla finished with 238 home runs over a 10-year MLB career.
Everth Cabrera, SS, Padres (2008): Cabrera was asked to do the nearly impossible in 2009. The 22-year-old jumped straight from Low-A Asheville in 2008 to a regular MLB job in 2009. He managed to hold his own in 103 games as a rookie, and after two more years of seasoning, he led the National League with 44 steals in 2012, and made the All-Star team in 2013. Cabrera’s peak was a relatively short one, but getting solid shortstop play for multiple years from a Rule 5 pick is an excellent use of a Rule 5 pick.
Marwin Gonzalez, 3B, Astros (2011): It says something for Gonzalez that he could fit in whatever position most needed to be filled. He played more than 75 MLB games at six different positions. This team needs him at third base, as no regular third baseman has stuck as an MLB Rule 5 pick since 2000.
Ryan Flaherty, INF, Orioles (2011): Flaherty wasn’t much of a hitter at the major league level, but the Cubs’ 2008 first round pick was extremely versatile. He played six different positions for the Orioles as a rookie in 2012, and continued to bounce around the Orioles’ lineup for six seasons as a backup infielder/outfielder. That’s harder to find in the Rule 5 draft than you may expect.
Justin Bour, 1B, Marlins (2013 MiLB Rule 5 Pick): Getting a player who reaches the big leagues out of the MiLB Rule 5 draft is a great pick. Getting a hitter who finished fifth in the NL Rookie of the Year voting out of the MiLB Rule 5 draft is exceptional. Bour had five seasons as a semi-regular for the Marlins, hitting 92 home runs as a useful bat.
Outfielders
Josh Hamilton, RF, Reds (2006): There’s only one MVP on this team. The Reds may have foolishly traded away Hamilton after just one year on their roster, but they deserve credit for getting the Rays outfielder, the first pick of the 1999 draft, in the first place. Hamilton had barely played in the past four seasons because of his addiction issues, but he jumped straight to the majors and immediately starred. After the Rangers acquired him he made five straight All-Star teams, including a .348/.411/.633 season in 2010 that helped lead Texas to the World Series.
Odubel Herrera, CF, Phillies (2014): Herrera was a second baseman in the Rangers’ farm system when he was picked, but the Phillies immediately made him their everyday center fielder in 2015. That rookie season was arguably his best, as he hit .297/.344/.418, but he made the NL All-Star team a year later, hitting .286/.361/.420. He spent seven seasons with the Phillies, although the later years of his career were marked by a suspension for domestic violence.
Anthony Santander, RF, Orioles (2016). When Dan Duquette was the Orioles GM, he loved to try to find talent in the Rule 5 draft. Santander was his best pick. Santander barely played as a rookie in 2017 because of a shoulder injury that helped explain why Cleveland left him unprotected. He started to blossom in 2019, hitting 20 home runs. He has continued to get better and better ever since, hitting 44 home runs and making his first All-Star team in 2024.
Delino DeShields Jr., OF, Rangers (2014). At the same time the Rangers were losing Herrera to the Phillies, they were picking up a speedy outfielder from the Astros’ system. DeShields spent seven years in the majors, including five in Texas. He stole 20+ bases on four different occasions.
Jay Gibbons, DH, Orioles (2000): Technically the 21st century began on Jan. 1, 2001, but since the 2000 Rule 5 Draft was for the 2001 season, we’re including it. Gibbons was a nice find for the Orioles, as he proved a consistent hitter for seven seasons. He finished his MLB career with a .260/.315/.463 slash line and 127 home runs in 840 MLB games.
| 21st Century All Rule 5 Team | |
| Position | Player |
| SP | Brad Keller |
| SP | Mitch Spence |
| SP | Tyler Wells |
| SP | Garrett Whitlock |
| SP | Jorge Sosa |
| RP | Joakim Soria |
| RP | Ryan Pressly |
| RP | Darren O’Day |
| RP | Hector Rondon |
| RP | Javier Lopez |
| RP | Josh Fields |
| RP | Trevor Stephan |
| RP | Tommy Kahnle |
| C | Omar Narvaez |
| C | Luis Torrens |
| 1B | Mark Canha |
| 2B | Dan Uggla |
| 3B | Marwin Gonzalez |
| SS | Everth Cabrera |
| INF | Ryan Flaherty |
| CIF | Justin Bour |
| RF | Josh Hamilton |
| CF | Odubel Herrera |
| LF | Anthony Santander |
| OF | Delino DeShields Jr. |
| DH | Jay Gibbons |
If you are wondering about the all “what could have been” Rule 5 team, here’s a team of players who didn’t stick. They were offered back to their original team (although in some cases a trade meant they stayed with their new club). They aren’t truly Rule 5 success stories because they didn’t fulfill the roster requirements, but this is an impressive who’s who of one-time Rule 5 picks.
| 21st Century Didn’t Stick Team | |
| Position | Player |
| SP | R.A. Dickey |
| SP | Ivan Nova |
| SP | Nestor Cortes Jr. |
| SP | Randy Wells |
| SP | Scott Diamond |
| RP | Jordan Romano |
| RP | Jason Grilli |
| RP | Trevor Megill |
| RP | Alfredo Simon |
| RP | Caleb Smith |
| RP | Hoby Milner |
| RP | Evan Meek |
| RP | Gary Majewski |
| C | Ronny Paulino |
| C | Connor Joe |
| 1B | Ji-Man Choi |
| 2B | Hector Luna |
| 3B | Jose Bautista |
| SS | Jason Smith |
| CIF | Mike Ford |
| RF | Ender Inciarte |
| CF | Shane Victorino |
| LF | Wily Taveras |
| OF | Endy Chavez |
| OF | Jake Cave |
| DH | Mark Payton |
