Tater Talk (2048.01): The Rule 5 Draft Class of 2047

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Tater Talk (2048.01): The Rule 5 Draft Class of 2047

Post by woods » Sun Aug 22, 2021 11:02 am

Image Every year around Christmas, the Rule 5 draft brings the same excitement and anguish that one could expect from an event so synonymous with the winter holiday. This year, 48 players were selected in the draft, with Boise on the receiving end of 4 selections, and the losing end of 4 others. And although the Spuds will surely feel the loss of the players they gave up, there is a great deal of excitement about the ones they gained, who could all contribute for the major league team this year.

Here’s a quick rundown of all the moves that involved the Spuds in the Rule 5 draft. You can be the judge as to whether this is a true “Merry Christmas” for Boise.

1st round (4th overall pick) - Spuds select Félix López (RP) from Nashville

A power reliever with a vicious fastball/slider combination, the 23-year-old native of Mexico has spent the last two seasons in Triple-A with the Orlando Oranges, serving as their primary setup man last year. His 4.67 ERA last season was a bit high, but the Spuds noticed an impressive upswing in his velocity in the second half, and an increase in strikeouts along with it. He was especially effective against right-handed hitters, striking out 11.0 per nine innings. Boise targeted him so early in the draft because they clearly believe his stuff will play in the major leagues.

1st round (8th overall pick) - Charm City selects Fawwaz Amin (1B/OF) from Boise

The 21-year-old Amin is a skilled hitter with great gap power, mashing 31 doubles last year as a member of the Double-A Weymouth Irish. The Spuds were hoping they could sneak him into Triple-A as a non-40-man guy this season to let him develop a bit more, but the league caught on, and Charm City jumped on the opportunity to nab him.

Why Boise didn’t protect him: Though his gap power is impressive, his bat doesn’t connect as often as the Spuds would like (he hit .220 last year with 151 strikeouts), and his fielding in the outfield is so bad that he’s probably looking at a career as a DH. The Spuds will gladly move on from Amin, with several good DH options in their high minor leagues. (unless Charm City chooses to release him, in which case, hey Fawwaz, we didn’t mean any of that bad stuff we said, we want you back — promise!)

2nd round (22nd overall pick) - Spuds select Pedro Martínez (RP) from Sacramento

The 22-year-old Martínez was on a fast track to The Show before he hurt his elbow and had to sit out most of last season. He hasn’t pitched in a game since June, but the Spuds still liked what they saw from the young sidearmer: a fastball that touches 98, a low walk rate, and a sinker that is developing well into a strong secondary pitch. He’s a strong candidate to crack Boise’s bullpen — although since both Martínez and López are power righties, the team might elect to only keep one of the two.

2nd round (26th overall pick) - Montreal selects Anthony Annear (RP) from Boise

The 22-year-old Australian lefty pitched in relief for Weymouth last year, though with three plus pitches, he could easily be a starter. He’s skilled at inducing ground balls, with 65% of his batted ball outs coming on the ground last year. He has excellent control, and can get outs from both sides of the plate.

Why Boise didn’t protect him: The Spuds see Annear as still about a year away from contributing in the major leagues. Thankfully, Montreal already has a litany of quality lefty arms in their bullpen, so unless they see something in him that Boise doesn’t, the likely scenario is that he’ll be returned before the season begins.

3rd round (33rd overall pick) - Spuds select Manuel Hernández (2B) from Calgary

Hernández is a bit more senior than the other guys on this list. He’s 27, and has clearly graduated beyond Triple-A pitching, having hit .319/.375/.524 last season for the St. Paul Riverhawks. Hernández can do a little bit of everything: hit, hit for power (15 HR last year), steal bases (17 SB), and field his position well (+3.1 ZR at 2B). Last year, all that added up to leading the Granville League with 5.3 WAR. The Spuds were surprised that he was not protected in advance of the draft, but it’s possible he was blocked at his position by Scott Bell on Calgary’s big league club. The Spuds have José Rodríguez entrenched at second base, but they’ll take a good look at Hernández, who as a lefty could easily be part of a platoon.

3rd round (38th overall pick) - Omaha selects Jeremy Donahue (SP) from Boise

What’s more shocking than the fact that Spuds’ GM Woody Donahue didn’t protect his namesake in the draft is the fact that it took until the end of the third round for a team to claim him. The 22-year-old Donahue is a three-pitch starting pitcher with a ton of potential, who originally came over in last year's trade that sent Eugenio Asseldonk to Las Vegas. His fastball touches 101, and his curveball is among the best in the game. There’s no doubt that he could contribute in the bigs right now, but Boise was playing it slow with his development and planning on giving him another year in Triple-A. There should be a spot for him on any big-league staff, but Boise can at least be hopeful that Omaha drafted four pitchers in the Rule 5, and certainly won’t have room to keep them all.

Why Boise didn’t protect him: Boise had held Donahue back a bit, keeping him in Double-A last season in the hopes of developing his changeup a bit more. It would’ve been another year or so until he cracked Boise’s big league team, and they didn’t want to use the 40-man spot for someone still that far from the big leagues. Let’s hope their decision doesn’t come back to haunt them.

4th round (40th overall pick) - Spuds select Sergio Valentín (3B) from Calgary

Another older player snatched up by Boise, the 26-year-old Valentín is actually a five-year BBA veteran, having played for Rockville through the 2046 season, before being released by them and signing with Calgary on a minor-league deal. He played very well in Double-A last season, blasting 25 home runs and showing that his bat can still play. He’s an above-average third baseman, but his 6’5” frame might serve him better at first base, where the Spuds may elect to try him as part of a platoon with Pepe Madrid.

4th round (43rd overall pick) - New Orleans selects Ethan Aitcheson (RP) from Boise

Aitcheson is a two-pitch reliever who has spent the last two seasons with Triple-A Salt Lake, but never got the call up to Boise. Though he can touch 100 on the radar gun, his development seems to have plateaued, and there was no guarantee he would’ve even made the Triple-A team again following a very lackluster 2047.

Why Boise didn’t protect him: Maybe New Orleans sees something different, but Boise definitely doesn’t see Aitcheson as having big league potential. Our hypothesis is he was drafted because he appears at the top of the draft list when sorted alphabetically.

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The Spuds will go into 2048 with a lot of pieces in flux, which should be expected of a team coming off a 95-loss season. But the roster picture should be a bit more clear now. The new power arms should provide a much-needed boost to the bullpen, and the two infielders could be the beginning of a pretty decent bench. We’ll look forward to following their progress through Spring Training, and maybe we’ll see them all in Boise uniforms on Opening Day.
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Re: Tater Talk (2048.01): The Rule 5 Draft Class of 2047

Post by JimBob2232 » Sun Aug 22, 2021 11:42 am

You may get Aitcheson back. I'm casting a wide net on my pitching staff hoping to catch gold with a few guys...we'll see if he makes the final roster.

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Re: Tater Talk (2048.01): The Rule 5 Draft Class of 2047

Post by RonCo » Sun Aug 22, 2021 7:19 pm

Good run down of an active day.
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Re: Tater Talk (2048.01): The Rule 5 Draft Class of 2047

Post by shoeless.db » Mon Aug 23, 2021 2:43 pm

It was a tough decision to leave Martinez off my 40-man as I've followed his development closely. In the end, my organizational depth in relief pitching, especially from the right side, left Martinez open for stealing (you thief). I wish him the best of luck now that he's out of the Frick.
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