BaseballAmerica.com: Prospects: Rule 5 Preview: Devil Rays Looking To Sell First Pick

LLAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla.--As the hours wound down before the Rule 5 draft, several clubs that had early picks were considering selling them or passing altogether.

That didn't mean teams didn't have interest in the top of the draft, however. More than four teams had contacted the Devil Rays in hopes of buying the No. 1 pick overall, and Tampa Bay reportedly was asking for upwards of $100,000 for their slot. One scouting source had confirmed that the Athletics, who are at 38 on their 40-man roster, paid the Rays $100,000 for the rights to the pick.

The Rays’ 40-man roster is full, as is Kansas City’s, who picks second. The Cubs have the third pick, and both the Royals' and Cubs' rosters are at the limit.

Clubs picking in the middle of the pack or below are very interested to move up, but it is uncertain how much they’re willing to pay in what is deemed to be a rather thin crop of talent available this season, due to the extra year of protection that the new Collective Bargaining Agreement imposed.

But there are a few intriguing power arms out there, most notably Rockies righthander Pedro Strop--who worked consistently in the mid-90s with his fastball in the Rookie-level Pioneer League last season. Strop is a converted middle infielder who ranked 17th in BA's ranking of Pioneer League prospects.

“He can run it up to 95, 96 with good life,” a scouting director from an American League club said. “The breaking ball has depth and spin, but he’s inconsistent with it. Still, repeating his mechanics properly and being able to locate his breaking ball consistently are all workable things. He could have some value out of the pen, but there has to be a patience factor involved. He’s not very far along, obviously, but in the right situation it could work.”

The name with the biggest buzz attached to it the night before the draft was Padres righthander Joakim Soria, a 22-year-old who spent most of the 2006 regular season pitching for the Mexico City Red Devils, with a 12-game stint in the low Class A Midwest League thrown in. Soria also has outstanding life on his fastball, which sits in the low 90s and tops out at 95. He also throws an above-average changeup, but his breaking ball remains a question.

“I know last year it was a problem--he couldn’t locate it at all,” a scouting director from a National League club said. “But it’s gotten tighter and the reports this winter have been very good and he’s shown good velocity. He’s the flavor of the week in a lot of ways just based on what he’s doing now.”

What Soria is doing now certainly is impressive. The 6-foot-2, 170-pounder is 8-0, 2.02 with a 64-19 strikeout-walk ratio in 62 innings for Obregon in the Mexican Pacific League. Those numbers have him leading the league in the pitching triple-crown categories. During the regular season, Soria went 1-0, 2.31 in just 12 innings at low Class A Fort Wayne after coming over from the Mexican League.

Other names garnering interest (aside from our Rule 5 preview we rolled out on Monday) were Indians outfielder Ryan Goleski, a slugger with a right-field arm; Cubs righthander Lincoln Holdzkom, a hard thrower with an inconsistent track record of throwing strikes; Tigers utilityman Ryan Raburn, who has power and can play second base or left field; Marlins righthander Nic Ungs, a veteran strikethrower; Astros righthander Chance Douglass, a sinker-slider guy; and White Sox lefthander Jay Marshall, who found success with a lower arm angle this year and profiles as a left-on-left specialist reliever.

The draft starts at 9 a.m. ET, and BaseballAmerica.com will have plenty of coverage during and after the draft, both of the major league phase and of the two minor league phases that follow.

For a full explanation of the rules of the Rule 5, we present Alan Schwarz' seminal work on the Rule 5 from 1995. The story has been amended to reflect the changes made to the Rule 5 in the newest Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Rule 5 Basics

You've seen it written and referred to a zillion ways: the Rule 5 draft, the minor league draft, the rule V drafts, that draft at the Winter Meetings that's a little too complicated so I'll wait to see if it matters later . . .

It's actually not that involved, so as a public service we now present to you an observer's guide to what Baseball America typically refers to as the major league Rule 5 draft.

The process doesn't shake baseball's rafters, but it does add a wrinkle to the player-development game that's worth understanding. Every once in a while, a player makes a significant impact after being chosen, Pittsburgh's Roberto Clemente in 1954 being the classic example.

The Rule 5 draft has been a staple of the Winter Meetings almost from its beginning and sprung up as a method to prevent teams from stockpiling talent in their minor league systems. Players not on major league rosters would otherwise have little or no chance to find an opportunity to play elsewhere, though that restriction was further eased in the 1980s when minor leaguers got the right to become free agents after six full seasons.

Major league teams must protect players on their 40-man rosters within three or four years of their original signing. Those left unprotected are available to other teams as Rule 5 picks.

Players who were 18 or younger on June 5 preceding the signing of their first contract must be protected after five minor league seasons. Players 19 and older must be protected after four seasons.

But here's the kicker: To prevent teams from drafting players willy-nilly, each Rule 5 pick must be kept in the major leagues the entire following season or be offered back to his former team for half of the $50,000 selection price. Few players are ready for such a jump, so only about 10-15 get picked each year. Fewer still last the whole season in the big leagues.

"They have to keep a guy for the whole year, so a lot of teams are safe," says Paul Snyder, the Braves' director of scouting and player development. "But there have been kids drafted out of A-ball.

"(In 1984) Toronto got two guys (Lou Thornton and Manny Lee) who could pinch-run and play defense. They're easier to carry in the American League because there aren't as many pitching changes."

Other miscellaneous Rule 5 rules and tidbits:

The "Rule 5" moniker comes from its place in the Professional Baseball Agreement. The June draft, for instance, is Rule 4.
Teams must file their 40-man rosters by Nov. 20, and only those not at the full allotment of 40 may select players.
Teams select in reverse order of that season's finish. The Devil Rays draft first, followed by the Royals and Cubs.
There are Triple-A and Double-A segments of the Rule 5 draft, with price tags of $12,000 and $4,000 respectively. Minor league players not protected on the reserve lists at the Double-A and Class A levels are subject to selection, but almost no future big leaguers emerge from this process. It's basically a tool for major league teams to fill out affiliates rather than obtain talent.
In 1988, the Braves drafted a player from themselves. They neglected to protect righthander Ben Rivera on the 40-man roster, had the first pick in the draft and took him.