Who’s Eligible for the Rule 5 Draft?

A look at who is eligible in the Pirates organization for the Rule 5 draft this offseason

Photo Credit: Ryan Palencer

Editor’s Note: Ethan sent this article late last week before Billy Cook was promoted. Due to me being in Greensboro, we decided to hold off until this week to post it so I continue the live reporting.

I’m not sure what it is, but there is very little that ignites the interest of so many fans more than the Rule 5 Draft.

Which is funny because the event just isn’t all that important, at least in relation to the amount of hype it garners.

Many fans seem to get wrapped up in the Endowment Effect—assigning more value to something that’s “yours” than you would if it wasn’t—leading to the fear of losing any prospect with a shred of potential. Of course, many prospects that fans fear losing are a dime a dozen, and similar ones are available from other organizations fairly readily.

So, sure, is the Rule 5 Draft “important”? In a practical sense, no, not really, but it’s still fun to talk about, even as a way to keep us busy during what can be the doldrums of an MLB offseason.

The funny thing about that inflated importance—at least this offseason in particular—is that it’s going to be even less important.

Like, possibly not even protect anyone lack of importance.

See, the rule for Rule 5 eligibility is a prospect needs protected in the fourth draft after their signing if they are 19 or older and fifth if they sign at 18 or younger. Basically, that means four calendar years for high school and international signings and three for college players.

Does anyone happen to remember what happened four years ago?

Of course, there was a five-round first-year player draft, and the international signing period was pushed back to January 2021, meaning the pool of eligible players was significantly reduced starting in this upcoming Rule 5 Draft, with a slight uptick coming in subsequent years, as the draft went back up—but only to twenty rounds instead of forty.

Jared Jones would have been the marquee name, but he made the roster out of Spring Training, and the club had been trending the entire season toward having no prospects worthy of protecting come November. That changed after the trade deadline, but it’s still possible, depending on how they shape their roster for the rest of the season.

With all that in mind, here is the list of players that currently project to be available in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ organization. I removed players who are technically still around but will be hitting minor-league free agency before the draft. If any of those players end up resigning, they would still be eligible for the draft.

Previously Eligible:

Omar Alfonzo

Andrés Alvarez

Carter Bins

Jase Bowen

Sergio Campana

Jesus Castillo

Fineas Del Bonta-Smith

Isaias Dipre

Ewry Espinal

Yoyner Fajardo

Drake Fellows

Adrian Florencio

J.C. Flowers

Grant Ford

Matt Fraizer

Darvin Garcia

Matt Gorski

Ryan Harbin

Hudson Head

Carlos Jimenez

Brennan Malone

Johan Montero

Yojeiry Osoria

Kervin Pichardo

Geovanny Planchart

Javier Rivas

Dylan Shockley

Sammy Siani

Joaquin Tejada

Enmanuel Terrero

Jeral Toledo

Eli Wilson

First-Time Eligible:

Brandan Bidois

Luke Brown

Victor Cabreja

Jack Carey

Billy Cook

Yoldin De La Paz

Brenden Dixon

Nick Dombkowski

Jackson Glenn

Wyatt Hendrie

Mike Jarvis

Solomon Maguire

Justin Meis

Jhonson Pena

Scott Randall

Tyler Samaniego

Sean Sullivan

Isaias Uribe

Nick Yorke

With the names behind us, let’s break these players down into a few different groups.

Not Taken Before, Won’t Be Now

These are players I described before—ones that fans feared losing, thus wanting to monopolize one or more valuable spots on the 40-man roster as opposed to risk losing them.

I’ve explained this more in-depth before, but the cliff notes version is that the Rule 5 Draft is more an exercise in roster optimization than anything else, in which teams are only looking to use their valuable roster spots on players they know they may lose, not on players who likely won’t be selected.

With that in mind, who are we looking at?

Typically, I can find quite a group of players to discuss here, but with the new lowered roster limit to 165, it’s a matter of fact that a lot of fat has been trimmed from the organization.

Gorski still has some defenders, but despite his strong power and defense, he’s just not a player that would survive in the majors due to his swing-and-miss tendencies. Jimenez has long been a dark horse but was hurt for much of 2023, and despite a solid 2024, likely isn’t making the jump from High-A to the majors.

The outfield is littered with players that fans were hoping for more from, with Head and Siani not exactly lighting the world on fire. In addition, Bowen was the hot commodity last offseason but went unselected after being unprotected and has not been very good in a full season in Double-A this year.

Pichardo was a fun acquisition early in the season, as he was traded for the designated Jackson Wolf, and players typically aren’t the return trades in those scenarios. However, he has gone unselected before, and that’s typically the strongest indicator of a player’s status moving forward.

Notable Names

These are first-time eligible players that, for varying reasons, will not get consideration, despite being known among fans, nonetheless.

Okay, so I said players, with an ‘s’, but the only name I’m coming up with is Brandan Bidois, which indicates the lack of depth in this class.

Maybe Solomon Maguire is a name of note, an international signing from February 2020 whose signing date and contract status at the time happened to make him the only international player signed in 2020 that’s eligible.

Sorry, BOD crew, but I’m not including Sean Sullivan.

Possibilities

This is where I think players could make the cut, but I just can’t fully commit to it happening.

There is one formerly eligible player that catches my attention that will pick my compatriots spirits back up, and that’s Omar Alfonzo.

After performing well enough in Low-A Bradenton to get promoted to Greensboro, Alfonzo hasn’t played quite as well, but he has found himself in the back-half of many Top-30 lists from different outlets, and catchers are a position group that is selected more than others. Does that mean I think he gets protected? No, but I do believe he’s worth mentioning.

Second (and lastly) is a name that many will probably disagree with, but I’m going to list Billy Cook here as well.

Last year I included Braxton Ashcraft here, as a player that I believed ultimately would end up on the roster, but I just couldn’t call him a lock. I am leaning the same way with Cook right now.

Sure, he may end up on the roster in September, and this discussion could be moot, but let’s look at the facts.

Cook is a 25-year-old prospect who, granted, is probably having his best all-around season but has never been highly ranked. Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean rankings are everything, but personally, I believe there is more of a narrative here being driven by fans than anything of substance.

A trade acquisition (check) for a prospect who some liked (check), who has been on fire since being acquired (check), and the major league team has been struggling (check).

Factor all these things in, and the fans simply want to see him instead of the other Billy who was called upon. I’m not saying they are wrong in that particular instance, but I am saying that if he doesn’t see the majors this season, I wouldn’t be surprised if he isn’t protected in the offseason.

Locks

It’s anticlimactic, but it’s Nick Yorke.

Do I think he eventually makes it up, making this pointless? I do, but this exercise is assuming the current roster the whole way through.

Yorke was a surprise first-round pick in 2020, but quickly justified that selection. He’s been more up-and-down since, with the needle pointing up when he was acquired, but he’s the type of prospect that is a slam dunk protect.

If he does make it up in September, I think we are in for a very boring deadline come November, which won’t be very fun, but just remember…

It’s not all that important, anyway.

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