The MLB portion of the Rule 5 draft during the conclusion of this week’s MLB Winter Meetings is an excellent opportunity for David Stearns to make a minor splash with bigger implications for the 2024 MLB season.

While pitchers are often picked in the draft and can more easily stick on the MLB roster, position players are known to be selected as well. For instance, the Giants selected the Pirates’ Blake Sabol last year and he stayed on the big league roster all season.

Other notable Rule 5 picks in the past have included Roberto Clemente, Johan Santana, and Darren O’Day to name a few. Relievers will be in high demand for the Mets this winter and this is a great opportunity to find a diamond in the rough.

Here is a list of intriguing Rule 5 eligible players the Mets could select on Wednesday:

Stevie Branche (CIN – right-handed-starter)

Branche is a big body at 6’4″ with 7+ feet of extension. He averages 95 mph and tops at 100. He’s had a high K% for three straight seasons, including 62 strikeouts in 42 innings in Double-A in 2023. His off-speed usage is a bit low but he has a nice mid-80s slider with good glove-side movement and a solid change-up as a third pitch. He’s 26 and hasn’t played above Double-A.

Matt Koperniak (STL – OF)

Koperniak has had an excellent minor-league career thus far and is the only position player on this list. He is a left-handed hitter and has platoon-neutral stats, indicating he could be an everyday player down the line. While he doesn’t hit the ball wildly hard, he put up great numbers in Double-A and Triple-A in 2023, shining at the highest level. In 96 games with Triple-A Memphis, he hit 14 long balls, had a 44:61 BB:K ratio, and put up a .784 OPS.

Chih Jung Liu (BOS – RHS)

Jung Liu averages 95 mph on his heater as a starter and has a good sweeper in the mid-80s. He threw 115 innings in Double-A with an impressive 28% strikeout rate while posting a slightly concerning 12% walk rate. His 5.32 ERA was a bit elevated despite his high ceiling and as the Mets are mostly going to target relievers, they’ll likely pass on him.

Walter Pennington (KCR – left-handed reliever)

Pennington is particularly interesting as a left-handed reliever with a high ground ball percentage (53% in Triple-A which was the lowest of his career). He allowed just a .668 OPS against and has an 84 mph gyro slider and averages 93.5 on his sinker. His 3.67 ERA in 61 innings out of the Omaha bullpen bodes well for his consistency as well.

Christian Chamberlain (KCR LHR)

Another Royals lefty reliever, Chamberlin also averages 95 mph on his fastball and boasts an elite vertical approach angle on the pitch. He has a primary off-speed pitch of a hard, short curveball (similar to Jordan Montgomery‘s breaking ball) at 85 mph but has had some command issues.

He posted a 1.99 ERA in the first half in Double-A but an 8.03 ERA in the second half in Triple-A thanks to an alarming 18% walk rate. If the Mets are confident in their development, however, they risk very little by giving him a chance to prove himself in spring training.

Jonah Dipoto (KCR – right-handed reliever)

The third Royals reliever on this list, Jonah Dipoto is most known as the son of Mariners president, Jerry Dipoto. Jonah, however, was nearing an MLB call-up last summer before a troubling stint in Triple-A Omaha. In that stint he had high walk numbers and one outing of 0.2 innings where he allowed four runs and ballooned his ERA.

He still finished the year with a respectable 4.10 ERA in 41 Triple-A innings (following an elite 0.89 ERA in 10 Double-A innings to start the year). He has a good pitch mix with a sinker averaging 94 mph and a nasty 82 mph sweeper. He could likely increase his ground ball percentages with better fastball location down in the zone and has clear-cut MLB potential.

Travis Kuhn (SEA RHR)

Kuhn has been stuck in Double-A purgatory for two years now despite some elite qualities. He averages 95 mph on his fastball and has been up to 100 mph. He has a similar release to Paul Seward at just 4’8” above the plate with above-average extension. He mostly throws two-seams but his four-seam has serious potential as a strikeout pitch. His slider averages 86 mph and he went from a wild pitcher to one with better than average command in 2023.

Jeff Belge (TBR – LHR)

Belge was traded last year from the Dodgers to the Rays and has had potential since his days back at St. Johns University. He is a lefty with a 92 mph average fastball that has some cut to it. While he is certainly not quite as polished, his elite athleticism and high strikeout rates are intriguing coming from two organizations with elite pitching development. As seen in the video below, he is working on the right things this offseason.

Jeff Hakanson (TBR – RHR)

Hakanson is certainly a wild card on this list as he only pitched at the High-A level in 2023. He put up exceptional numbers, however, with a 37% strikeout rate and just a 7% walk rate. His 4’8” four-seam release height is uniquely low like Kuhn, and he has very high miss rates on the pitch. He likely will go unselected but is at least worth consideration as a one-pitch wonder.