DALLAS—In the first half of this decade, the Rule 5 draft produced star big leaguers such as Johan Santana, Dan Uggla and Jose Bautista, among others.

But the eligibility rules changed for the 2006 edition of the draft, granting teams an extra year of protection for their players. After teams got used to the new rules of the game—Joakim Soria and Josh Hamilton went off the board early in ’06—the draft has mattered less and less each year. Since ’07 the success stories have been much more modest, e.g. Darren O'Day, Joe Paterson, Everth Cabrera, and just five Rule 5 picks stuck with their drafting clubs from the 2010 proceedings, only one of them a position player, Michael Martinez of the Phillies.

(BA's recent Rule 5 archives are available here and here. One day, those links will be merged.)

The scuttlebutt about who will go in this year's draft will grow tonight after the Scout of the Year banquet, which starts at 5:30 p.m. Central time. This year's honoress: Mel Didier, Mariners international director Bob Engle and Twins player personnel director Mike Radcliff.

We'll have an update with rumors from the lobby late-night tonight. Here's a quick Rule 5 draft primer from 2008. The update would be that this year, high school players and international signees who were younger than 19 and signed in 2007 are eligible, while college players and high school and international signees (19 and older, only) who signed in 2008 are eligible.

And here's the 2011 order, with each team's 40-man roster size (as of Monday) in parentheses.

1. Astros (38)
2. Twins (38)
3. Mariners (37)
4. Orioles  (40)
5. Royals (40)
6. Cubs (34)
7. Padres (40)
8. Pirates (40)
9. Marlins (40)
10. Rockies (37)
11. Athletics (39)
12. Mets (38)
13. White Sox (36)
14. Reds (40)
15. Indians (40)
16. Nationals (37)
17. Blue Jays (40)
18. Dodgers (40)
19. Angels (38)
20. Giants (40)
21. Braves (36)
22. Cardinals (36)
23. Red Sox (38)
24. Rays (39)
25. Diamondbacks (35)
26. Tigers (40)
27. Brewers (35)
28. Rangers (37)
29. Yankees (39)
30. Phillies (39)