From MLB: “Players who turned pro at age 18 or younger in 2020 or at age 19 or older in 2021 were eligible for selection in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 Draft if he wasn’t on a 40-man roster. Clubs who took a player in that phase must pay his former team $100,000 and keep him on their active big-league roster throughout the following season. The player can’t be sent to the Minors without first clearing waivers and then getting offered back to his original organization for half his draft price. 

It costs $24,000 to take a player in the Triple-A phase, with no restrictions about where those players can be placed in 2025.”

Fortunately, and almost surprisingly, the Yankees did not lose any prospects in the MLB phase. Last year, the Athletics chose former RHP prospect Mitch Spence as their first-round selection, going 1st overall. Spence later made his MLB debut with the A’s on the second day of the 2024 season, March 29th. Ironically, a former Yankees infield prospect, Cooper Bowman, was selected in the minor league portion of the 2022 Rule 5 Draft by the A’s, but he was selected in this year’s Draft by the Reds. Hopefully, Bowman will make his MLB debut in 2025, considering he is now essentially a part of the Reds’ bench. 

That said, the Yankees were able to make a selection in the first round of the Minor League Draft (also called the Triple-A phase), selecting outfielder Luis Durango, a native of Panamá City, Panamá, from the Cleveland Guardians. 

In 2024, the 21-year-old left-handed batter hit .250 (33-for-132) with 25R, 6 doubles, 1 triple, 14 RBI, 9 walks and 21 stolen bases in 41 games with Guardians’ Single-A affiliate, Lynchburg. In total, Durango hit .253 (145-for-574) with 118 R, 25 extra-base hits, including 18 doubles, 4 triples and 3 home runs. He also has recorded 47 RBI, 68 walks and 87 stolen bases in 181 games over four Minor League seasons with the Guardians (2021-2024). 

The only caution fans may have is how injury-prone Durango has been. Durango missed nearly all of May, plus nearly all the second half of the 2024 season to injury, playing a total of 44 games. 

Of the players the Yankees lost in the Triple-A phase: 

• Cincinnati selected LHP Joel Valdez (first round, last with A+ Hudson Valley) 

• St. Louis selected LHP Oddanier Mosqueda (first round, last with AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre) 

• Atlanta selected RHP Blane Abeyta (first round, last with AA Somerset) 

• Pittsburgh selected OF Joel Méndez (fifth round, last with FCL) 

• Philadelphia selected RHP Gabriel Barbosa (fifth round, last with A Tampa, selected in 2023 Rule 5 from Colorado) 

To be blunt, most of these prospects did not have a significant impact on the Yankees system. In fact, Yankees fans should be overjoyed that the system did not lose some of the best talent, including but not limited to, RHP Zach Messinger, LHP Edgar Barclay, 1B T.J. Rumfield, and many others. You can view our preview of the Draft here, where we discuss those prospects that we were concerned about losing. 

The post Yankees gain 1 player, lose 5 in 2024 MLB Rule 5 Draft appeared first on NYY UNDERGROUND.

On November 19th, the Yankees protected two players, utility player Jesus Rodriguez and infielder Caleb Durbin.

Durbin had recently played in the Arizona Fall League on the Salt River Rafters with a few other Yankee prospects, but he stood out the most, being named the Breakout Player of the Year. In 24 games in the desert, Durbin batted a slash of .312/.424/.548, while stealing 29 bases in that span, good for the AFL stolen base record. He played in the AFL last year, but was unable to clinch the record due to injury, and said in an interview that that breaking the record was his goal last year. It should be noted that when it was last set in 1994 by the Phillies’ Rick Holifield, the AFL season was 50 games compared to the current 30 games played.

Durbin suffered a wrist injury after he fouled off a ball off of home plate, sidelining him for two months, but still played in 90 games in 2024, mostly for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Durbin batted .275/.388/.451 in the regular season with 60 RBI, 25 doubles, 2 triples, 10 homers and 53 walks. He also stole 31 of 35 bases successfully (88.6%), ranking fifth among other Yankee prospects in steals.

During a Zoom call with reporters last week, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, “I think he’s a stud, frankly. Great bat-to-ball, elite ability on the bases as a base stealer, good defender in the middle of the diamond at second base. Really competitive, a hard-nosed, tough player. I’m excited about him and I think he’s going to play a big role for us this upcoming season.”

While it’s not mentioned much given the Yankees’ need for a second baseman with Gleyber Torres now as a free agent, Durbin spent some time in the outfield where they could take some advantage of his speed. Durbin spent 8 games in left field and one game in center field; he recorded a 1.000 field percentage. The Yankees likely won’t use him in this role, especially with Oswaldo Cabrera on the bench, but it’s still interesting to see that they’ve been trying him out in various roles, similar to this next prospect.

Jesus Rodriguez has been one of the sleeper prospects, in a way, given he’s been on the same team as other names like Spencer Jones, Rafael Flores, Chase Hampton and Brock Selvidge, to name a few. Rodriguez spent the majority of the 2024 season in High-A Hudson Valley (56 games) where he hit a slash of .332/.412/.507/.919 before getting promoted to Double-A Somerset in mid-June.

Rodriguez, a Venezuela native, hit .226/.278/.417/.695 in 23 games with Somerset. Despite a solid slash (combined .302 batting average and .856 OPS), he’s hit around 10 home runs per season the last two years. Rodriguez missed about 6 weeks of the second half of the season, and will likely start back in Somerset in 2025 unless Yankees brass see something in Spring Training that makes him stand out from the nearly half dozen other catchers.

What may make him stand out is that despite being a natural catcher, he played nearly the entire field in 2024, except for shortstop, center field, right field and pitcher. He did, however, spend most of the season behind the plate, a total of 272-⅓ innings (35 games), nabbing 21 of 103 runners (20.4%)

All this said, the Yankees have 33 other prospects that are Rule 5 eligible, and have the potential to be poached by other teams in a few weeks.

Via MLB, “Any player eligible for the Rule 5 Draft and not added to his organization’s roster by 6 p.m. ET [on 11/19] will be available to be selected by another organization. The Draft will take place at the Winter Meetings in Dallas on Wednesday, Dec. 11 [at 2 p.m. ET].

Players first signed at age 18 or younger must be added to 40-man rosters within five seasons or they become eligible to be drafted by other organizations through the Rule 5 process. Players signed at 19 years or older have to be protected within four seasons. Clubs pay $100,000 to select a player in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 Draft. If that player doesn’t stay on the 26-man roster for the full season, he must be offered back to his former team for $50,000.

For this year, that means an international prospect or high school Draft pick signed in 2020 at age 18 or younger had to be protected. A college player — or 19-year-old high school player — taken in the 2021 Draft was in the same position.”

In addition to the Major League phase, the Rule 5 draft also has a minor league phase. This phase is less publicized, but still offers opportunities for player movement.

• Eligibility: Players eligible for the minor league phase are those who are not on their organization’s Triple-A reserve list. This typically includes players in lower levels of the minor leagues.
• Selection Process: The selection order in the minor league phase is the reverse order of the previous year’s standings. Teams can select players from other organizations’ minor league rosters.
• Roster Requirements: Unlike the Major League phase, there is no requirement to keep selected players on the active roster. They can be assigned to any level of the minor leagues within the selecting organization.
• Compensation: A smaller fee is paid to the original team for players selected in the minor league phase compared to the Major League phase.

Impact on Minor League Players:

• Opportunity for Advancement: The minor league phase provides a chance for players in lower levels of the minors to be seen by other organizations and potentially move up to a higher level.
• Organizational Change: For some players, it can be a fresh start with a new organization that may offer different development paths or playing opportunities.
• Less Pressure: Unlike the Major League phase, there isn’t the immediate pressure to perform at the highest level, allowing for more development time.

Most recently, right-handed pitching prospect Gabriel Barbosa was selected away from the Colorado Rockies in the first round of the Minor League phase, with right-handed pitching prospect Kervin Castro selected away from the Houston Astros in the second round. Castro missed all of 2024, while Barbosa spent the entire season in Single-A Tampa (5.09 ERA, 120-⅓ IP, 128 K, 1.30 WHIP). By comparison, the Yankees lost 4 prospects: INF Eric Wagaman (LAA, DFA on 11/19), C Mickey Gasper (BOS), RHP Michael Gomez (TB), and INF Marcos Cabrera (PIT).

In the Major League phase, the Yankees also lost three pitchers, RHP Mitch Spence to the A’s and RHP Matt Sauer to the Royals. Sauer was returned to the Yankees in May, and declared free agency in early November. RHRP Carson Coleman was selected by Texas, but missed all of 2024 as a result of right shoulder surgery, and was returned to the Yankees on November 19.

For the 2024 Draft, the Yankees have 34 prospects eligible, but not all are likely to be selected. It would be cruel irony for the Yankees to lose two prospects they just signed in the past weeks, relievers Cristian Hernandez (PHI) and Jordany Ventura (NYM). However, prospects like infielders T.J. Rumfield and Tyler Hardman, outfielders Elijah Dunham and Grant Richardson and pitchers Zach Messinger and Edgar Barclay would be more likely to be selected.

Messinger was at the top of most lists that some were expecting to be protected (it should be noted that despite his utility, Rodriguez was not on any list). Messinger spent the entire 2024 season with Double-A Somerset, and threw a 3.06 ERA in 150 innings of work, with 25 of the 27 appearances as starts (he threw 2 relief appearances going behind rehabbing pitchers).

One thing of note with his 2024 campaign is that he didn’t throw as many strikeouts (8.16 K/9) compared to years past, although he did have an exceptional walk rate (3.12 BB/9) and HR rate (0.54 HR/9). The Virginia alum also had an excellent OBA of .204 and BABIP of .254, and had almost even splits of ground ball and fly ball rates (38.9% and 39.1%, respectively). He threw 12 consecutive scoreless innings

Messinger, a 6-foot-6, 225 lb. frame, throws a combination of four-seam fastball that sits around 93 MPH, a changeup that sits 82 MPH and a slider/sweeper, and uses the mid-80s sinker most as his “out” pitch.

Edgar Barclay has mostly been used in a reliever role most of his pro career, but that overwhelmingly changed in 2024. Barclay, a left-handed pitcher, faced nearly triple the number of batters and pitched in more than triple the innings compared to that of 2023. In fact, he lead the team in most games started. He has also done noticeably worse in his time in Triple-A; with Double-A Somerset in 2023, he threw a 1.32 ERA with an insane 13.50 K/9, a 2.91 BB/9 and 0.26 HR/9 in 34 innings of work. Compare that to later that year in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre where he threw a 5.89 ERA with a decent 9.95 K/9 but poor 6.70 BB/9 and 2.23 HR/9 in 44-1/3 innings pitched.

Barclay experienced much of the same in 2024, but increased his time on the mound from 21 total appearances in 2023 to 29 appearances and 143 innings pitched. His numbers were relatively the same, despite an increased workload: 5.98 ERA, 7.43 K/9, 4.41 BB/9 and 1.89 HR/9. In one of his last appearances of the year, Barclay threw a three-pitch mix: a four-seamer that sat upper-80s, a changeup that ranged from 62-82 MPH but averaged 79 MPH, and a curveball that sat in the 70s but averaged 77 MPH. Barclay has never thrown much heat, per se, but that hasn’t been an issue given his breaking balls have historically shown a lot of movement.

Watching a game from September 2024 where he started versus Syracuse, Barclay didn’t have many issues with controlling the ball, throwing a few in the dirt in the first inning, but the command was off in the first inning, where he allowed 2 doubles and a run to 5 batters faced because he kept throwing balls down the middle. It appears that Barclay’s pitching motion was sped up a bit, so that may account for some of the performance differences, although his pitch velo is the same when compared to a game where he threw in relief in 2022.

Of the next 6 innings in which he threw in that random game this past September, he only allowed a walk and a single. It would seem likely that if Barclay were acquired by another team that they may realize that he is best suited as a reliever, especially considering he went 7 starts and 16-2/3 innings to start 2023 without allowing an earned run (he allowed 8 hits and 2 earned runs in that span).

T.J. Rumfield, a first baseman acquired from the Phillies via trade in 2021, has been the Yankees’ top 1B prospect next to Ben Rice for well over a year, considering the Yankees do not have much depth in that role. In fact, Rumfield won the 2023 Rawlings Gold Glove Award for 1B in 2023, recording a .997 fielding percentage between High-A Hudson Valley and Double-A Somerset.

Rumfield spent all but 8 of 122 games played in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he hit a slash of .292/.365/.461/.826, with 26 doubles, 15 home runs and 71 RBI. 2024 proved to be Rumfield’s best year, offensively speaking, but his worst offensive year, committing 9 errors in 730 total chances (806-1/3 innings), for a fielding percentage of .988. Compare that to, say, Ben Rice, who committed only 2 errors in 289 total chances (349 innings) for a .993 fielding percentage in his debut season in the Majors. Where Rumfield would have an advantage over Rice is in size. Rumfield has a 6-foot-5 frame compared to the 6-foot-1 frame of Rice.

Elijah Dunham was signed as an undrafted draft pick in 2020, arguably one of the best quality draft seasons the Yankees have had in years, and Dunham has has relatively consistent production since he debuted in Low-A Tampa in 2021. In two of the past three years, Dunham, a lefty hitter, has batted just under .250, with an OPS around .447, and has hit about 16 home runs each of the past 3 years.

Despite what some may consider average production, Dunham, an Indiana alum, was named the Eastern League Player of the Week three times in 2024. In that week, he batted 7-for-18 (.389) with 10 RBI on 4 HR and 4 SB. He also earned those same honors for the consecutive weeks of July 1-July 7 and July 8-July 14, where he combined to hit 18-for-44 (.409). Dunham drove in 12 RBI on 6 doubles, 4 home runs, and 36 total bases.

Aside from his offensive performances, Dunham plays all three positions in the outfield, but performs better in the corners; he has a career fielding percentage of .984 in left and .991 in right. Dunham has spent considerably less time in center field, but has a .976 fielding percentage there. He also played 8 innings at 1B without committing any errors.

Grant Richardson, another lefty outfielder out of Indiana, had objectively his best career season in 2024, considering he hit nearly as many doubles (25) as he had hit the previous three years (28). Richardson hit a slash line of .257/.319/.401/.720 in 108 games (a career high), with 3 triples, 9 home runs, and 47 RBI, in addition to the previously mentioned 25 doubles.

Richardson also struck out the least in 2024, with a 28.1% K rate, compared to his previous low of 31.2% in 2023. His BABIP saw some improvement, moving up to .346 from .261 during his time in High-A in 2023 (77 games), and accordingly, his slugging percentage went up from .389 to .401.

Similar to Dunham, Richardson performs best in the corners, with career fielding percentages of .985 in left, .955 in center and .979 in right field. But, despite not being overly speedy (only 16 stolen bases), Richardson has no issue covering a lot of ground as a result of efficient routes.

It remains to be seen who will be taken in the Draft, and who the Yankees will ultimately select, if anyone. It seems unlikely the Yankees will select any prospect in the Major League portion given the targets they need to sign, specifically Juan Soto and a handful of relievers, but it’s possible they forego a reliever or two if there’s a Triple or Double-A pitcher their pro scouts really like.

The post The 2024 Rule 5 Draft and Potential Prospects Yankees May Lose appeared first on NYY UNDERGROUND.