Atlanta Braves: four Rule 5 bats worth a close look today
By Fred Owens
Odd as it may seem for a team with World Series aspirations, the Atlanta Braves might claim a player from the over 1600 players available in Thursday’s Rule 5 draft.
Atlanta Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos told The Athletics’ David O’Brien (Twitter link) that the NL East champs might pick up a hitter Thursday. But that might happen from an unusual source.
The Major League portion of the Rule 5 draft usually sees rebuilding teams hoping to catch lightning in a bottle. Usually, they select pitchers, hoping that a player with promising stuff will find his way during the season.
The Marlins drafted Johan Santana from Houston in 1999, then immediately traded him to Minnesota, where he went on to become one of baseball’s best before moving to the Mets. Between 2003 and 2010, Santana threw 1670+ innings at a 2.89 ERA, 3.31 FIP, and 150 ERA+.
The Mets selected current Atlanta Braves reliever Darren O’Day in the 2008 Rule 5 draft but chose to DFA him after four appearances in 2009. The Rangers claimed him, and he finished that season as one of the game’s most dependable arms, throwing 55 2/3 innings with a 1.94 ERA, a 0.952 WHIP, 2.99 FIP, and an ERA+ of 241.
Sometimes teams find an everyday player that makes a name for himself. The Marlins plucked Dan Uggla off the Diamondbacks farm system in 2005, and he batted .263/.349/.488/.837 while hitting 154 home runs over his next five seasons.
The Phillies found Odubel Herrera in the 2014 Rule 5 pool, and over the next four seasons, he batted .279/.336/.428/.763 and hit 59 homers, also playing a sterling center field and earning an All-Star selection in 2016.
However, most selections don’t stick around all that long (to keep such a player, they must remain on the major league roster for the full year), making the GM’s quote seem out of place to a team eyeing a title in October.
Anthopoulos said he saw more bats worthy of selection this year. Here’s a look at the best among them. All of these players have flaws that hampered their progress so far, that’s why they’re available.
I found two worthy of consideration, and a couple Anthopoulos probably knows well.