Rule 5 Recap: Brewers quiet, Cubs prospects grabbed

The Rule 5 Draft took place at 9am this morning, and wrapped up after about 40 minutes of player plucking at the MLB Winter Meetings.

The draft is an opportunity for players who may be “stuck” in a certain organization or level to get a chance at the big leagues somewhere else. Players with 5-6 years of professional experience (depending on the age that they signed) and who are not protected by the 40 man roster are eligible.

This also helps superprospects get to the big leagues faster by teams putting them on the 40 man roster. The Rule 5 Draft is probably how guys like Scooter Gennett and Junior Lake got on the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs’ 40 man rosters, respectively.

Here’s a round-by-round recap of what the Brewers and Cubs did this morning.

Round One of MLB Draft

Cubs select pitcher Hector Rondon from the Cleveland Indians.

Arizona Diamondbacks select pitcher Starlin Peralta from the Cubs.

Brewers pass, do not select a player.

 

Round Two of MLB Draft

Cubs pass.

 

Round One of AAA Draft

Houston Astros select outfielder Michael Burgess.

Cubs pass.

Seattle Mariners select second baseman Eric Farris from the Brewers.

St. Louis Cardinals select third baseman Matt Cerda from the Cubs.

 

Round Two of AAA Draft

Toronto Blue Jays select pitcher Alvido Jimenez from the Cubs.

 

Round One of the AA Draft

Cubs pass.

Brewers pass.

In total, the Cubs gained one pitcher for the bullpen in Rondon. The Brewers did not select any players. The Cubs lost four prospects, the Brewers lost one minor leaguer in Farris.

Farris has one hit in nine major league at-bats stemming over two seasons. He’s bounced around a bit, and was back in Triple-A Nashville this year. With Rickie Weeks still in the fold, and Scooter being a solid prospect at second, I can’t imagine the Farris loss hurts all that much.

As for the Cubs, I’ll admit I’m not familiar with Peralta or Jimenez. The reaction from the Cubs Twittosphere seems to be Peralta has a slim chance of staying on a competitive Diamondbacks roster.

The guy I’m most disappointed about is Cerda. From everything I’ve read, he was a nice, patience utility guy, and I’ve got a soft spot for those (see: Craig Counsell).

The only player to be added to an I-94 major league roster this morning was Rondon. An oft-issued pitcher from the Cleveland system, Rondon is recovering from Tommy John surgery (like so many others the Cubs have picked up lately) but could be pretty sweet if he pulls it together. He’s only pitched in six games in the last two years, but is still decently young at 24 years old.

The biggest surprise for me this morning is the extent of the Rule 5 Draft. I thought it was simply three rounds of taking players for your MLB roster, but as you can see above, prospects were plucked in AAA and AA “rounds.” From the few braintrusts I’ve asked on Twitter, nobody really seems to know what the rules are for protection and such on these minor league rounds. I hope to learn that in the next few days and link the content back here.