The Dodgers added 4 players to their 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 draft, a draft that was put in place to give prospects their best chance to make the Major Leagues. In today’s article, we are going to discuss the prospects that were left off that might get picked up in the Rule 5 Draft.

Click to watch Podcast on Rule 5 Draft

First of all, let’s cover just exactly what the Rule 5 Draft is.

The Rule 5 Draft was put in place to keep teams from hoarding draft picks to keep them away from other organizations. 

From MLB.com

Players signed at age 18 or younger need to be added to their club’s 40-Man roster within five seasons or they become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft. Players who signed at age 19 or older need to be protected within four seasons.

So, every player that signed when they were 19 or older, has been in the Minor Leagues for at least 4 years, and is not on the Dodger’s 40-man roster as of today will be eligible for the Rule 5 Draft. Players that were signed when they were 18 or younger have to have been in professional baseball for at least five years.

Every player that fits one of these categories is eligible to be drafted in the Rule 5 Draft.

When a club drafts a player in the Rule 5 Draft, they have to pay the club they drafted the prospect from $100,000 and put the player on their active 26-man roster. Not only do they have to put these players on their 26-man roster, but they have to keep those players on that roster unless they are outrighted to the Minor Leagues, which then places them on waivers. 

Clubs don’t have to draft players in the Rule 5 Draft, and with a $100,000 price tag, typically, the only players that are taken are those that are viewed as being ready to contribute at the MLB level and instantly. 

The Dodgers have several prospects that are eligible for the Rule 5 draft, so let’s get started talking about all of them.

OKC Roster

If I was another club, the first player I would draft from the Dodgers would be Ryan Noda. Noda is big and powerful and has shown the ability to hit for power, get on base and also steal bases. In fact, he led AA in home runs and walks in 2021, then had 20 stolen bases this past season with AAA OKC. Noda can play both the infield and the outfield and is very athletic. In fact, he was the point guard on his High School basketball teams, and if you ask those that watched him play, they all are taken aback by how athletic he is.

Noda came to the Dodgers last year with Kendall Williams in the Ross Stripling trade and hit a home run in his first at-bat. He also plays with a ton of energy and loves playing the game of baseball.

I do think Noda will be taken, and I think he will be an everyday MLB contributor for whoever picks him up. It will be a loss for the Dodgers, and, if you can’t tell, will sting Dodgers Daily quite a bit. For more on Noda, click the picture and read all about Noda.

Drew Avans is the best baseball player that you probably have never heard of. Avans is 26, which is why he doesn’t show up on top prospects lists, but, trust me, he’s one of the best players in the Dodgers Minor League system.

Avans is a fiery, talented outfielder that is just simply a helluva baseball player. 

He hit .282 with AAA OKC this past season, stole 40 bases, had an on-base % of .379, and had the longest on-base streak in AAA this past season. In fact, his on-base streak reached 50 games and was the longest streak in the last 3 years in the PCL. 

Avans is also a very good defender and covers a lot of ground. As you can imagine, anyone who steals 40 bases has speed and very good instincts, and those traits translate both offensively and defensively in Avan’s game. 

I am convinced that Avans will be an everyday center fielder for a Major League club, for the previously stated reasons, plus, he does so many little things to help a team win. He bunts for base hits, runs the bases like a throwback to the 80s, and puts a ton of pressure on defenses.

He has a Lenny Dykstra-type feel to him.

Avans is the exact type of player the Rule 5 draft was created for. He is an MLB-caliber player, but he’s in an organization with an insane amount of depth that has blocked him to this point. The Rule 5 Draft was created to move these types of guys to teams that need them which gives them a much better chance to make the MLB, and at a faster date.

Mark Washington is a 6-7 hard-throwing relief pitcher out of Lehigh. At 26, he is entering his prime and has spent large parts of the last 2 seasons as one of, if not the best reliever in the Minor Leagues. 

For example, in 2022, Washington started in AA Tulsa and did so by posting scoreless outings in 10 of his first 11 performances and 20 of his first 22. That was on the heels of finishing 2021 with 12 scoreless outings out of his last 14, so he has the ability to go long stretches where he is totally dominant. 

Washington is another prospect that I think the Dodgers are going to lose because, again, I think he is ready to contribute at the MLB level immediately. I think several teams will find value in what he brings and will be willing to pay the $100,000 to get him and put him on their 26-man roster, then use him next year in 2023. 

Nick Robertson is another big-framed power arm in the Dodgers system that comes out of the pen. Robertson is 24 and has an arm that has been very well taken care of, so he has a lot of years left to pitch. He features 3 pitches, a 4-seam, slider, and changeup, and has a very smooth throwing motion. 

Robertson started 2022 in AA and got promoted to AAA OKC at the beginning of September and pitched very, very well with OKC. He posted an ERA of just 2.31 during his time in AAA in 2022, an average against of just .222, a WHIP of just 1.11, and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 5 to 1. 

Robertson is going to be interesting because I think he could go either way. He just got to AAA at the end of this past season and has thrown just 11.2 AAA innings. It would be a fairly large leap of faith for a club to put someone with just 11.2 AAA innings on their roster in advance of them being in the MLB for the 2023 season. That’s the case to make to say that the Dodgers will hold on to him. 

But, I think there is a good case to make for a club to draft him as well. 

Robertson is not young, but he’s not old either, and so he is still very projectable. He is still in the process of getting better, so I don’t think it’s a stretch, by any means, to think he could be an MLB contributor in 2023. His arm has also been meticulously cared for starting with his High School Coach and spanning through his time with the Dodgers. So, in my opinion, he has several, several years left to peak and stay at his peak level.

Aaron Ochsenbein is a 26-year-old out of Eastern Kentucky that features a split-finger fastball. He pairs that with a slider and a 4-seam, and when he’s healthy, he’s very effective. 

Ochsenbein started the year in AA Tulsa going scoreless in 18 of his first 19 outings before being promoted to AAA OKC in the middle of June. Ochsenbein fought injury once he got to OKC and, quite honestly, struggled to adjust to that level. That is not atypical though, and, in fact, it happens to more prospects than you might think. Guys like Walker Buehler, Julio Urias, and Ryan Pepiot all struggled to adjust to AAA, so the decision on Ochsenbein should be made more on projection and stuff than his performance in AAA. 

Ochsenbein is another that is going to be interesting to follow because of his split-finger pitch which is MLB quality. Keep in mind, not every team is favored to win the World Series like the Dodgers are every year, so mindsets are different. While the Dodgers need players that are ready now, other clubs can stand to take time to develop guys like Ochsenbein in the MLB for a year or two.

Marshall Kasowski might have been the best-kept secret in all of AAA last year. Kasowski posted an ERA of just 2.86 and was dominant during the months of May, June, and July. In May his ERA was just 0.75, in June it was just 1.80 and in July it was 1.93.  August and September went sideways on him and his key is keeping the ball in the zone.

When he’s not walking people he’s good.

Kasowski is already 27 and has been in professional baseball since 2017, so he would need to be plug-and-play for an organization to drop $100,000 to acquire him and reserve a spot on their 26-man. Because of that, he is a long shot, but at 6’3 217 you never know.  There may be a club out there that feels like he can fix his control issues and become an MLB-caliber arm sooner rather than later. 

Justin Hagenman is a 26-year-old out of Penn State that was moved to AAA OKC this year after just 4 appearances with AA Tulsa. He’s another one you might not have heard of but did a good job this past season posting a 3.80 ERA. 3.80 is kind of neutral, but when you consider how hitter-friendly the PCL is, it’s actually pretty good. 

Hagenman also has some knees and elbows in his motion and delivery and is a sinker/slider pitcher, so he’s constantly moving the ball away from barrels, and hitting off of him is not the most comfortable thing in the world.

The Dodgers are so loaded with Right-handed arms, both starting and relieving, that finding consistent mound time for L.A. will be tough for the former Nittany Lion. But, again, that’s why the Rule 5 Draft was created.

If another club with substantially less depth picked him up, he is advanced enough with his experience that throwing him into the MLB fire wouldn’t be too big of a moment for him. So, although he is probably a long shot to get picked up, it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if a team that is building for the future took a $100,000 chance on him.

Hunter Feduccia is a long-rangy left-handed hitting-catching prospect out of LSU. Feduccia is 25 and hit .238 with an OPS of  .797. He got moved from AA Tulsa to AAA OKC in July. 

Although his raw numbers would suggest that he is a long shot to be Rule 5’d, keep in mind that the catching position is an extremely difficult position to have quality depth, so his size combined with his defensive skills and the fact that he hits left-handed may give him a look.

Devin Mann is a very talented infielder out of Louisville who has played just about every position on the field. As a matter of fact, during his time in Tulsa, he played every position except pitcher and catcher, so he is very versatile. 

Although Mann does have a lot of versatility, he feels the most at home at 2nd base. That’s where he played in College on College World Series teams, and, as long and lanky as he is, 2nd base makes him a very promising prospect. 

If I was a club that was building for the future and didn’t have the pressure to win next year, like the Dodgers, I would not hesitate to draft Mann in the Rule 5 Draft and put him at 2nd base every day and see what he can do. That’s because he is very toolsy, has great power, and is solid at everything he does.

In the 2nd to the last series of 2021 he had multiple home run games in 3 games in a row, and at one point hit 6 home runs in 10 at-bats, so when he gets hot he does damage.

Mann is another guy that really exemplifies the need for the Rule 5 Draft because he is currently in an organization that is loaded with infield talent, and then also needs to win now, so finding MLB playing time for guys like Mann gets tricky. But, put him on a team that is building and he could have MLB value.

Tulsa Roster

The most vulnerable player on the Driller’s roster is probably Ryan Ward. Ward is a big-time left-handed hitter that is getting better and better defensively. He squarely falls under the “you can’t protect everyone” category, because, barring injury, he is going to be an everyday MLB starter. 

He is that good!

Ward is the only hitter to hit .400 for an entire season at Bryant, then hit .382 in his last year before being drafted by the Dodgers in the 8th Round of the 2019 Draft. 

I have seen Ward play many, many times, and in person, and I can say, without hesitation, clubs would be absolutely crazy not to pick this guy up and put him in left field every day. Again, not necessarily for a team like the Dodgers that are looking to win the World Series this year, but for a team that is building, he is gold. 

Of all of his physical traits, which are many, his intangibles of character, hard work, and everyday process of preparation is elite and he leads by example. I watch a ton of Minor League Baseball, about 800 games a year to be exact, and I can tell you that he is one of my favorite young hitters. I am that high on him.

Not only can Ward hit, but he has power too. He led all Minor Leaguers in the Dodgers organization in home runs for a long period of time before he got injured towards the end of the year which slowed him down. 

Justin Yurchak is, in my opinion, the 2nd most likely prospect on the Drillers roster to get picked up in the Rule 5 Draft. Yurchak is already 26, so he doesn’t show up on any prospects list, but he is absolutely one of the best pure hitters in all of Minor League baseball, and he is blocked with the Dodgers. 

One of the problems for Yurchak is that he is limited to 1st base but then doesn’t hit a bunch of home runs. Most clubs think of 1st base as a power position, so that hurts him some in my opinion.

Yurchak hit .365 in 2021, then hit .282 this past season all in AA. .282 is very good, but it’s made even better when you consider he was hitting just .213 on June 17. From that point on he hit .381 in July, .326 in August, and .292 in September.

Although he doesn’t hit a lot of home runs, his OPS has been over .900 in 2 of his last 3 seasons, and that is very good and should eliminate at least some of the concerns about his lack of home runs. 

Kody Hoese is a former 1st Round Draft pick whose career hasn’t panned out exactly as he planned for several different factors, the main one being injury. Hoese had an oblique injury in 2021 that can explain that season, then, this past season he hit .333 in May, then got injured. Hoese then struggled in August and September, and on the heels of 2021, which was a tough year for the 3rd baseman, it makes this coming up year very big. 

If a club were to invest $100,000 to pick him up, they would be doing so based on his defense, and then upside on the offensive side of the ball. Hoese has been a great hitter at every step, including his first year with the Dodgers, and the last 2 years are the only 2 where he has not been a great offensive player. So, it’s not out of this universe to project that, with good health, he will start hitting like he always has, and if that happens, he would return to his 1st round form because his defense is elite. 

Brandon Lewis is a corner infielder with a world of power. In 2021 he hit 30 home runs and hit the most amount of home runs per at-bat of any Minor Leaguer in the Dodgers system. Lewis has worked very hard to improve his offensive game and split time with Hoese at 3rd base for the AA Drillers, then also split time at 1st base with Yurchak. 

Lewis spent all of last year in AA Tulsa and had a down year offensively hitting just .209, so with his most recent sustained offensive success being at the High A level, it is very doubtful that a club forks over the $100,000 and puts him on their 26-man active roster and makes him a Major Leaguer next year. 

But, when you can hit the kind of majestic home runs that Lewis can hit, you never know, so we shall wait and see.

When Gus Varland came to the Dodgers, he did so as a top 30 prospect in the A’s organization. Varland started this year as a starter, but transitioned to the pen and finished the season strong. 

Varland was hitting 98 with his fastball fairly consistently and was landing his slider, and pitching his best baseball when the season ended so he has momentum. I just spoke with Gus a couple of days ago and he is very excited with where he is at right now as a pitcher. 

Gus’s brother Louie made his MLB debut with the Twins this year, so he also has great bloodlines, which is something Front Offices love. He made a lot of adjustments in 2022, and they have taken effect, so, although he has not made it past AA yet. it wouldn’t be too big of a stretch to see a team that is building picking him up and putting him in their MLB bullpen. 

Again, for teams like the Dodgers, who are trying to win now, Varland is a little bit stuck at the moment, but, for a team that is building for the future, he is definitely an option. 

Alec Gamboa is a left-handed pitcher that was 8-0 late into the 2022 season, during a year that saw a lot of ups, and a few downs too. Gamboa was an All-State wrestler in High School, so he is tough as nails, and he is left-handed and can throw in the 90’s. Those guys don’t just fall off of trees, so he is going to have every chance to become a Major Leaguer, the only question being with who.

His ERA this year was 4.82, and with that being in AA, it would be a leap of faith for him to get drafted, so I think the Dodgers will be able to keep him and that is a great thing. Let Rob Hill and the rest of the developmental staff keep working with him and the final product very well could be a very serviceable MLB starter in the not-so-distant future.

Jeff Belge is a left-handed pitcher out of Syracuse and St. John’s that finished 2022 with a ton of momentum. I’m gonna preface my take on Belge by saying that I love watching him pitch, and he is very good, but that the chances of him getting picked up in the Rule 5 Draft are slim.

And that’s a good thing for both the Dodgers and, in my opinion, Belge too.

Belge has absolutely taken to the instruction in the Dodgers organization both on an off the field and it has him primed to knock the doors down. He has so much momentum, he just needs to keep forging ahead, so any change at this point is not one that I favor.

If he stays in the Dodgers organization and keeps growing, watch out because I know for a fact that the organization loves this dude and for good reason, he is very good and is an even better person. 

Belge is actually blind in his right eye, a disability that he has overcome to get to where he is at. His fastball can hit the mid 90’s and has good ride at the top of the zone and good carry at the bottom. He pairs his 4-seam with a very good slider and an extremely competitive nature. This dude comes right at hitters, and does great work in the big moments.

John Rooney is a 25-year-old 6’5 Left-handed pitcher out of Hofstra who has the best pickoff move in all of baseball. In fact, he has led all of baseball in pickoffs for 2 years in a row.

Rooney features a sweeping slider and a fastball that is 92-94 and will remind Dodgers fans of Andrew Heaney both in stature and in stuff.

Rooney is an interesting prospect to project because 6’5 left-handers that have his slider and can hit mid 90’s fit an MLB profile, and, many times, on the top shelf. But, with him still being in AA, and having posted an ERA of 4.19, will his upside be enough for a club to pull that $100,000 trigger.

I don’t like to ride the fence, but I really have no idea what is going to happen with him in terms of the Rule 5 Draft, but my gut tells me he’ll be back with the Dodgers next year and that’s a good thing for the organization. 

Jose Hernandez is a Left-handed power arm that hit 99 with his fastball on more than one occasion this past season and was leading the Midwest League in saves when he got promoted to AA Tulsa. His ERA on the year was 3.41, his average against was just .215 and his strikeout-to-walk ratio was 2.5 to 1. 

Again, having just been promoted to AA in late May, it would be a stretch to take a guy and jump him to the MLB level and pay $100,000 to do it. But, I’ll say this, if I was a club that was building, I wouldn’t blink and I would absolutely draft him in the Rule 5 Draft. 

He is very, very explosive and has as much potential as anyone in the organization, and lefties that hit 99 out of the pen aren’t a dime a dozen.

Jacob Cantleberry is another lefty, but he’s out of Mizzou and came on strong toward the end of 2022. Cantleberry has a ++ changeup, a good slider, and a motion that hides the ball very well. He has played against the best competition baseball could provide starting back with his Travel ball teams, then at San Jac., then in the SEC at Mizzou and now with the Dodgers, so he knows how to compete at the highest of levels. 

Cantleberry was moved to AA Tulsa towards the end of August and posted a 4.82 ERA for the year, but was great in July and August. 

I’m gonna be real here, Cantleberry is a good pitcher, and being at the AA level, has a very good chance to make the Major Leagues, and deservedly so. But, I don’t see him getting drafted in the Rule 5 draft and I think the Dodgers are going to be able to hold on to him for at least one more year and that is a great thing. 

Lefties that are deceptive and have competed at the highest levels like Cantleberry aren’t all too common, so he will continue to get many chances to keep advancing. 

Jose Martinez is another power arm that hits 96 consistently and pairs that with a good slider. He has been with the Dodgers since 2017 and has been used in both a starters/openers role, and out of the pen. Martinez has posted ERAs of over 5 for 2 consecutive years, so it is unlikely he will get picked up.

The best thing that Martinez has going, in my opinion, is his versatility. He is talented, but where he could add the most value is in the fact that he can open, start, long relieve or pitch back half innings. That versatility is valuable and something the Dodgers like in their players so watching his development will be interesting. 

High A Great Lakes

When discussing the Rule 5 Draft and players under the AA level, Jose Ramos has to be #1 since Diego Cartaya, the Dodger’s #1 prospect, got protected. Ramos is another 5-toolish type outfielder who has great range, a plus arm, good speed, and a ton of power. 

Two things I would like to see Ramos improve is his strikeout rate and he should steal more bases. Ramos has struck out 286 times in 936 at-bats in his professional career which is over 30% of the time and that has to come down, regardless of how much power he has.

Ramos hit 25 home runs, which, for a center fielder, is awesome, but, again, the trade-off is way too many strikeouts. Ramos also only stole 4 bases in 2022, and for the kind of speed he has, he should be stealing a minimum of 20 a year. That would make him a 20/20 guy which would make him an All-Star caliber MLB player. 

Ramos is very talented, but he finished in High A, so it would be quite a leap to go from that level to MLB overnight. Make no mistake though, I’m not sure you can find a more talented prospect, so his situation will be interesting to follow.

Carlos Duran would probably be the 2nd most likely of the Loons to get plucked in the Rule 5 Draft, but at 21 and not having made it past High A yet, is unlikely. Duran is 6’7 and has different tempos to his windup that he uses to keep hitters off-balanced and guessing. 

He also has a devastating curve ball, a good slider, and a fastball that sits in the 92-93 range. Duran is very projectable with his size and stuff, so he is a very exciting young pitcher, so his progress will be fun to follow, and I’m fairly confident that, for at least one more year, that will be with the Dodgers.

Braydon Fisher is a very talented Right-handed pitcher out of League City Texas who moved up to High A Great Lakes in April and then finished 2022 in the IL. So, although the 6’4 22-year-old is very talented and has a very bright future, it is almost certain he will be back with the Dodgers next year and that is a great thing.

Hyun-Il Choi was the Dodgers Minor League pitcher of the year in 2021, then didn’t pitch this past season due to injury. Choi was drafted out of Korea and loves being stateside and was doing great until he was injured. 

Although he was the Minor League Pitcher of the Year, which speaks to his talent, the fact that he was injured all last year, and because of the fact that he hasn’t advanced past High A indicates that the Dodgers, most likely and very, fortunately, will have him back.

Jerming Rosario had some great outings but finished the season in Rancho, so, although you can never say never, he most certainly won’t be targeted in this years Rule 5 Draft.