Where Are They Now?

Ever see a player's name pop up in the News Ticker and wonder to yourself, "What if I called him up instead of let him be taken in the Rule 5?" Well wonder no more as I've done the work for you and checked in with all 23 Rule 5 selections and graded each one with a completely indisputable grade. Selection order was not taken into account because I have no idea how reliable the list that I have is for that.

Week 8 Selections

Pick #1 (Glasgow) Nick Ahmed
Returned to Dallas
Dallas Drillers: DNP
Glasgow Unicorns: 116 PAs - .143/.224/.181 - 28 for 35 xCH

Grade: D
It's hard to grade any selection an F when they play every game for a third of the season, but it's impossible to say this was just flat out a selection that did not work out for the Unicorns in any way.

Pick #2 (Dallas) Nick Tropeano
Still in Dallas MiL
Los Muertos de Monterrey: DNP
Dallas Drillers: 17 appearances - 47.1 IP / 1.542 WHIP / 4.94 ERA

Grade: C+
This is the type of selection that screams "ok". Since being selected, he has done nothing noteworthy either good or bad. He is right on the border of rosterability, but he's pitched enough for Dallas that this is an alright selection.

Pick #3 (Wichita) Nick Ramirez
Still in Wichita
Vatican Angels: 3 appearances - 5.0 IP / 1.600 WHIP / 5.40 ERA
Wichita WonderWolves: 12 appearances - 20.7 IP / 1.210 WHIP / 4.79 ERA

Grade: B-
Did anyone realize the first three selections were all named Nick? Anyway, this Nick doesn't have a very high inning count, but has improved in every way from his days in the Angels system. Not an elite statline by any means, but serviceable enough!

Pick #4 (Sao Paulo) Rafael Devers
Still in Sao Paulo
Jakarta Jaguars: DNP
Sao Paulo Parrots: 113 PAs - .208/.239/.387

Grade: C
Rafa has seen intermittent platoon action for the Parrots as a DH. As a platoon DH, you would expect to see slightly higher numbers here but this may be a problem with the Parrots as a whole more than Rafa by himself. He's a solid player, but paying 1.33 WARa for a platoon DH should probably net more than a .626 OPS.

Pick #5 (Florida) Paul Fry
Released by Florida in week 9
Sao Paulo Parrots: DNP
Florida Flamingos: 4 appearances - 3 IP / 3.000 WHIP / 12.00 ERA

Grade: F
Remember when I said it's hard to grade any selection an F? Well Fry lasted all of two weeks before he was released and the Parrots said "nah" to even bringing him back to the minors. He hasn't been rostered since.

Pick #6 (Denver) Max Scherzer
Returned to Dallas MiL
Dallas Drillers: DNP
Denver Zephyr: 5 appearances - 27.0 IP / 1.630 WHIP / 6.00 ERA

Grade: C-
A player of Mad Max's caliber in the minors sounds insane, but for his salary cost one would expect better than a 6 ERA. The Zephyr needed starting pitching and Max has ace-like potential, but 5 starts and 18 earned runs later the Zephyr pulled the plug, sending him back to Dallas.

Pick #7 (Jakarta) Shaun Anderson
Released by Jakarta in week 17
Vatican Angels: DNP
Jakarta Jaguars: 7 appearances - 9.0 IP / 2.444 WHIP / 8.00 ERA

Grade: D-
If Anderson had been given more opportunities, he likely would've been this drafts second F graded selection, but the Jaguars held him long enough that he was just a cheap garbage man for awhile. He did have a two inning appearance with no runs allowed once, too!

Pick #8 (Milwaukee) Michael A Taylor
Still in Milwaukee
Sao Paulo Parrots: DNP
Milwaukee Bovines: 54 PAs - .244/.352/.511 - 6 for 8 xCH

Grade: B
A zero-cost player, Tater has done all that's been asked of him in the limited time he's granted off the bench for the Bovines. He's got an OPS over .850 getting a few hacks per week. The only thing holding his grade back (and probably his OPS up) is the small sample size.

Pick #9 (West Virginia) Nicholas Castellanos
Still in West Virginia
Tokyo Kaiju: 6 PAs - .600/.667/.600
West Virginia Black Bears: 54 PAs - .306/.370/.714 - 0 for 5 xCH

Grade: B
Castellanos has benefitted from the Black Bears Effect, but the Kaiju knew what they had when they sent him down with an OPS over 1.200. He's a cheap bat who can absolutely rake in the right matchup (and will probably never make a fielding check in his career). Similar to Tater, Casty's grade is only hurt by the small sample size of 54 PAs over 12 weeks.

Pick #10 (Glasnow) Lance McCullers Jr
Still in Glasnow
Sao Paulo Parrots: DNP
Glasnow Unicorns: 9 appearances - 53.0 IP / 1.509 WHIP / 4.25 ERA

Grade: A
McCullers has been the Unicorn's second best pitcher since acquiring him in the Rule 5. The complete opposite of their first pick, Lance has been a key contributor for Glasnow, posing a 3-2 record and eating innings like no other, sitting in third on their team in innings pitched, despite only being added Week 9.

Pick #11 (Yukon) Greg Allen
Still in Yukon
Denver Zephyr: DNP
Yukon Moose: 147 PAs - .243/.333/.568 - 12 for 13 xCH

Grade: A+
There is quite literally not any more you can ask for from a Rule 5 selection than an OPS over .900 with almost perfect defense in center field. He plays every day, can shuffle to the corner outfield spots if need be, and absolutely mashes, all while costing under 2 WARa. These are keeper level stats, not minor leaguer stats.

Pick #12 (Milwaukee) Eric Yardley
Returned to West Virginia
West Virginia: DNP
Milwaukee Bovines: 6 appearances - 6.2 IP / 1.200 WHIP / 4.05 ERA
West Virginia (redux): 10 appearances - 13.3 IP / 1.050 WHIP / 4.73 ERA

Grade: D
Milwaukee got solid production from Yardley, which makes their decision to release him and return him to West Virginia after only three weeks all the more baffling. Yardley stayed in the majors for the Black Bears until week 18, where he had another brief stint in the minors before being recalled last week. If Yardley stayed with the Bovines, this would have likely graded a solid B+.

Pick #13 (Dallas) Danny Duffy
Still in Dallas
Philadelphia: DNP
Dallas Drillers: 9 appearances - 46.0 IP / 1.652 WHIP / 6.652 ERA

Grade: D
They say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results. Danny Duffy is inexplicably being given a copious amount of innings by the Drillers, despite an incredibly high WHIP and ERA for a starting pitcher with that many innings. He doesn't get a failing grade though, because innings pitched are innings pitched, and a workhorse is valuable on any staff.

Pick #14 (Glasgow) Anthony Kay
Still in Glasnow
Big Sky Snow Geese: DNP
Glasgow Unicorns: 12 appearances - 33.2 IP / 1.396 WHIP / 4.55 ERA

Grade: B+
Glasgow again managed to bolster their pitching staff with a solid arm in Anthony Kay. Kay has been very solid this season, often pitching 3-4 innings in relief for the Unicorns, helping lower their league worst ERA to a level where the Ghost Zephyr may overtake them by the end of the season.

Week 15 Selections

Pick #1 (Glasgow) JP Crawford
Still in Glasgow (injured)
Sao Paulo Parrots: DNP
Glasgow Unicorns: 71 PAs - .119/.239/.169 - 28 for 33 xCH

Grade: C
This is a hard one to grade, because Crawford was originally on Glasnow before they inexplicably cut him, then reselected him back from Sao Paulo. The batting line is atrocious, but he's fast and a solid defender at the hardest position to defend, so I would say this is a very defensible selection.

Pick #2 (Florida ) Kyle Tucker
Still in Florida
Tokyo Kaiju: DNP
Florida Flamingos: 26 PAs - .167/.231/.375 - 2for 2 xCH

Grade: D
Less a reflection of his output and more a reflection of almost immediately hitting the shelf with an injury, the Tucker pick hasn't worked out like Florida thought it would, only getting 7 games out of him so far.

Pick #3 (Philadelphia) Austin Hays
Still in Philadelphia (injured)
Wichita WonderWolves: DNP
Philadephia Birds of War: 39 PAs - .206/.256/.235 - 3 for 3 xCH

Grade: D
Less a reflection of his output and more a reflection of almost immediately hitting the shelf with an injury, the Hays pick hasn't worked out like Philly thought it would, only getting 9 games out of him so far.

Pick #4 (Las Vegas) Josh Reddick
Released by Las Vegas
Dallas Drillers: 14 PAs - .083/.214/.167
Las Vegas Bandits: 20 PAs - .250/.250/.350

Grade: D
Mostly a reflection of his output and not a reflection of almost immediately hitting the shelf with an injury, the Reddick pick didn't work out like Las Vegas thought it would, dropping him after only 5 games played.

Pick #5 (Yukon) Steven Souza Jr
Still in Yukon
Florida Flamingos: 16 PAs - .313/.313/.750
Philadelphia Birds of War: DNP
Yukon Moose: 12 PAs - .111/.333/.111

Grade: D
The Meese selected Souza, expecting at least part of the small sample production received by the Flamingos before being cut and signed by Philly, but instead have received next to nothing from Souza. He is a zero-cost bench player though, so he avoids the dreaded F grade.

Pick #6 (Denver) Tommy Hunter
Still in Denver
Las Vegas Bandits: 5 appearances - 5.2 IP / 2.294 WHIP / 12.71 ERA
Denver Zephyr: 10 appearances - 12.0 IP / 0.833 WHIP / 2.25 ERA

Grade: A
What a turnaround this change of scenery has done Tommy Hunter. By far the best selection in the Week 15 Rule 5, Hunter has done everything he can to prevent the Zephyr's inevitable overtaking of the Season 4 ERA booby prize.

Pick #7 (Milwaukee) Caleb Ferguson
Still in Milwaukee
Milwaukee Bovines: 8 appearances - 9.3 IP / 1.821 WHIP / 6.75 ERA

Grade: ?
You may notice that Ferguson only has a statline for Milwaukee. His journey this season has been peculiar at best. He started the season in the minors for Philadelphia before he was released and signed by the Bovines, who shuttled him repeatedly for weeks before releasing him in week 13. He was then picked up by the Zephyr minor league system in week 14, just in time to be selected in the Rule 5 draft by the same Bovines who had been shuttling him. I have no clue what to make of this, but the stats aren't great.

Pick #8 (Tokyo) Alex Gordon
Still in Tokyo
Dallas Drillers: 20 PAs - .059/.200/.059 - 0 for 1 xCH
Tokyo Kaiju: 60 PAs - .115/.200/.135 - 6 for 6 xCH

Grade: C-
Tokyo was bottom 5 in fielding and selected Gordon with an attempt to shore up the outfield. He has definitely done that, going 6 for 6 in left with his cannon inevitably slowing runners who may have attempted taking an extra base. But is an OPS of .335 worth it?

Pick #9 (Philadelphia) Ty France
Still in Philadelphia
Tokyo Kaiju: DNP
Philadelphia Birds of War: 86 PAs - .221/.291/.286 - 17 for 26 xCH

Grade: C
A surprise second selection from the Birds of War saw Ty France being given playing opportunities that Tokyo would not offer. He's been an average fielder at second, but a below average bat in the lineup. He was definitely deserving of the chance, I'm just not sure if he's earned keeping it.

Overall Takes

This was the first year of the Rule 5 draft, and we've seen all sorts of picks come from it. Some good, most not so good, especially in the second Rule 5 of the season.

3x Grade A: Lance McCullers Jr, Greg Allen, Tommy Hunter

4x Grade B: Nick Ramirez, Michael A Taylor, Nicholas Castellanos, Anthony Kay

6x Grade C: Nick Tropeano, Rafael Devers, Max Scherzer, JP Crawford, Alex Gordon, Ty France

8x Grade D: Nick Ahmed, Shaun Anderson, Eric Yardley, Danny Duffy, Kyle Tucker, Austin Hays, Josh Reddick, Steven Souza Jr

1x Grade F: Paul Fry