Just so it doesn't get buried in the main offseason thread... The Rule 5 draft will take place at 11 AM Central time on Thursday. The Astros' 40-man roster currently stands at 39 players so they will most likely skip the Major League phase of the draft. Riley Ferrell, Cy Sneed, and Drew Ferguson were mentioned by BA as guys who could possibly get picked this year.
Seriously? The Astros do not have an open spot of their 25 man roster for a player who will likely not contribute. The Astros do have one open spot of their 40 man roster that they could use to grab a player off the waiver wire following the after math of the Rule V draft.
Won’t be shocked if Houston makes a selection. Or at least I wonder if the fact that they know they will have 2 guys going on the 60 day DL this spring won’t make them more likely to choose somebody hoping they can work out a trade so they can option the player.
First four picks: 1. Orioles: SS Richie Martin (A's) 2. Royals: RHP Sam McWililams (Rays) 3. White Sox: RHP Jordan Romano (Blue Jays) 4. Marlins: RHP Riley Ferrell (Astros)
Surprised Ferrell went so early, but figured somebody would take a chance on him. He certainly provides upside for what is basically a free selection. Ferguson was a stone cold lock. Perfect fit for a 5th outfielder in the NL, and that feels like a floor.
Oof the Giants are bad. Steamer thinks Ferguson (89 WRC+) is their 2nd best hitting OF and the 7th best hitter in the giants organization. He was tied for the 8th best hitter in projected Astro's OF options (not counting Diaz or Davis who could conceivably play there) and 17th overall.
No. The minor league phase allows team to take minor leaguers from other teams without placing them on the 40 man. There are no restrictions; the players rights are full transferred to the new team.
Wow. The Giants are pretty mediocre, and their salary situation is awful. They barely have any meaningful contributors on a pre-arbitration contract, and will be paying around $55M for Samardzjia, Cueto, and Melancon next year. Yikes. Cueto may be an interesting reclamation project if they're willing to pay most of his salary -- he's probably out till September though for 2019. Even a guy like Brandon Belt, who's a good hitter, is under contract for 3 more years at $17M+ per year. MadBum may be the only guy with surplus value, and he's been hurt and not himself the last couple of years.
Here's hoping they get sent back to us, but those are 2 terrible teams so they'll probably get long leashes.
When we drafted Riley Ferrell, he was touted as a guy who would rise through the ranks quickly as a reliever. He was lights out at TCU iirc. I guess he had control issues? Hope a fresh start helps him out.
