This year's Rule 5 Draft will take place on December 8. As she has in the past, What the Heck, Bobby has put out a primer for those unfamiliar with the process. To avoid any plagiarism complaints, I'll only post the eligible players. Yes, I do write for her, but I will respect her wishes by not posting the entire article. A few years ago, she took offense to seeing her stuff being copied and pasted onto the BBS without her permission. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">What the Heck, Bobby?: 2016 Astros Rule 5 Draft Primer and Eligible Players<a href="https://t.co/uSKVV4v5os">https://t.co/uSKVV4v5os</a></p>— Jayne Hansen (@JayneWTHB) <a href="https://twitter.com/JayneWTHB/status/775352074057846785">September 12, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Asterisk = Player will be eligible for the Rule 5 draft for the first time. AAA C Tyler Heineman OF Jon Kemmer* IF Jack Mayfield* LHP Chris Cotton* RHP Edison Frias RHP Mike Hauschild LHP Brian Holmes RHP Jordan Jankowski LHP Albert Minnis* RHP Tyson Perez RHP Aaron West AA 1B Conrad Gregor* 1B Chase McDonald* C Roberto Peña OF James Ramsay* RHP Kevin Comer LHP Kent Emanuel* RHP Angel Heredia RHP Kyle Smith Advanced-A and Lower C Marlon Avea IF Rodrigo Ayarza 3B Randy Cesar IF Arturo Michelena OF Brauly Mejia* OF Luis Payano* OF/1B Hector Roa* IF Kristian Trompis* UTIL Marc Wik RHP Agapito Barrios RHP Elieser Hernandez* LHP Sebastian Kessay* RHP Agapito Barrios In addition, LHPs Evan Grills and Reymin Guduan and IF Chan-Jong Moon are eligible to become Minor League free agents after the season.
I'll wait for someone to tell me if I should be worried about anyone on this list. Nothing strikes me as egregious, but I wouldn't have known about Devo last year either.
There are some righties who I could see a team taking a chance on (Jankowski, West, Frias, Hauschild) because they've had success in the upper minors. Lefties are always worth watching, so wouldn't be a shock if Emanuel, Guduan, Grills, Minnis, Holmes, or Cotton got looked at. Kemmer hit well in the 2nd half but with his defensive limitations I have a hard time seeing him getting picked. Pena and Heineman have things to like as catchers but also neither appear MLB ready. Keep an eye on Elieser Hernandez. I could see a team gambling on his upside. Also, has anyone confirmed that this list is complete? Martes' first action was in 2013, but if he signed in 2012 he would be eligible as well, and would of course have to be protected. Assuming Jaynes list is complete, I don't see anyone who for sure needs to be protected.
Yea it wouldn't surprise me if a team takes a chance on one or two of our guys. With Chapman and Peacock on the 40 man if there are any of those guys the FO really likes then it would be easy to protect one or two of them We have moved up so many of our upper level prospects already that we aren't in the Rule V danger that we were in a couple of years ago.
Here's who I think will be added to the 40 man: Martes, Hernandez, Hauschild, Jankowski, Guduan, Grills, Emanuel, and West.
ok, but Fister/Neshek/Rasmus are also occupying spots that need to be replaced. If you knock those 8 out from the 40 and replace them with 8 prospects, you'll just have to waive/DFA better guys later when you sign a FA or 3 Unless you think we're going to ignore free agency. Not to mention if they want to have a slot to acquire someone in the Rule 5, though I wouldn't expect it.
They're not going to take a rule 5 guy. If I had to guess I would say they'll acquire 4 players: an outfield bat, a catcher, a starting pitcher, and a lefty reliever. But at least one of those will come via a trade involving multiple players on the 40 man.
How often does that end up happening? I know Astros fans always expect the club to consolidate talent and clear 40man spots via trade leading up to the Rule V but every club knows what situation we're in.
Valbuena was having a very good season before he went down. Having Val and Gonzales coming off the bench is nice.
I could see the Astros giving QOs to Fister, Valbuena, and Rasmus. Fister of the three is most likely to not accept the QO. Valbuena might accept the QO, to just build his value with an injury free year. Rasmus wants to be here, accepted the QO last year and i almost 100% guaranteed to accept. Neshek has a team option iirc. Neshek has played well enough and is priced right, for the Astro to keep him on.
No way Houston offers $17M to an injured 1B who has never finished a full season with an ops over 800. No way they offer that much to an aging BoR SP. No way they offer that much to an aging, inconsistent LF who accepted the offer last season coming off a much better year. I think it's possible any or all 3 of those players could be back, but it won't be on a QO. This is my guess at market value for Houstons pending free agents: Castro: $26M/3yrs Valbuena: $16M/2yrs Rasmus: $8M/1yr Fister: $22M/2yrs
