2011 Rule 5 Draft

The Rule 5 draft took place today at the annual winter meeting of the general managers. The eligible pool of players are not on the 40 man roster of a team and were signed at the age of 19 and have been in the organization for four years or were signed at the age of 18 or younger and have been in the organization for five years. Each drafted player costs $50,000 and must remain on the 25 man roster of the drafting team the entire season or be offered back to the original team at half price. Like the regular draft the order starts with the team with the worst record and proceeds to the team with the best. It is the hope of each team that they land the next Josh Hamilton or Johan Santana both former rule 5 draftees.


The Houston Astros started off the draft by selecting RHP Rhiner Cruz from the New York Mets. Cruz pitched at the Class A Advanced and Double A levels in 2011. He was 2-1 with a 2.77 ERA, 18 strikeouts and 1.15 WHIP in 13 innings over eight games at Class A Advanced and was 3-2 with a 4.14 ERA, 51 strikeouts, 1.40 WHIP and 7 saves in 58.2 innings over 36 games at Double A. He originally signed with the Tigers as an amatuer free agent in 2004 out of the Dominican Republic. 


The Minnesota Twins selected RHP John Doyle from the Chicago White Sox. Doyle pitched at the Class A Advanced and Double A levels in 2011. He was 1-5 with a 2.84 ERA, 49 strikeouts and 1.12 WHIP in 73 innings over 11 games at Class A Advanced and was 7-5 with a 3.24 ERA, 73 strikeouts and 1.13 WHIP in 100 innings over 15 games at Double A. He was originally drafted by the White Sox in the 37th round in 2008.


The Seattle Mariners selected LHP Lucas Luetge from the Milwaukee Brewers. Luetge pitched at the Double A level and was 1-3 with a 3.13 ERA, 69 strikeouts, 1.25 WHIP and 3 saves in 69 innings over 46 games. He was originally selected by the Brewers in the 21st round in 2008.


The Baltimore Orioles selected second baseman Ryan Flaherty from the Chicago Cubs. Flaherty played at the Double A and Triple A levels in 2011. He hit .305/.384/.523 with 14 home runs, 66 RBI, 52 runs and 4 steals in 83 games at Double A and hit .237/.277/.399 with five home runs, 22 RBI, 22 runs and one steal in 49 games at Triple A. He was originally drafted by the Cubs with the 41st pick of the first round in 2008.


The Kansas City Royals selected LHP Cesar Cabral from the Boston Red Sox. Cabral pitched at the Class A Advanced and Double A levels in 2011. He was 1-0 with a 1.62 ERA, 24 strikeouts, 1.20 WHIP and 8 saves in 16.2 innings over 12 games at Class A Advanced and was 2-4 with a 3.52 ERA, 46 strikeouts, 1.49 WHIP and one save in 38.1 innings over 24 games at Double A. He originally signed with the Red Sox as an amateur free agent in 2005 out of the Dominican Republic.


The Chicago Cubs selected RHP Lendy Castillo from the Philadelphia Phillies. Castillo pitched at the Class      A level in 2011 and was 4-2 with a 2.54 ERA, 46 strikeouts and 1.15 WHIP in 46 innings over 21 games. He originally signed with the Phillies as an amateur free agent in 2006 out of the Dominican Republic.


The Pittsburgh Pirates selected shortstop Gustavo Nunez from the Detroit Tigers. Nunez played at the Class A Advanced and Double A levels in 2011. He hit .304/.368/.431 with three home runs, 18 RBI, 46 runs and 14 steals in 62 games at Class A Advanced and hit .215/.252/.289 with two home runs, eight RBI, 13 runs and 4 steals in 34 games in Double A. He originally signed with the Tigers as an amateur free agent in 2007.


The Atlanta Braves selected LHP Robert Fish from the Los Angeles Angels. Fish pitched at the rookie and Double A levels in 2011. He was 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA, three strikeouts and 1.00 WHIP in 3 innings over two games at the rookie level and was 1-0 with a 3.26 ERA, 41 strikeouts, 1.29 WHIP and 2 saves in 30.1 innings over 24 games at Double A. He was originally drafted by the Angels in the sixth round in 2006.


The St Louis Cardinals selected outfielder Erik Komatsu from the Washington Nationals. In 2011 he played at the Double A level for the Brewers and Nationals organizations. For the Brewers Double A team he hit .294/.393/.416 with six home runs, 40 RBI, 48 runs and 13 steals in 93 games and hit .234/.298/.297 with one home run, eight RBI, 12 runs and 8 steals in 31 games for the Nationals Double A team. He was originally drafted by the Brewers in the eighth round in 2008.


The Boston Red Sox selected shortstop Marwin Gonzalez from the Chicago Cubs. Gonzalez played at the Double A and Triple A levels in 2011. He hit .301/.359/.421 with two home runs, 20 RBI, 29 runs and 4 steals in 64 games at Double A and hit .274/.326/.376 with two home runs, 19 RBI, 24 runs and 3 steals in 60 games at Triple A. He originally signed with the Cubs as an amateur free agent in 2005 out of Venezuela.


The Arizona Diamondbacks selected RHP Brett Lorin from the Pittsburgh Pirates. Lorin pitched at the Class A Advanced level in 2011 and was 7-6 with a 2.84 ERA, 99 strikeouts, 1.04 WHIP and one save in 117.1 innings over 25 games. He was originally drafted by the Mariners in the fifth round in 2008.


The New York Yankees selected RHP Brad Meyers from the Washington Nationals. Meyers pitched at the Class A, Double A and Triple A levels in 2011. He was 0-0 with a 2.70 ERA, four strikeouts and 0.75 WHIP in 6.2 innings over two games at Class A, was 3-2 with a 2.48 ERA, 38 strikeouts and 0.96 WHIP in 36.1 innings over six games at Double A and was 6-5 with a 3.48 ERA, 74 strikeouts and 1.31 WHIP in 95.2 innings over 17 games at Triple A. He was originally drafted by the Nationals in the fifth round in 2007.