The Rule 5 draft has been referred to by some as the nerdiest of all baseball events and that might not be far off.
However, I've always enjoyed covering this draft because I've seen many of the eligible players play.
That changed yesterday with the loss of Hagerstown and Frederick and the result will be this- as years go by, I'll have fewer and fewer chances to see players in action and who knows if I'll write much about this draft anymore.
Hell, with the way I feel about baseball right now, who knows if I'll even care by then.
Until then, I'll be writing about what I know and this article will look at the players the Cleveland Soon to be not the Indians selected and lost in Rule 5 Fever.
I hope to have a Giants version soon after or later in the week if football and boxing get in the way.
Thank you to Fred Landucci, who sent me the entire draft and helped me get a good start on this post by thinking of TRS with the information.
Cleveland selected one player in the major league portion and lost two others, while they added one player in the triple-A phase and didn't lose anyone in that part of the draft.
The Indians selected righthanded pitcher Trevor Stephan in the major league section from the New York Yankees with the 24th selection.
The 6'5 right-hander pitched for the Arkansas Razorbacks in college and was the Yankees third-round pick in the 2017 draft.
Stephan was moved aggressively by the Yankees and after seven strong starts at High A Tampa, was promoted in 2018 to High AA Trenton.
Stephan's Trenton numbers weren't dazzling (3-8 4.64 ERA), but the number that caught my eye was 91 strikeouts in 83 innings.
Stephan's 2019 saw him struggle at Trenton (2-4 5.24 ERA) and was demoted to Tampa with mechanical issues, where his numbers don't look impressive in eight starts (2-3 4.01 ERA).
However, if you go game by game, you see Stephan's final five of his eight starts were impressive and he finished the year back in Trenton
Stephan again posted good strikeout numbers in Trenton with 91 strikeouts in 80 innings and his numbers with his two-pitch mix between a mid to high 90s fastball and a good slider scream reliever.
Stephan could be hidden in the Cleveland bullpen and at his age (25) with college experience, Stephan may be able to be used more than the average Rule 5 draftee with some work on his control and keeping his mechanics clean.
Stephan will need to stay on the roster all season or be offered back to the Yankees for $50,000.
Cleveland lost two players in the Rule 5 draft as the New York Mets selected pitcher Luis Oviedo with the tenth pick and the Oakland Athletics tabbed outfielder Ka'ai Tom at pick twenty-six.
Luis Oviedo was a highly thought of righthanded pitcher before a rough 2019 that saw him struggle at Low A Lake County in 19 starts (6-6 5.38 ERA) and dealing with a back injury that sidetracked him for part of the season.
Oviedo was rated by some as a top 100 level prospect entering 2019 and at 6'4, a fastball in the mid-90s and three other pitches, Oviedo could be a player that the Indians regret losing if he can put it together in his new surroundings.
Those surroundings will not be with the Mets though as immediately after the draft, the Mets sold Oviedo to the Pittsburgh Pirates for cash considerations,
The Pirates are likely to try to stash Oviedo in the bullpen for the year as I would think the Indians would take Oviedo back for $50,000, half of the purchase price.
At 21, Oviedo still has plenty of time to harness his potential and is a good risk for the Pirates.
On the other hand, his lack of success beyond the now-defunct short-season level makes him a low risk-high reward selection.
Ka'ai Tom has been around the Indians system since Cleveland picked him in the fifth round of the 2015 draft from Kentucky.
The 26-year-old outfielder seemed to be a typical organizational soldier before he began to develop some power in 2019 when he hit .285 with 14 homers in half a season in his second tour at AA Akron.
Tom was promoted to AAA Columbus for the final 51 games of the year and hit well there with a.295 average and nine homers.
Tom likely was selected in hopes that the Indians wouldn't buy him back and could play for their AAA affiliate in Las Vegas to provide outfield insurance in the event of injuries.
Oakland has a crowded outfielder roster currently, so I'd be surprised to see Tom make the Athletics roster for the entire season, but I would be surprised to see the Indians buy him back for the fifty thousand dollar check that Cleveland would be forced to send for his return.
Cleveland didn't lose anyone in the AAA draft and selected only one player.
In the AAA part of the draft, teams pay $24,000 for each player added, but unlike the major league version, the drafting team doesn't have to offer the player back and has no restrictions on where the player's level can be.
Cleveland drafted outfielder
Chris Roller from the Dodgers system.
Roller looks like a younger (24) version of Ka'ai Tom and was the Dodgers 30th round pick in the 2017 draft from a JUCO in Waco, Texas.
The six-foot Roller has yet to play more than 88 games in a season as a pro and never above Low A either.
Roller hit .274 with seven homers with Low A Great Lakes, but the unusual number is eight triples, which indicates above-average speed, but only ten steals, which is a pretty average number.
My guess is that Roller winds up at High A Lake County as a veteran hired gun for the always outfielder hurting Indians in their system wherever he is needed.
I will take a look at the Giants in the Rule 5 draft as well as a veteran signing for the major league team either tomorrow with time or next week if not.
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