FanPost

2018 Rule-5 Draft Review (another Where Are They Now?)

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Now that we're past the unofficial halfway point of the season, it's time to look back at the Rule 5 draft and see how the 18 players taken are working out this season. Given that a good chunk of the fanbase went "huh, that guy?" when the Tigers selected Victor Reyes first overall, are there any obvious hindsight choices that they should have gone for, given the results of this season so far? To do this, I compiled a list of all 18 draft picks, where they currently are, and the MLB stats for those that have stuck it out to this point (all stats and WAR via Baseball-Reference); there are only seven players currently on a major-league roster or the disabled list.

Draft Pick

Player Name

Position

Picking Org

Original Org

Current Status

1

Victor Reyes

OF

Tigers

Diamondbacks

MLB with Tigers

2

Julian Fernandez

RHP

Giants

Rockies

60-Day DL with Giants

3

Nick Burdi

RHP

Phillies

Twins

60-day DL with Phillies

4

Carlos Tocci

OF

White Sox

Phillies

Traded to Rangers, MLB

5

Brad Keller

RHP

Reds

Diamondbacks

Traded to Royals, MLB

6

Burch Smith

RHP

Mets

Rays

Traded to Royals, MLB

7

Anyelo Gomez

RHP

Braves

Yankees

Returned

8

Jordan Milbrath

RHP

Pirates

Indians

Returned

9

Nestor Cortes

LHP

Orioles

Yankees

Returned

10

Elieser Hernandez

RHP

Marlins

Astros

MLB with Marlins

11

Mike Ford

1B

Mariners

Yankees

Returned

12

Luke Bard

RHP

Angels

Twins

Returned

13

Tyler Kinley

RHP

Twins

Marlins

Returned

14

Albert Suarez

RHP

Diamondbacks

Giants

Minors with Diamondbacks

15

Anthony Gose

LHP

Astros

Rangers

Returned

16

Pedro Araujo

RHP

Orioles

Cubs

10-Day DL with Orioles

17

Brett Graves

RHP

Marlins

A's

MLB with Marlins

18

Jose Mesa

RHP

Orioles

Yankees

Returned

To mix it up a bit, here's a list of those seven players and what they've managed to accomplish this season.

  1. Victor Reyes, OF, Tigers - Victor has had incredibly limited playing time in the first half, and for a few months was basically the designated pinch-runner for Victor Martinez. He's come on a bit with increased playing time, but for the season is slashing .221/.229/.513 with an OPS+ of 39, 5 stolen bases, and a WAR of -0.4. Hasn't exactly lit the world on fire in his 95 at-bats (small sample size!)
  2. Carlos Tocci, OF, Rangers - Carlos' 38 at-bats make Reyes look like a regular, and he's slashed a paltry .105/.209/.367 for an OPS+ of 0. Yep, zero. He's worth -0.6 WAR.
  3. Brad Keller, RHP, Royals - Brad has done the best of the bunch, starting a few games for the Royals to the tune of 3.13 ERA, 1.374 WHIP, 3.55 FIP, and 1.7 WAR over 63.1 innings. However, he's only struck out 36 and has walked 27, but limiting the homers (one total) is keeping him productive.
  4. Burch Smith, RHP, Royals - Unlike his teammate Keller, Burch has had a pretty rough go so far. He's appeared in 26 games, starting two, and has a line of 5.98 ERA, 1.603 WHIP, 5.42 FIP, and -0.3 WAR over 43.2 inninngs. He's striking out far more than Keller, but nine home runs will kill any pitcher's line.
  5. Elieser Hernandez, RHP, Marlins - Woof. 6.14 ERA, 1.568 WHIP, seven home runs, and only 27 strikeouts through 44 innings (five starts). Moving on.
  6. Pedro Araujo, RHP, Orioles - Another victim of smaller sample size, this guy really seems to represent the Orioles' struggles this season. 7.71 ERA, 1.679 WHIP, 7.40 FIP, -0.5 WAR, and 29 strikeouts in 28 innings. Oh, and don't forget the insane nine home runs given up in those 28 innings.
  7. Brett Graves, RHP, Marlins - Graves only has 7.1 IP on the season, sporting a 7.36 ERA, 1.773 WHIP, only three strikeouts, and -0.2 WAR.
Anyone notice a particular fact about the teams still keeping their Rule-5 guys on the roster? They're all pretty awful this year. Of the players, only the Royals' Keller is giving any value; if he can pick up his K/BB rate, could be a nice piece for them going into the future. It's impossible at this point to tell whether 60-Day DL picks Burdi and Fernandez will pan out for their teams next year, but the immediate results for drafting teams this year have been pretty awful, Tigers included.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of the <em>Bless You Boys</em> writing staff.