BA's Rule 5 Preview

by WTM on Nov 28, 2011 9:04 PM EST

This is in the subscriber's area, so I can't excerpt it here, but BA has writeups of 13 players they think have a good chance of being selected, as well as a list of 20 others. The first category includes Brett Lorin and Diego Moreno. They describe Lorin as a command-and-control guy who throws 87-91 and projects as a fourth/fifth starter, which would be why he's not on the roster. With Moreno, I remain convinced there's some issue we don't know about, possibly just doubts about whether he can stay healthy.

Andrew Lambo is listed in the 20 others.

A lot of the players with writeups are RHPs who profile as relievers. The Pirates already have, if anything, an excess in that area. There's one lefty, T.J. McFarland of the Indians, who looks like a Scott Sauerbeck-type LOOGY. That's an area of need for the Pirates.

The position players include Ryan Flaherty, a lefty-hitting infielder who's gotten lost in the Cubs' minor league third base depth. BA says he's not so hot defensively, but he has a solid all-around bat. He's struggled, though, in limited AAA time.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of the managing editor (Charlie) or SB Nation. FanPosts are written by Bucs Dugout readers.

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If I were a pitcher, I would not go by "TJ"

Not actually affiliated with whygavs.

by WHYG Zane Smith on Nov 28, 2011 10:15 PM EST reply actions

No?

Free your ass and your mind will follow.

by cocktailsfor2 on Nov 29, 2011 8:41 AM EST up reply actions

I really don't get that one

His middle name is “Lester.”

(To explain the original comment, if I were a pitcher I wouldn’t go by TJ.)

Not actually affiliated with whygavs.

by WHYG Zane Smith on Nov 29, 2011 9:13 AM EST up reply actions

Who doesn't love

The Jim Beam?

(Yeah, that is weird about his name, though.)

Free your ass and your mind will follow.

by cocktailsfor2 on Nov 29, 2011 9:31 AM EST up reply actions

We already have a lefty in TWats and wait for it..............

Moskie Madness!

by BadAndy on Nov 28, 2011 10:57 PM EST reply actions

Wipeout slider!

by maguro on Nov 28, 2011 11:29 PM EST up reply actions

I guess if I were T. Watson I would go by "TJ"

Not actually affiliated with whygavs.

by WHYG Zane Smith on Nov 28, 2011 11:32 PM EST up reply actions

I had thought Moskos would serve well as an in-house LOOGY...

…until I looked at his splits and saw lefties hit .340 against him last year.

Jose Tabata is the truth

The following is a list of everything Darren McFadden is bad at: 1) Giving birth. End of list.

by Raybin on Nov 29, 2011 9:27 AM EST up reply actions

Jay Voss

Is he rule-5-pick available? I heard that the Tigers didn’t put him in the 40-man roster.

by taiwania on Nov 29, 2011 6:37 AM EST reply actions

Crap, they beat me. Mine’s coming out tonight…

A lot of the players with writeups are RHPs who profile as relievers

There are a bunch of those this year.

The position players include Ryan Flaherty, a lefty-hitting infielder who’s gotten lost in the Cubs’ minor league third base depth. BA says he’s not so hot defensively, but he has a solid all-around bat.

He can probably handle third and both outfield corners, and maybe fill in for a few innings at second. I think he’s a decent fit for our needs, and I expect him to get picked by somebody, though there are other guys with higher ceilings available.

by Vlad on Nov 29, 2011 9:12 AM EST reply actions

Whew.

Now that I look, there’s surprisingly little overlap between their list and mine.

by Vlad on Nov 29, 2011 9:24 AM EST up reply actions

Some surprising omissions from BA’s list, too. No Dae-Eun Rhee, for example. I would’ve thought he’d be a lock for any published list of R5 eligibles.

by Vlad on Nov 29, 2011 9:32 AM EST up reply actions

The Cubbies open six spots in 40-man roster

As Ryan Flaherty and Dae-Eun Rhee mentioned above, there are some interesting guys: Marwin Gonzalez, a switch-hitting shortstop who played in PCL and just 22 y/o; Kyler Burke, the former first-rounder has transfered to pitcher this year; Jeffry Antigua, a lefty pitcher who has a good year and posted decent numbers in A+. Just grab here: http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=260&f=1167&t=8282849&p=1

by taiwania on Nov 29, 2011 9:58 AM EST up reply actions

I already wrote up Gonzalez for my piece. He’s a decent infield prospect, but with Castro and Barney and Junior Lake and DJ LeMahieu, I guess they thought they could spare the depth from guys like Gonzalez and Flaherty.

Antigua and Burke are also potentially viable picks, but if I’m taking a Cubs pitcher this year, it’s Rhee by a mile.

by Vlad on Nov 29, 2011 10:27 AM EST up reply actions

Not surprised

BA generally doesn’t seem to have a good read on Rule 5.

Occupy MLB! Down with Seligula!

by WTM on Nov 29, 2011 9:39 AM EST up reply actions

I think BA gets most of their intel on the R5 from scouts, which is both good and bad.

A guy like Jiwan James, who got a full writeup in BA’s piece, is a good athlete who’d naturally be of great interest to scouts, but his lack of actual baseball skills at this point would make him very difficult to carry all season. He’s not getting good results with the bat against pitchers in A+, so what’s he going to do against guys with MLB breaking balls and MLB command? All he’s going to be able to do for you is run (at a low rate of success), field, and occasionally strike out as a PH for your SP. Even if you manage to keep him nailed to the bench all season, at the end of the year he’s lost a whole season’s worth of development time and he ends up as a 24-year-old in AA with no clear mastery of the low minors, coming off a lost season. Impressive tools or not, that’s a bad spot. Whereas a guy like Tommy Pham (not mentioned by BA at all) might have some warts on his profile, but (if healthy) is going to be able to at least hold his own against ML pitching, and then maybe develop into a significantly useful piece for you a year or two down the road.

The strength of BA’s R5 writeups is usually their ability to find that one guy in the low minors who’s thrown a handful of innings, but has the stuff to jump right into a ML bullpen tomorrow. Not a lot of that in this year’s piece, though.

by Vlad on Nov 29, 2011 10:24 AM EST up reply actions

All he’s going to be able to do for you is run (at a low rate of success), field, and occasionally strike out as a PH for your SP.

Well, we carried XP all year.

Occupy MLB! Down with Seligula!

by WTM on Nov 29, 2011 10:52 AM EST up reply actions

Thinking that'll be Ciriaco's assigned task this year

Assuming they can get him out of witness protection

Jose Tabata is the truth

The following is a list of everything Darren McFadden is bad at: 1) Giving birth. End of list.

by Raybin on Nov 29, 2011 10:56 AM EST up reply actions

Pham

I like him quite a bit, and expect that someone will pick him.

by BurgherKing on Nov 29, 2011 11:05 AM EST up reply actions

I remember you had previously mentioned...

…Dan Meadows, a lefty that Milwaukee left unprotected. Just turned 24, is a big guy at 6’6" and has performed well as he moved up through the Brewers’s system. Seems to fit the Huntington profile and could fill a need.

Jose Tabata is the truth

The following is a list of everything Darren McFadden is bad at: 1) Giving birth. End of list.

by Raybin on Nov 29, 2011 9:37 AM EST up reply actions

I'll cast a provincial vote for Ryan Flaherty

In that he’s from the torrid baseball hotbed of Maine, my adopted home state, and that my son played baseball against him in HS, and that his dad is a 2-time D3 championship coach baseball, and last but not least, he was the SS next to Pedro at Vanderbilt and will undoubted have the secret formula for calling forth PA’s greatness.

by mocasdad on Nov 29, 2011 5:34 PM EST up reply actions