Rule 5 Draft

[Frayed Knot]

Mets lose catcher Jesus Flores to the Nationals.
Known as a catch-and-throw guy with a questionable bat even in the minors means it's tough to see him sticking all year with the big club, although one scout said; "have you seen [the rest of] the Nationals roster?"
The Mets did not select anyone.


The entire draft:
First Round
Team: Player, Pos., Previous Org.
1. Devil Rays: Ryan Goleski, of, Indians (to be traded to Oakland)
2. Royals: Joakim Soria, rhp, Padres
3. Cubs: Josh Hamilton, of, Devil Rays
4. Pirates: Sean White, rhp, Pirates
5. Orioles: Alfredo Simon, rhp, Rangers
6. Nationals: Jesus Flores, c, Mets
7. Brewers: Edward Campusano, lhp, Cubs
15. Reds: Jared Burton, rhp, Athletics
17. Astros: Lincoln Holdzcom, rhp, Cubs
19. Phillies: Adam Donachie, c, Royals
20. Red Sox: Nick DeBarr, rhp, Devil Rays
21. Blue Jays: Jason Smith, ss, Cubs
23. Padres: Kevin Cameron, rhp, Twins
26. Athletics: Jay Marshall, lhp, White Sox
28. Twins: Alejandro Machado, if, Nationals
30. Yankees: Josh Phelps, 1b/dh, Orioles

Second Round:

1. Nationals: Levale Speigner, rhp, Twins
2. Phillies: Jim Ed Warden, rhp, Indians

Third Round:

1. Phillies: Ryan Budde, c, Angels



The most intruiging pick of them all is the Cubs with Josh Hamilton. He's the former #1 overall draft pick (passed up Josh Beckett) and #1 overall BA prospect a year or so later whose career has fizzled over amid an avalanche of personal & drug problems. He's barely played at all over the last 4 seasons.
I can't imagine him sticking w/the big club all year but maybe the Cubs are banking on the DRays not wanting him back so they can store him in their minor league system and hope the change of scenery straightens him out.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I'm going to disagree. Flores had a heck of a comeback year with the bet this season. I think he's a real loss.

[seawolf17]

Edgy DC wrote: I'm going to disagree. Flores had a heck of a comeback year with the bet this season. I think he's a real loss.

Sounds like a Pete Rose type of problem.

[Guest Edgy DC]

His bat came back also.

Really, I was looking at him stepping in to start at the end of Lo Duca's contract.

[Frayed Knot]

Minor League (AAA) Phase:

* Mets lose RHP Moises Robles to the Pirates

* Mets select LHP Ricardo Morales from the Nationals

[Guest Edgy DC]

Hamilton goes to Cincinnati for cash.

[metirish]

scout.com on Flores....

] Flores is a complete catching prospect. He can hit for average, hit for good power, and plays the catcher's position defensively as well as most, but the problem now is he'll need to do that at the big league level. He projects to be a Ramon Hernandez type of catcher someday, the question now however is, can he do it next year with the Washington Nationals? He's got some serious upside to him and he's definitely an interesting risk for the Nationals. Flores is cocky enough to possibly stick in the big leagues. In some ways, he compares to the Marlins' Hanley Ramirez [mentally] in that he might flourish in the Majors because of the mere challenge. Ramirez seemed uninterested in the minor leagues and didn't give it his all until the big leagues and it's not out of the question that the same thing could happen for Flores. Flores certainly has big league talent. ... The jump from high-A to Double-A is huge, let alone a leap from the Florida State League to the big leagues. The chances are better than average he won't be ready for the big leagues in 2007 and the Mets could see him back in the organization sometime next season.

[Guest Edgy DC]

That would be great, but I imagine he has enough pure jazz to just fake it one day in five and hit .220.

If the Nationals get out of the blocks slowly, he'd have to hit .140 for them to give up on him.

[metirish]

If I'm to believe scout.com then I want him back....

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

If you were to believe scout.com, Michael Abreu would have been selected in the draft. Turned out he wasn't eligible.

Anyway, good day for The Jesus. He'll be up against it to stick all year but if its true his glove's already there, he prolly can't kill the Nats

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

Hopefully he'll enjoy a little coffee in Washington and be back in the Mets organization by June.

Anyone know how often, percentage wise, these Rule 5 players make it through the season on the big league roster. I know it used to be pretty rare, but I think it's happened a few times recently.

[nymr83]

Besides Hamilton, who was already mentioned, Josh Phelps was once very highly touted.

[MFS62]

He was the best all-around catching prospect the Mets have had since Todd Hundley. I had felt his upside was higher than a Benji Molina. I guess the comparison to Roberto Hernandez in the blurb is more like what I was thinking of. He is an excellent defensive catcher with good power.
This really pisses me off.

Later

[Frayed Knot]

Yancy Street Gang wrote: Anyone know how often, percentage wise, these Rule 5 players make it through the season on the big league roster. I know it used to be pretty rare, but I think it's happened a few times recently.

It's still real low - and likely to get even lower as the number of players eligible has been diminished by jacking up the protection time - but I don't have specific numbers.
Even trying to dig into it would present some problems since not all the players who don't stick get returned back to the original club. Some get traded, some get offered back but not accepted, and often the two clubs work out side arrangements where the claiming team gets to send him down and still keep him in exchange for something else.

In this case I think the Mets would grab him back if the opportunity presents itself. He's almost certain to be over his head in the majors this year but backup catcher (like situational LHP) may be the best position to hide someone like him.

Johan Santana remains the holy grail of Rule 5 draftees. The Twins offered a minor league player in exchange for convincing someone with a high draft spot (Marlins?) to draft him off the Astros roster then send him along to Minnesota where he toiled in a spot role for a while before (about 4 years later) getting onto the road where he is now. Brilliant move, as it turns out, by the same GM who decided that David Ortiz was useless.
Youneverknow

[Guest Edgy DC]

It appears the Reds had a deal with the Cubs going in to draft Hamilton and then move him to Cincy.

[Frayed Knot]

Which would be odd since it means that Cincy was afraid of someone else grabbing this guy who's played in only 15 games since 2002 before their mid-round draft position. That Hamilton was chosen at all seems to have surprised those covering this event.
But, yeah, those kind of trades - both before and after picks are made - are arranged all the time.

[MFS62]

Frayed Knot wrote: Minor League (AAA) Phase: * Mets select LHP Ricardo Morales from the Nationals

I forget where I heard/ saw it, but one writer guessed that the Mets might swap him back to the Nats in order to get Flores back.
Teams have done such things in the past after the Rule V.
I hope that's what happens.

BTW- in an earlier version of what is now called the Rule V Draft, the Pirates selected Roberto Clemente from Brooklyn. IMO it'll be a tossup over who is/will be better over their career, Clemente or Santana.

Later

[Guest Edgy DC]

The Mets have other catching talent, but it's all years and years away. Their best catching prospect is now 16!

I think we should buy back Jesus now. And really, we need to acquire some AAAA type to ride the shuttle next year. No more of this broken down veteran nonsense if Castro gets hurt. If Lo Duca gets hurt, it's be like pre-Piazza 1998 all over again.

[HahnSolo]

Hamilton came back briefly to my local team, the Hudson Valley Renegades, this past summer. Impossible to say where he is in his life now, but he was extremely humbled and grateful to be given another chance.
I wish him luck in his recovery and hope he makes something out of his career.