2014 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 Arizona Diamondbacks started off the draft by selecting catcher Oscar Hernandez from the Tampa Bay Rays. He played in 2014 at Class A Bowling Green. He hit .249/.301/.401 with 9 HR, 63 RBI, 43 R, 3 SB in 94 games while throwing out 41% of attempted base thefts. He originally signed with the Rays in 2010 as an amateur free agent out of Venezuela. Hernandez will be 22 on July 9th.

The Colorado Rockies selected 1B\3B\OF Mark Canha from the Miami Marlins. He played in 2014 at Triple A New Orleans. He hit .303/.384/.505 with 20 HR, 82 RBI, 83 R, 3 SB in 127 games. He was originally drafted by the Marlins in the seventh round in 2010. Canha will be 26 on February 15.

The Texas Rangers selected outfielder Delino Deshields Jr from the Houston Astros. He played in 2014 at Double A Corpus Christi. He hit .236/.346/.360 with 11 HR, 57 RBI, 75 R, 54 SB in 114 games. He was originally drafted by the Astros with the eighth pick of the first round in 2010. DeShields will be 23 on August 16.

The Houston Astros selected RHP Jason Garcia from the Boston Red Sox. He split 2014 between Class A Lowell and Class A Greenville. He was 1-1, 3.48 ERA, 22 K, 1.26 WHIP, .238 BAA in 20.2 IP over 5 games at Lowell and 2-1, 3.79 ERA, 37 K, 1.35 WHIP, .242 BAA in 35.2 IP over 9 games at Greenville. He was originally drafted by the Red Sox in the 17th round in 2010. Garcia turned 22 on November 21.

The Minnesota Twins selected RHP J.R. Graham from the Atlanta Braves. He pitched in 2014 at Double A Mississippi. He was 1-5, 5.55 ERA, 50 K, 1.47 WHIP, .289 BAA in 71.1 IP over 27 games. He was originally drafted by the Braves in the fourth round in 2011. Graham will be 25 on January 14.

The Boston Red Sox selected RHP Jandel Gustave from the Houston Astros. He pitched in 2014 at Class A Quad Cities. He was 5-5, 5.01 ERA, 82 K, 1.56 WHIP, .289 BAA in 79.0 IP over 23 games. He originally signed with the Astros in 2010 as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic. Gustavo will be 23 on October 12. After the draft he was traded to the Kansas City Royals.

The Chicago Cubs selected shortstop Taylor Featherston from the Colorado Rockies. He played in 2014 at Double A Tulsa. He hit .260/.322/.439 with 16 HR, 57 RBI, 69 R, 14 SB in 127 games. He was originally drafted by the Rockies in the fifth round in 2011. Featherston will be 26 on October 8th. 

The Philadelphia Phillies selected second baseman David Odubel Herrera from the Texas Rangers. He split 2014 between Class A Advanced Myrtle Beach and Double A Frisco. He hit .297/.412/.342 with 0 HR, 11 RBI, 26 R, 9 SB in 29 games at Myrtle Beach and .321/.373/.402 with 2 HR, 48 RBI, 47 R, 12 SB in 96 games at Frisco. He originally signed with the Rangers in 2008 as an amateur free agent out of Venezuela. Herrera will be 23 on December 29.

The Miami Marlins selected LHP Andrew McKirahan from the Chicago Cubs. He split 2014 between Class A Advanced Daytona and Double A Tennessee. He was 2-1, 0.99 ERA, 33 K, 1.02 WHIP, 8 SV, .213 BAA in 36.1 IP over 23 games at Daytona and 0-3, 3.45 ERA, 24 K, 1.19 WHIP, 2 SV, .257 BAA in 28.2 IP over 21 games at Tennessee. He was originally drafted by the Cubs in the 21st round in 2011. McKirahan will be 25 on February 8th.

The New York Mets selected LHP Sean Gilmartin from the Minnesota Twins. He split 2014 between Double A New Britain and Triple A Rochester. He was 7-3, 3.12 ERA, 74 K, 1.28 WHIP, .275 BAA in 72.0 IP over 12 games at New Britain and 2-4, 4.28 ERA, 59 K, 1.32 WHIP, .250 BAA in 73.2 IP over 14 games at Rochester. He was originally drafted by the Braves with the 28th pick of the first round in 2011 and was traded to the Twins in 2013. Gilmartin will be 25 on May 8th.

The Atlanta Braves selected RHP Daniel Winkler from the Colorado Rockies. He pitched at Double A Tulsa before his season ended after Tommy John surgery. He was 5-2, 1.41 ERA, 71 K, 0.71 WHIP, .139 BAA in 70.0 IP over 12 games. He was originally drafted by the Rockies in the 20th round in 2011. Winkler will be 25 on February 2nd.

The Seattle Mariners selected LHP David Rollins from the Houston Astros. He pitched in 2014 at Double A Tulsa. He was 3-4, 3.81 ERA, 77 K, 1.23 WHIP, 1 SV, .243 BAA in 78.0 IP over 27 games. He was originally drafted by the Blue Jays in the 24th round in 2011 and was traded to the Astros in 2012. Rollins will be 25 on December 21. 

The Baltimore Orioles selected RHP Logan Verrett from the New York Mets. He pitched in 2014 at Triple A Las Vegas. He was 11-5, 4.33 ERA, 119 K, 1.37 WHIP, .291 BAA in 162.0 IP over 28 games. He was originally drafted by the Mets in the third round in 2011. Verrett will be 25 on June 19.

The Philadelphia Phillies selected RHP Andrew Oliver from the Pittsburgh Pirates. He pitched in 2014 at Triple A Indianapolis. He was 3-4, 2.53 ERA, 85 K, 1.28 WHIP, 13 SV, .167 BAA in 64.0 IP over 48 games. He was originally drafted by the Tigers in the second round in 2009 and was traded to the Pirates in 2012. Oliver turned 27 on December 3rd.