This is my first article on this site and I am happy to join the team. Go ahead and give me a follow on Twitter @NationalsSource For some Nationals Info daily and checkout our Holiday Giveaway at the end of this article. With that being said lets get looking at the Rule 5 Draft.

What is the Rule 5 Draft?

Every December the MLB holds the Winter Meetings, this event includes a lot of acquisitions for teams, meetings between all parties and the Rule 5 Draft. This year the draft will be happening on Thursday, December 10th. This draft is filled with “Rule 5 Eligible” players that were not protected by their original team. Players become eligible if they were acquired by a team at the age of 18 and not added to the 40 man roster within the first 5 years of their career, that time is shortened to 4 years if the player was acquired after the age of 18. If the team chooses to they can add them to the 40 man roster before the draft, but if they do not that player is eligible to be drafted by another team at the cost of $100,000.

The team that chooses a player must keep them active on the 26 man roster for the entire year or they must be offered back to their original team for $50,000. There are also Minor League Phases to the Rule 5 draft in which players must be protected by being placed on that Minor League levels roster. The draft order is the same as the upcoming MLB draft and is set by the reverse order of the previous seasons standings. There have been some big time players that have come out of the Rule 5 draft including Johan Santana and Dan Uggla. The Rule 5 draft is tricky to say the least, but could the Nationals find a diamond in the rough this year?

What Do The Nationals and The Rule 5 Draft Have To Do With Each Other?

I’m going to be very honest, normally the Nationals are not the talk of the Rule 5 Draft and if they are its more so for the players they left unprotected than the players they select in the draft. Just last year the Nationals left Sterling Sharpe unprotected and he was selected by the Marlins. He was on the Marlins 26 man roster for part of the year, but he was eventually returned to the Nationals. In the past the Nationals have made some selections in both the Major League phase as well as in the Minor League phases. Most of these players have not made an impact.

The closest to an impact player they have found in the Rule 5 Draft was catcher Jesus Flores in 2006. He certainly wasn’t a game changer but her posted three positive fWAR years during his 5 year tender with the Nationals. The Rule 5 Draft has not impacted the Nationals very much in the past, but 2020 is a new year and it comes with new possibilities.

2020 Rule 5 Draft Preview

This year the Nationals will select 11th in both the Rule 5 Draft and the MLB Draft in July. For those that have been following the team you will know that this is the highest pick for the Nationals in years. The Nationals also have some spots open on both their 40 man roster and potentially on their 26 man roster. There are over 60 prospects from different teams top 30s that have been left unprotected. That sounds like a dream scenario for a team that is looking for young talent, but when you eliminate the players that aren’t quite ready to spend an entire year in the bigs you are not left with much. The Nats could look at some of the promising arms available and think that they could use them in their bullpen or they could look at the handful of near ready bats to help fill out their bench. I would not say that it is extremely likely that the Nationals will select someone in the Rule 5 Draft, but it is possible.

Here are 5 potential Nationals picks on Thursday if they fall to 11th on the draft board.

Raymond Kerr, LHP, Mariners

The Nationals have a handful of high upside guys in the bullpen, but outside of Matt Cronin they are all righties. Kerr has a 100 MPH fastball and struck out 95 batters in 92 innings in 2019. Obviously it is not all great and he does have some control issues. You know who else has control issues and a great fastball/slider combo... Tanner Rainey and that seems to be going well. If the Nats pick a player in the Rule 5 I expect it to be a pitcher and I don’t think there’s a lottery ticket out there with better odds to fit their needs.

Matt Krook, LHP, Ray

Krook would do the same for the Nationals and fill a need of LHP in the bullpen, but unlike Kerr he has yet to see AAA. He also strikes batters out at a high rate and has control issues.

He does things a little different on the mound though. Instead of relying on a 100 MPH fastball he has an above average sinker that produces ground balls at a high rate. Just like everyone in the Rule 5 he has his concerns, but he could provide some help in the pen.

Garrett Whitlock, RHP, Yankees

Whitlock might be the prize of the Rule 5. He is the 18th ranked prospect in the Yankees system, but he just had Tommy John in July of 2019. It looks like he is throwing again and he had a fastball in the mid 90s before the injury to go along with a good slider. He is right handed, but if the Nats aren’t confident in their young righties they may take a flier on Whitlock.

Omar Estevez, 2B, Dodgers

In my opinion Estevez is the best contact bat available in the Rule 5 draft. He has hit at every level and outside of 7 games in 2019 he has had a pretty solid K rate. The power isn’t quite there but he can get on base. If the Nats think they need another infielder or they decide to move Kieboom for an outfielder than Estevez may be a good option.

Christian Santana, 3B, Dodgers

Santana is another promising prospect out of the Dodgers farm. He can play either corner effectively and he can hit. If he has any concerns it is that he does not walk much. Outside of that he has potential to make an impact with any team that may draft him. For $100,000 I think if the Nats decide to look at a position player in the Rule 5 this is the one they should go for.

*Honorable Mentions: Ben DeLuzio, Cody Thomas and Luis Mieses

The Nationals also have some players that they could potentially lose on Thursday. The Nationals decided to protect Yasel Antuna and Joan Adon, but they left 5 of their top 30 prospects off the 40 man roster to be available during the draft. Those players are C Israel Pineda, RHP Sterling Sharp, C Raudy Read, OF Cole Freeman and OF Nick Banks. The only one I am really concerned about is Israel Pineda as I believe he has potential to be the catcher of the future and his stock rose big time during at the alternative site in 2020. He was even added to the Nationals Taxi Squad for a short time. Hopefully we don’t lose any of these players, but they are available and anything can happen.

Thursday could come and go with no news for the Nationals, but it is always an entertaining day. Make sure to keep an eye on @NationalsSource on twitter and here at The Nats Report to see if anything happens for the Nationals Thursday.