SB Nation - Martin Maldonado

The Brewers' Rule 5 Draft Eligible Players

TheJay — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:15:08 -0000

As noted in my FanPost of Sunday night, the deadline for filing major league and minor league reserve lists is fast approaching. Eligible players not added to the major league 40-man roster by November 20 can be selected in the Rule 5 draft.

What does it take to be eligible?

If 19 or older on the June 5th before he signed his first contract, a player is eligible for the fourth Rule 5 draft after signing (usually after four years in the minors).
If 18 or younger on the June 5th before he signed his first contract, a player is eligible for the fifth Rule 5 draft after signing (usually after five years in the minors).
Any player who is eligible for one Rule 5 draft is eligible for all subsequent Rule 5 drafts.

(see ESPN Transactions Primer , Baseball America Rule 5 Draft column, MLB Rules summaries)

You may recall some Brewers being added to the 40-man roster last offseason to protect them from the Rule 5 draft. Omar Aguilar, Alexandre Periard, Mark Rogers, and Cody Scarpetta were the fantastic four. At the risk of undermining the above statements, Scarpetta actually became eligible for the draft through a little-known technicality: the Brewers voided his original contract because of an injury and later re-signed him, making him immediately eligible (link). That comes up probably once in a February blue moon.

I have attempted to make a comprehensive list of Brewers farmhands who are eligible for the Rule 5 draft. Obviously not all (or even most) of these players are realistic candidates to be selected. In addition, some of these guys may be minor league free agents. If you think I've made a mistake or missed someone, post a comment. Notable names are above the jump while you must click and scroll for the rest. Ages listed are for the 2010 season and levels listed are where the player spent the bulk of 2009:

Zach Braddock (22, LHP, A+/AA - one of the last draft-and-follow players, he did not sign until the spring of 2006 at the age of 18. This gives him one more year before becoming eligible.)
Lorenzo Cain (24, CF, AA)
Chris Cody (26, LHP, AA/AAA)
Nick Green (25, RHP, AA/AAA)
Taylor Green (23, 3B, AA - another draft-and-follow guy, brewerfan has him signing June 1, 2006. Since he did not turn 19 until November 2005, I think that puts him in the 18 and younger category and means he is not eligible until next offseason. Lorenzo Cain was in a similar situation last year.)
Dave Johnson (27, RHP, AAA)
Mike Jones (27, RHP, A+/AA/AAA - former #1 pick finally reached AAA, did not do well)
Brendan Katin (27, RF, AAA)
Mike Ramlow (24, LHP, Inj/A - yet another draft-and-follow, injured most of this season)
Amaury Rivas (24, RHP, A+)

The Brewers currently have 33 of 40 roster spots filled. I am not 100% sure of Green's exemption from the draft but the Brewers certainly have roster room if I'm wrong. We'll all find out together on Friday. Assuming Green does not need to be protected, I think only Lorenzo Cain and Amaury Rivas really need to be added to the roster. I don't think the other guys are tempting enough for any team to commit a 25-man roster spot in December. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the current talent and/or upside just aren't there.

As promised, the rest of the Rule 5 eligible farmhands.

Erick Almonte (32 in 2010, 1B, spent 2009 in AAA)
Patrick Arlis (29, C, AAA)
Mike Burns (31, RHP, AAA/MLB)
Chuck Caufield (26, LF/RF, AA)
Anderson de la Rosa (25, C, A+)
Ryan Delaughter (23, RHP, R - converted outfielder threw 5 innings in Arizona rookie ball.)
Chris Errecart (25, 1B, A+)
Jim Henderson (27, RHP, A/A+ - Canadian added veteran presence to low-minors bullpens.)
Robert Hinton (25, RHP, AA)
Mark Holliman (26, RHP, AA)
JR Hopf (27, C, AA)
Shane Justis (27, 2B, AA - was selected in minor league portion of last year's Rule 5 draft.)
Brandon Kintzler (25, RHP, AA - not sure how it works for these indy-league guys. Not sure it matters.)
Brock Kjeldgaard (24, 1B, A - converted pitcher known for power, strikeouts.)
Joe Koshansky (28, 1B, AAA)
Rafael Lluberes (25, LHP, A+)
Martin Maldonado (23, C, A+)
Michael McClendon (25, RHP, AA)
Sean McCraw (24, C, A)
Johnny Raburn (31, 2B/SS, AA/AAA)
Tike Redman (33, OF, AAA - former Pirate spent about as much time in Nashville as Jon Knott.)
Jose Romero (24, LHP, R - injury-marred career, presumably.)
Ivan Rusova (23, RHP, R - who? The Giants somehow drafted this Cuban in the in 26th round in 2005.)
Juan Sandoval (29, RHP, AA)
Adam Stern (30, OF, AA - O Canada!)
David Welch (27, LHP, AA - the lone representative from Australia.)

The following players would have been Rule 5 eligible but are already minor league free agents according to Brewerfan. A few names from the above list (i.e., Redman) probably belong down here, too:

Drew Anderson (29, LF, AA - he actually spent September 2006 in the majors.)
Chris Capuano (31, LHP, Inj/R)
Carlos Corporan (26, C, AAA - hitting only 1.000 in major league play.)
Ruben Flores (26, RHP, A - acquired for Bill Hall.)
Lindsay Gulin (33, LHP, AAA)
Ryan Houston (30, RHP, AAA)
Jon Knott (31, RF, AAA - spent about two weeks in a Nashville uniform.)
Wes Littleton (27, RHP, AA/AAA - best known for "saving" a 27-run game with the Rangers.)
Kevin Melillo (28, 1B/3B, AA)
Sam Narron (28, LHP, AAA)
Freddy Parejo (25, RF, AA)
Josh Wahpepah (25, RHP, AA)
Chase Wright (27, RHP, AAA - outrighted off 40-man roster on August 26.)

That's a lot of links about a bunch of guys no one will remember a few weeks from now. :)

Friday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:02:55 -0000

Some things to read while helping evolution along.

So with Angel Salome and Mike Rivera both missing time with injuries, the Brewers are down to three healthy catchers and will have to bring Martin Maldonado back from minor league camp. It could be a short-term problem, though, as Rivera is only expected to miss a week or so, Salome's injury is not believed to be serious and Vinny Rottino's Italian WBC team will probably be eliminated by Monday or Tuesday.

We've beaten up on the Journal Sentinel in this space a lot lately, and perhaps deservedly so, but some credit is due for Brad Nelson's profile today, which is worth a read. Everyone seems pretty happy to see Nelson succeed.

Meanwhile Lorenzo Cain, the newest Brewer outfielder in camp, learned something about bringing a shirt with your name on it to major league camp. It sounds like Mike Cameron had some fun with it. It might be stretched out now.

Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated stopped by Brewer camp this week and had some nice things to say about the team. There's not much in there you might not have known, except a note about the "Clubby Olympics."

Beyond the Box Score gave a value to each NL Central team's farm system, and the Brewers lead the way with a value of $99.7 million. BtB was also kind enough to stop by and share this pie chart showing where that value was accumulated.

Ryan Braun had a big day yesterday. Not only did he hit a home run in Team USA's win over the Phillies, he was also #4 on David Letterman's Top Ten List, and got to make a joke about the metric system.

Bernie's Crew did the math and estimates the Brewers lost about three wins this offseason. That seems fair.

If it's not the worst job in baseball, it's certainly in the top five: Imperial Parking is holding a job fair for parking attendants at Miller Park.

Around other camps:

Cardinals: Signed former Twins RP Dennys Reyes. They may also be considering signing Pedro Martinez to close.
Giants: Released Dave Roberts, but will still have to pay the last year of his contract.
Phillies: Signed Rodrigo Lopez to a minor league deal.
Rangers: Andruw Jones has struck out 10 times in 14 spring training at bats, and will lead off every inning in a B game today.
Yankees: I think something may be going on involving Alex Rodriguez.

The 2009 World Baseball Classic may be the last hurrah for Moises Alou, who is planning on retiring. A press conference will be tentatively scheduled once he's healthy enough to stand behind a podium without straining a hamstring.

If you were in the parking lot in Peoria yesterday during the fifth inning of the Giants-A's game, you might have been in for a surprise: Giants hitting coach Carney Lansford was out there, pacing while his son Jared was pitching for the A's.

This is what it might have been like if the World Baseball Classic was played in 1935: Seamheads has the story of a near international incident that occurred at an exhibition involving a Japanese All Star team in Milwaukee.

Oh, and Milwaukee needs to grunt more. Sperling's BestPlaces rated Milwaukee as America's 17th Manliest City.

Drink up.

Wednesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 15:24:23 -0000

Some things to read while breakdancing your way through an intrasquad game. (second picture)

Good morning and welcome to the first game day of 2009. Jeff Suppan gets the ball today for the Brewers, and will be followed by Dave Bush, Trevor Hoffman, Eddie Morlan, Lindsay Gulin, Nick Green, Todd Coffey and Jorge Julio for one inning each.

For most players, these first few games of spring training are light workouts, with a few innings of defense and an at bat or two. Ryan Braun, however, may play the entire game as part of his accelerated preparations for the World Baseball Classic. As Tom H. noted, Braun may need to play a lot of innings in the WBC, as Team USA only has four outfielders on the roster, and Braun is the only left fielder.

Braun still couldn't get #8, though, despite the fact that no one on Team USA's roster is wearing it. Braun is wearing #51 in the Classic.

Meanwhile, the Brewers made two announcements yesterday regarding 2008 #1 pick Brett Lawrie: He's moving to second base and representing Team Canada in the WBC.

Also, Tyler Maas of Bugs & Cranks, who normally covers the Brewers, is also covering Team Italy in the WBC. The Italian team features Vinny Rottino and Mark Difelice along with a bunch of guys who will be looking for something to do once the first round is over.

J.J. Hardy hit a solo home run yesterday as Fish's Fantastics defeated Eddie's Elite 2-1 in a 4 inning intrasquad game. Tim Dillard allowed both runs for the Elite, with Omar Aguilar giving up the only run for the Fantastics.

Braden Looper pitched a perfect inning yesterday. Fungoes, however, doesn't think hanging onto him would have helped the Cardinals this season. That's fine, the Brewers will take him. I still need to get the Looper jersey I promised I'd pick up.

It looks like I won't be needing a Bourgeois jersey, though. Jason Bourgeois was sent to minor league camp yesterday along with injured pitchers Mark Rogers and Alex Periard and catcher Martin Maldonado. Bourgeois' broken pinkie still is not healed enough to play, but he could return to big league camp when/if it does.

Having good plate discipline will get you more fastballs to hit. So will a lack of power. As such, this FanGraphs study has a graph showing Jason Kendall getting significantly more fastballs to hit than most others.

Mike Cameron is the subject of today's JS Spring Training story. They cover just how close he was to being a Yankee, and why he's glad to be back as a Brewer.

Got some money burning a hole in your pocket? Brew City Sports has taken a look at the odds and thinks the Brewers are an undervalued bet to win the World Series. Or, if you'd like a more concrete return on your investment, make plans to spend April 8 in Appleton with Gord Ash as part of the Timber Rattlers' Lead-Off Experience. Tickets are just $30, and the event has the added bonus of being in the same building where I'm having my wedding reception in June.

Speaking of the Timber Rattlers, Rattler Radio has pictures of the first stage of the installation for their new video board.

So, today is Cory Provus' big debut as a Brewer broadcaster. He guest-posted on Brian Anderson's blog to introduce himself. You can hear him today on WTMJ or MLB.com.

Based on the fact that you're here reading a blog about the Brewers and you've gotten this far, you're probably a Brewers fan. But if you're not, Sixty Feet, Six Inches has two words that should convince you to jump on the bandwagon: sausage race.

We haven't talked about him in a while, so I had completely forgotten Lou Palmisano is in camp with the Astros, and could be returned to the Brewers if he fails to make the team out of spring training. Cap'n Lou made a good first impression, though, hitting a monstrous home run in the Astros' intrasquad game yesterday. The Astros are short on catching, so it's possible Palmisano could stick.

Meanwhile, in other camps:

Indians: Joe Borowski, still a free agent and apparently unsatisfied with the offers he's received, has decided to retire.
Marlins: Continue to show interest in relievers Will Ohman and Chad Cordero.
Rays: Ownership says the team is out of spending money, and the current payroll may prevent them from making moves during the season.
Reds: Francisco Cordero is ok after being doused with hot coffee by Hall of Fame writer Hal McCoy.
Twins: Boof Bonser will have exploratory shoulder surgery today and could be out anywhere from a few weeks to all of 2009.

For more spring training news and analysis from around the Cactus and Grapefruit Leagues, be sure to check out the SBNation Spring Training Hub, which you can get to by clicking that link or clicking anywhere you see this attractive fellow:

The spring training hub is populated by all of the SBNation blogs. Right now the front page includes several of yesterday's notes from here at BCB, as well as dozens of other posts from other teams. The content will only get better as the days and weeks go by and more of us participate.

Similarly, the Washington Nationals front office will likely get better when other people participate. Rumor has it the Nationals have targeted Blue Jays assistant GM Tony LaCava to replace Jim Bowden when/if his current list of embarrassing charges leads to his resignation or dismissal.

Oh, and as times get tougher for cable networks, ESPN will likely be ok.

Drink up. The first game thread of spring opens in a few hours.

Wednesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 15:35:21 -0000

Some things to read while waiting for bread to rise.

Perhaps the biggest Brewer news today is the ending of news: The Brewers reportedly aren't actually interested in Derek Lowe or Mark Mulder. It's always possible Doug Melvin is just throwing reporters off the track in an effort to look mysterious, but it seems more likely that Boston Globe reporter Nick Cafardo, the same guy who reported the Brewers were "close" to signing Braden Looper, has led us off the trail again. As noted in the comments in Rumorville, it may be time to stop giving any value to rumors that start in the Boston Globe.

Also included in the first link, though, was the first real optimism I've seen this offseason in regards to potentially bringing back Ben Sheets. FanGraphs projects Sheets at 3.4 wins next season, and thinks someone should sign him for 2 years/$28 million with a vesting option for a third year, which is relatively close to what 67% of readers voted for over a month ago. Brewers Bar thinks Melvin should start a conversation with Sheets ASAP. On the flip side, The Grand National Championships expects a healthy return from Chris Capuano, the emergence of Todd Coffey as a closer, and sudden precipitation involving $100 bills.

Meanwhile, Melvin appears to have Trevor Hoffman on speed dial. News popped up in Rumorville yesterday that the Brewers have been talking with Hoffman about closing in Milwaukee. The Dodgers offered Hoffman a one year deal, but can't guarantee him the opportunity to close, which Milwaukee might. Tom H. thinks the Brewers could learn their fate with Hoffman as soon as today.

More fun with rankings: Tiger Tales has Hardy tied for fifth place among defensive shortstops, right around a win above average. That seems a little low.

Around the minors:

Jonathan Lucroy was one of three catchers to receive an invitation to spring training yesterday. Carlos Corporan and Martin Maldonado were both also invited.
With a few hours left in the voting, Cole Gillespie leads Cutter Dykstra by 25 votes in the race for #10 in our Community Prospect Rankings. A new poll will open at noon today.

There's only one other former Brewer on the hot stove today: The Rays are reportedly trying to scrape together the cash to sign Gabe Kapler. It seems like they already have enough outfielders, though.

Elsewhere on the hot stove:

Cardinals: May not have as much money to play with as previously reported.
D-Backs: May be interested in former National Chad Cordero.
Indians: Signed Carl Pavano to a one year deal.
Mariners: Signed Tyler Walker to a one year deal for $750,000.
Mets: Are believed to have made an offer to Tim Redding.
Nationals: Are reportedly interested in signing Randy Wolf, so he can teach their young pitchers how to win. Commence banging head on desk.
Orioles: Signed Japanese pitcher Koji Uehara.
Padres: Have expressed interest in both David Eckstein and Omar Vizquel.
Phillies: Signed Chan Ho Park and Marcus Giles to deals for 2009.
Rays: Signed Randy Choate to a minor league deal.
Reds: Reportedly will re-sign Jerry Hairston for 2009.
Yankees: Signed Angel Berroa to a minor league deal, and also signed Jason Johnson and designated Shelley Duncan for assignment.

For a lot of aging veterans (including Ray Durham), the market never really opened up this winter. As a result, a player like Garret Anderson could end up accepting a non-roster invite to spring training.

Sometimes winning a sweepstakes isn't the best possible outcome. The Transaction Oracle isn't real excited about Derrick Turnbow's 2009 chances. The whole thing is worth a read, but the money lines are, "Absent a miracle, I think I'd rather have hepatitis than Turnbow," and their prediction of a 73 ERA+.

If you thought NL hitters would see an increase in their stats when Shea Stadium was torn down, think again: It turns out Citi Field may be even more of a pitcher's park.

Apparently Reds OF Chris Dickerson is spending his offseason increasing his value...to planet Earth. Follow the link for more on what Dickerson wants the Reds to do to go green.

That's all for today. I'm off to the gym.

Drink up.