Major League Baseball’s annual Rule 5 Draft will take place on Thursday morning, beginning what should be a busy final day at the GM meetings in Nashville, Tenn. The draft has three phases: MLB, Triple-A and Double-A, though the MLB phase is the only one that requires the selected player to be purchased and placed on the 25-man roster.
Once added to the active roster, the player is required to remain there for the entire season. As a result, few players are selected each year due to the significant risk involved and lack of impact talent made available. If the team opts to remove a Rule 5 draft-pick from the active roster before the end of the season, then they must first clear waivers before they’re sent back to previous organization.
As part of Prospect Pipeline’s Rule 5 Draft coverage, I’ve put together a list of a majority of the top prospects eligible for selection on Thursday. I’ve also offered several potential fits for each player in relation to the needs of each organization, both at the minor- and major-league levels.