Talent gives you a bit more rope. If Whitley was a 3rd rd pick and/or only had 3 average pitches he would have been in his 3rd organization or pumping gas by now. I'm still hopeful just not counting on anything from him.
I agree with most of your post but especially the quoted section. Barber is probably my favorite player in the system. He has a high in-zone contact rate coupled with a healthy walk rate. His max exit velos are equivalent to Tucker. I remember Putila comparing Barber to Bregman in the way he is a baseball rat. It's a shame he hasn't been able to stay healthy.
Interesting that streamer has JP France projected at basically a 4.00 ERA/FIP for 2023. With he and Bielak i'm not sure if it makes sense to pick up a free agent journeymen innings eater for next season.
Steamer is projecting France as a reliever, mostly. I would not expect their prediction on ERA/FIP to be a representative estimate of how he would do as an innings eater.
Mildly surprising no one wanted Julks or Murray. Good for the Stros. More upper minor league depth without burning a 40-man spot.
How does the minor league Rule 5 draft work? In the majors, the player has to stick with the big league club, does the minor leaguer have to go up a level and stick there?
Players picked in the minor league phase effectively belong to their new team. There's no requirement on what level they have to play at.
Nook had mentioned that the Astros were high on Jose Alvarez so it's pretty surprising he wasn't protected from the minor league phase.
The Astros taking all those minor league lefties makes me think 1 of 2 things: A more traditional voice has a bigger role and advocated lefties for balance in the minor league staffs. The nerd cave thinks they've found a market inefficiency that will let them enhance lefties. Here's hoping it's the latter.
So to recap the Rule 5 draft... everyone who the Astros picked or got picked by another team all got chosen in the minor league phase. Out RHP Layne Henderson - to Tigers RHP Ernesto Jaquez - to White Sox C Jose Alvarez - to Cardinals In LHP Max Roberts, 25, was the Mariners' 7th-round pick out of an Illinois JUCO in 2017. He spent most of 2022 with Everett (Class A Advanced), going 0-5 with a save and a 5.29 ERA in 38 appearances (34 Everett, 4 Modesto; 47.2 IP). Roberts allowed 50 hits (5 HR), walked 27 (1.62 WHIP), struck out 68, and allowed a .267 average to opposing batters. LHP Bryan King, who turned 26 last month, was a 30th-round pick of the Cubs out of McNeese State. King went 0-2 with three saves and a 1.61 ERA in 14 appearances (9 with Tennessee, 5 Myrtle Beach, 22.1 IP). He allowed 20 hits (1 HR), walked 9, and struck out 22. Opponents hit .235 against King, who underwent Tommy John surgery this season. RHP Manuel Urias, a 21-year-old from Mexico, signed with the Phillies in 2018. With the exception of three early-season appearances with Clearwater as a fill-in this year, all of Urias' playing time has come in the complex leagues. Urias went 1-1 with a 4.23 ERA in 11 appearances (7 starts, 38.1 IP) for the Phillies' FCL team. He allowed 37 hits (2 HR), walked 9 (1.20 WHIP), struck out 38, and allowed a .257 average against. Luis Angel Rodriguez, a 23-year-old from Mexico, originally signed with the Cubs in 2017. He spent this season with Myrtle Beach (low-A), going 6-1 with a 4.43 ERA in 23 appearances (5 starts, 69 IP). Rodriguez allowed 51 hits (7 HR), walked 51, and struck out 106. Opponents hit .202 against him, but he also has a 1.48 WHIP thanks to all those walks. Rodriguez pitched against Fayetteville twice this season, allowing one hit (a solo homer), walking one, and striking out three in his two appearances (4.2 IP).
Out RHP Layne Henderson - to Tigers RHP Ernesto Jaquez - to White Sox C Jose Alvarez - to Cardinals Also Out SS Y Martinez Astros Complex -
I was wondering how we had all this space for Rule 5 picks, then I remembered that this was the Minor League rule 5 draft, not the Major League one.
