Last year, the Mets selected Sean Gilmartin from the Minnesota Twins in the Rule 5 Draft, which turned out to be a great pick as he went on to be very effective out of the their bullpen, pitching to a 2.67 ERA and 1.186 WHIP. The Mets weren’t the only team that found success as a record (since rule change in 2006) 10 players (11 possible) stayed with the team that drafted them through the entire 2015 season.
This year’s Rule 5 Draft is on Thursday at 10:00 AM, heralding the end of the Winter Meetings. The Mets will have the 24th pick and have one spot available on the 40-man roster, allowing them to make a selection. Here you can read the complete rules for keeping a player after he has been taken in the Rule 5 draft.
Here are six players the Mets could have interest in:
- Jake Cave – Left-handed throwing and hitting outfielder from the Yankees organization who hit .278/.339/.359 combined between AA and AAA last year. The 23-year old also stole 17 bases and played a majority of his games in center field (105) with a handful in left (18) and one in right. He is currently ranked as the #16 prospect in the Yankees system according to MLB Pipeline. He could be a perfect platoon partner for Juan Lagares considering he is a career .303/.364/.425 hitter against right-handed pitching.
- Michael Heesch – The 25-year old left-handed starter (22 games, 22 starts) was the Cubs 8th round pick in 2012. This year he spent the entire season in advanced-A going 8-2 with a 2.24 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, and held opponents to a .238 average. He throws a heavy fastball in the low 90’s with good tailing action that actually broke 4 bats in a two innings span this year. The 6’5 pitcher could fit the Mets roster as a LOOGY after holding lefty hitters to a .165/.259/.186 slash line in 2015.
- Ronny Rodriguez – The Indians decided to leave the utility infielder unprotected despite coming off a career year hitting .286/.316/.491 with 11 homeruns in AA. In his first couple years in the minors he played mostly shortstop but he has turned himself into a utility guy playing all four infield spots over the last couple of years. Baseball America said he had the best infield arm in the Indians system in 2012 and was ranked their 30th prospect in 2014.
- Tyler Goeddel – The younger brother of Mets reliever Eric, had a strong 2015 campaign for the AA Montgomery Biscuits hitting .279/.350/.433 with 17 doubles, 10 triples, 12 homeruns, and 28 stolen bases. The 23-year old right-handed hitter was selected by the Rays in the 1st round (41st) overall in 2011 and is currently listed as their 24th prospect according to MLB Pipeline. His first three pro seasons he played every game at third base besides eight at shortstop. This year he played all 111 games in the outfield with 25 in center, 25 in right, and 61 in left.
- Andy Burns – With the Mets missing out on Ben Zobrist they will look for someone with similar versatility and this 25-year old right-handed hitter fits that bill. He played at least one game in 2015 at third (56), second (46), first base (13), shortstop (8), left field (6), and right field (2). In 132 games between AA and AAA for the Blue Jays he hit .291/.350/.373 with 26 doubles, five homeruns, and a 41/72 BB/SO. He spent the whole 2014 season in AA hitting 15 homeruns, 32 doubles, and stealing 18 bases. MLB Pipeline has him currently listed as the Jays #21 prospect.
- Reymin Guduan – The numbers for the 6’4, 23-year old pitcher won’t jump out at you after going 4-6 last year with a 6.50 ERA and 1.555 WHIP in three different levels while topping out at AA for the Astros. What does open your eyes is that he left-handed and can hit 100 MPH on the radar gun which you don’t see everyday. He did strike out 59 batters and allowed only 38 hits in 45.2 innings this season but issued 33 walks in that span. He is currently listed at the Astros 16th best prospect according to MLB Pipeline. What Baseball America had to say about him, “Guduan’s fastball/slider combo gives him the building blocks to be an excellent reliever one day”.
Other players the Mets could consider include hard throwing right-hander Corey Black (#19 prospect, Cubs) who struck out 101 batters in 86 innings this year but also had a 1.407 WHIP and had a bad showing (11.42 ERA) in the Arizona Fall League. Then there is the toolsy outfielder Teoscar Hernandez (#17 prospect, Astros) who hit 17 homeruns and stole 33 bases this season in AA but also had a .637 OPS while striking out 126 times in 121 games.
Eric Stamets is another name I have heard might get selected and could interest the Mets as he is a gold glove caliber defender at shortstop. Prior to this season Baseball America said he was the best athlete and best defensive infielder in the Angels system. He was traded midseason to the Indians for David Murphy. Issue with Stamets is his career .257/.311/.343 minor league slash line.
The talent in the draft pool this year isn’t as deep as last with many of the better arms being guys from the lower minors like Luis Perdomo (#11 prospect, Cardinals), Luis Lugo (#18, prospect, Indians), Rafael De Paula (#26 prospects, Padres), Matt Milroy (#22 prospect, Marlins), and Alberto Tirado (#14 prospect, Phillies).
Some of the other talent that could be drafted but don’t fit the Mets current team are Mariners Jabari Blash (32 homeruns, potential DH), White Sox Onelki Garcia (older lefty, lots of walks), Astros Roberto Pena (defensive minded catcher), Blue Jays Dwight Smith (former 1st round pick), and one of the best names in baseball the Royals Balbino Fuenmayor (1B/DH only).
For more Minor League coverage go to MetsMinors.net where we recently released the second part to our All-Star Team.
