Rule 5 Madness!

Photo Credit: Tony Farlow, Asheville Tourists

Baseball's Winter Meetings ended as they always do with the Rule 5 draft and it was the highlight of a slow meeting for the three teams that we cover here.

None of the teams added any players and the Indians actually lost two as two members of the bullpen moved to a new beginning as Bryan Shaw signed a three year deal with the Colorado Rockies worth 27 million and Joe Smith signed a 15 million dollar two year agreement with the Houston Astros.
Those two moves, especially the loss of Shaw weakened the Wahoo's bullpen and the Indians will have to try to address the bullpen with a few signings, more than likely with a few reclamation projects and hope to catch lightning in the bottle with one or two.

The Rule 5 Draft has always been something that I likely get more excited about and give more coverage to than it probably deserves, but I'm a minor league junkie, it's what I do for fun, so I know many of these players, which makes it more enjoyable to follow.

In the Major portion of the draft, the Giants used their pick (second overall) and lost a player, the Pirates used their pick and made a trade to add another player while the Indians lost one player- to the Pirates!

San Francisco selected 22 year old fireballer Julian Fernandez from the Rockies organization,
Fernandez was hitting triple digits on the gun when I saw him in the opening series in Hagerstown and he posted an impressive season at low A Asheville with a 3.26 ERA in 51 appearances.
Projected as a reliever with a top end arm, Fernandez might be able to be hidden away for a season in the Giants bullpen in order to be kept on the team for the full season.
The Giants lost 28 year old starter Albert Suarez to the Diamondbacks later in the round.
Suarez started 18 games for the parent club last season going an unimpressive 0-3 with 5.12 ERA, but the opposition did hit just .230 against him, so I suppose Arizona did like that about Suarez.
I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Suarez offered back to the Giants.

The Pirates made a selection (8th player selected) in 6'6 lefthanded pitcher Jordan Milbrath from the Indians.
The 26 year Milbrath had a breakout season last year pitching out of the bullpen split between High A Lynchburg and AA Akron.
Milbrath was dominant in the Carolina League and just OK in the Eastern League, but he strikes guys and his groundball ratio was out of this world last season-as a LOOGY, he'll have a chance to make the Pirates.
Pittsburgh then swung a trade after the draft to obtain the player picked with the third pick as the Buccos sent some International signing bonus money to the Phillies for righthanded pitcher Nick Burdi, who Philadelphia had selected from the Twins.
The soon to be 25 year old Burdi (January) was pitching well in relief for AA Chattanooga before injuring his elbow and undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Burdi was the Twins second round pick in the 2014 draft.
This is a low-risk high reward selection as at least some of the season will see Burdi on the DL and dealing rehab assignments etc.
If this works out, the former Louisville Cardinal closer could be quite a steal.

Baseball eliminated the AA portion of the draft, but the AAA draft remains.
The AAA draft is done differently as the team pays a fee , but does not have to offer the player back to the team if they do not stay at AAA.

The Giants took two players in righthanded pitcher Eduardo Rivera (Yankees) and shortstop Wander Franco (Royals).
Rivera was the first pick of the AAA phase and his numbers were strong as the closer for the Staten Island Yankees, but at 25 and only a cameo as high as High A Tampa, Rivera has to be a slow developer hitting his stride now.
As for Franco, I've seen him play and having repeated High A, I think he's more along the lines of ab organizational soldier type.

The Pirates selected two players as well with righthanded pitcher Damien Magnifico (Angels) and Catcher Rafelin Lorenzo (Rays) joining the system.
Magnifico, who isn't a pro wrestler although his name makes you think that he is, made a few big league appearances with the Brewers in 2016 and one with the Angels last season, but will most likely be a depth arm at either AAA Indianapolis or AA Altoona.
Lorenzo is a lottery ticket at just 20 but is reported to be a strong armed defensive based catcher that will likely start at low A West Virginia.

The Indians used the AAA draft to pick one player and it's one from the past as they selected former Hagerstown Sun lefty Robert Orlan from the Nationals.
The 27 year split last season between High A Potomac where he was very effective and AA Harrisburg where he wasn't as effective.
The Indians spoke of liking Orlan's fastball/curveball mix and even with Harrisburg where his numbers were pretty average, Orlan's numbers were strong against lefties.
The Indians say Orlan may start with AAA Columbus, but I would think AA Akron is a more likely starting point...