December 16, 2055
The Yellow Springs Nine Announce the following players were selected in the Rule 5 Draft:
First Round: OF Fareed bin Sa-eed, from Jacksonville Hurricanes. OSA calls him the 64th best prospect in all of the BBA, the former international signing had gotten to AA ball before getting the call in the draft. He had 24 home runs combined and 2.7 WAR for A/AA in 2055. bin Sa-eed has a career 2.5 ZR in center field and also plays the corners well. "As a fifth outfielder, he'll be perfect," said GM Rob McMonigal. "We don't need him to do more than spend time learning from the best in Duggin."
Second Round: SP Myung-joo Pak, from San Fernando Bears. Originally a GBC prospect in 2050 where he was a #11 prospect at the time of his inexplicable release, Pak was signed to a huge minor league bonus in late 2054 by San Fernando ($13,250,000). They likely tried to sneak him past Rule 5, but McMonigal snagged the #96 BBA prospect out of AAA per OSA and into the big leagues. Pak did not have an amazing 2055, 5-12 in 28 starts with a 4.29 ERA and 1.37 WHIP, but he does feature 4 pitches and a good mix on those pitches. "We were shocked to find out Pak was available," said McMonigal, "and were extremely pleased to add him. He'll be our long-man out of the pen while learning from the veterans and should be in the mix to start in 2057."
Third Round: IF Karajaja Ankola, from Jacksonville Hurricanes. The 2055 A-league All Star and platinum stick winner can play all over the infield, and batted .311 with 22 home runs and an OPS of .927. He has a career positive zone rating at each corner of the diamond, with second base being his specialty. "I admit it was a bit of a stretch to try Ankola at the bigs, but his bat is so promising and he can be a defensive replacement all over the infield."
Fourth Round: SP Ryan Bolton, from Twin Cities River Monsters. Bolton, recovering from injuries this off-season, was in A-ball before getting hurt. He has amazing stuff and good potential, going 4-1 in 10 starts. His k/9 was 11.2 and bb/9 was 2.0. "I liked his potential and felt it was worth a chance. This is probably more of a risk/reward situation. We'll see how he's doing as he rehabs and where the team is in the standings before he makes the club."
Fifth Round: Ryan Bowers, from Las Vegas Hustlers. Like Bolton, Bowers is injured, but the former #1 draft pick is further along, having played sparingly for the Hustlers in 2050, 2051, and 2052. He has a career ERA of 3.82 in AAA with a 1.26 WHIP. "Bowers, when he's ready, should be a good swing man for us," said McMonigal, who also had some general comments.
"We are very pleased to add these young men to our organization. As we saw from Corey McGuire last year. many times draftees are ready to step up and contribute significantly to the big league club immediately. We do not draft players as Spring Experiments. We expect all of the healthy players to be on the roster in April.
"Those rehabbing will be given time to do so. They may not be ready as a result and those players may have to go back to their former clubs. But I am very excited about all of them, especially the potential bin Sa-eem and Pak bring to help us now and in the future."
The Nine also lost SP Paul Cherry to the Boise Spuds, SP Dane Colchough to the New Orleans Crawdads, and RP Sebastian Seabert to the Charlotte Flyers. "We wish them the best of success with their new clubs. It's always hard to lose people in the Rule 5 Draft, but it works both ways. If you want to select anyone, you can't keep everyone," said McMonigal. "Now we look forward to working with those on the roster to make us the best team possible."
