The 2014 Rule 5 Draft in Major League Baseball will be held during the week of December 7-11 at the annual Winter Meetings in San Diego. This marks the first time the Winter Meetings will be held in San Diego since 1985.

The Rule 5 Draft was developed to prevent MLB teams from stockpiling minor league prospects indefinitely in their farm system. With the Rule 5 Draft a player has an opportunity to be picked up by a team who is willing to play him in the majors. Many Dodger fans remember all too well how Roberto Clemente was taken by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1954 Rule 5 Draft. The Dodgers had unsuccessfully tried to hide Clemente away with the Montreal Royals – their top farm club at the time.

Minor league players not on a major league team’s 40-man roster are eligible for the Rule 5 Draft under the following conditions:

• They were signed when they were 19 or older and have played in professional baseball for four years.
• They were signed at 18 or younger and have played in professional baseball for five years.

It is inconceivable that the Dodgers would leave former first round draft pick Zach Lee unprotected from the upcoming Rule 5 Draft … or is it? (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

The Rule 5 Draft is far from the highlight of the annual Winter Meetings but it does have an interesting history. In a given year nothing of significance may happen during the draft but the possibility of claiming a gold nugget always exists. Some of those nuggets (besides Clemente) have included George Bell, Paul Blair, Mike Morgan, Bobby Bonilla, Jayson Werth, Jose Bautista, Johan Santana and Josh Hamilton. Perhaps now you can see just how important the Rule 5 Draft can be to a team’s future.

The gamble for major league clubs is that players taken in the Rule 5 Draft must remain with the team for the season following selection in the draft. Simply put, they own a season-long spot on the 25-man roster. The gamble is minimized as the player can be returned to the team from which they were drafted but must clear waivers before being returned.

The Dodgers in the last ten years have made three Rule 5 acquisitions:

• 2004 – Right handed pitcher D.J. Houlton was drafted from the Houston Astros
• 2009 – Right handed pitcher Carlos Monasterios was purchased from the New York Mets after they had drafted him from the Philadelphia Phillies.
• 2013 – Right handed pitcher Seth Rosin was purchased from the New York Mets also after they had drafted him from the Philadelphia Phillies.

Houlton and Monasterios both had a one-year career with the Dodgers although Monasterios did pitch 28 innings in a second year. Rosin was waived by the Dodgers, claimed by the Texas Rangers and then returned to the Phillies.

The Dodgers acquired (then) 25-year-old Seth Rosin from the Phillies (via the Mets) in the 2013 Rule 5 Draft. But in spite of having an outstanding spring training, former Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti waived Rosin. Suffice to say that the Dodgers probably could have used the hard-throwing right-hander out of their bullpen late in the 2014 season and postseason. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

The Dodgers have not been hurt, since 1954 at least, in the Rule 5 Draft. In 2007 Dodgers prospect Wesley Wright was selected by the Houston Astros in the major league portion of Rule 5 Draft. Presently with the Chicago Cubs, the left-handed Wright has been effective as a reliever for the past three years.

The Dodgers have had a number of former Rule 5 draftees on their roster over the years including Mike Morgan, Jayson Werth, Shane Victorino, Luis Gonzalez, Guillermo Mota, Jay Gibbons, Scott Podsednik and Bobby Bonilla.

In the 2013 Rule 5 Draft nine players were selected. Only three of them were retained by the drafting team for the entire 2014 season: Catcher Adrian Nieto by the Chicago White Sox, right-handed pitcher Thomas Kahnle by the Colorado Rockies and 21 year old left-handed pitcher Wei-Chung Wang by the Milwaukee Brewers. Wei-Chung Wang looks like he might be a keeper.

In preparation for the Rule 5 Draft, teams must declare their 40-man rosters by Thursday, November 20. With Monday’s acquisition of 26-year-old minor league outfielder Kyle Jensen the Dodgers presently have three open spots on their 40-man roster. I think it would be safe to say that there are three Dodger minor leaguers who absolutely must be added to the 40-man roster to protect them from being taken in the upcoming Rule 5 Draft – pitchers Zach Lee and Chris Reed and outfielder Scott Schebler. First baseman O’Koyea Dickson is eligible for the Rule 5 Draft but it is unlikely that he would remain on a major league roster at this point in his career.

Zach Lee did not have a 2014 season that met the expectations for him – especially after his very successful year with the Chattanooga Lookouts in 2013. A first-round draft selection in 2010, he struggled with the Albuquerque Isotopes in 2014. His ERA was 5.38 along with a WHIP of 1.53. He struck out 97 in 150 innings and walked 34 while surrendering 18 home runs. However, Lee would seem to still have the potential to slot into major league baseball as a number three starter. I expect there is no way the Dodgers would risk losing him through the Rule 5 Draft. At age 23 he will get the opportunity to re-establish himself at a much less hitter-friendly Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark with the AAA Oklahoma City RedHawks in 2015.

Left-hander Chris Reed, a first round draft selection in 2011, enjoyed a good season with the Southern League Chattanooga Lookouts. He posted an ERA of 3.22 while giving up only 114 hits in 137 innings. Reed struck out 116 and walked 55 but struggled after his late season promotion to the Albuquerque Isotopes, giving up 37 hits in 21 innings. The Dodgers will most likely protect Reed, who projects as a hard throwing left-handed reliever at the major league level. The only impediment to his advancement is his command. He too should benefit from a more pitcher-friendly environment in Oklahoma City in 2015.

Scott Schebler has given the Dodgers some new options in their outfield looking ahead a year or two. Without question he has played himself onto the 40-man roster. In 2014 with the Chattanooga Lookouts Schebler was first in the Southern League in games played (135), in triples (14), in home runs (28), in total bases (272), in slugging percentage (.556) and in extra base hits with 65. He ranked second in the league with an OPS of .921 and third with 82 runs. Schebler hit for the cycle on June 2 and had a three homer game on August 12. Schebler will undoubtedly be in major league camp with the Dodgers this spring and will most likely start the 2015 season with the RedHawks at Triple-A Oklahoma City. Like Lee and Reed, Schebler should get a September call up to the Dodgers in 2015; however, depending on the injury situation in Los Angeles, Schebler may well get to play at Dodger Stadium before September.

On the other side of the draft there is little to no chance that the Dodgers will select a player in the 2014 Rule 5 Draft. However, it would be exciting if the newly formed Dodgers brain trust had some inside information that led to the discovery of an elusive and hidden Rule 5 nugget.