Rule 5

Yesterday, during the Scrappy draft, a few of us in the Madison contingent were discussing the Rule 5 draft and the thought continued for me as I watch the Phillies and Braves, two clubs with Rule 5'ers in the starting lineup and expected to make big contributions.
First, a little back ground on what the Rule 5 draft is, exactly.  The Rule 5 draft was instituted to avoid having teams stockpile talent in the minor leagues when other teams would be willing to give those players major leagues spots.  Like the June amateur, or Rule 4, draft, teams select players in an order based on the previous year's win-loss record.  A team has to have a roster spot open in order to eligible to participate in the draft.  Players are eligible for the the Rule 5 draft if they are not currently on the 40 man roster and: were signed at 19 or older and have been with the organization for 4 years or were signed at 18 or younger and have been with the organization for five years.  Each draftee costs the drafting team $50K, must be kept on the 25 man roster, and be active for at least 90 days.  The player can be traded, but the new team must also keep him on the 25 man roster.  The players cannot be optioned or DFA'd during the season, instead being put on waivers.  If they clear, they are offered back to the original team for $25K.  If the original team declines, the Rule 5 restrictions are waived and the player can be sent to the minors.

OK, now that we have that out of the way, let's take a look back at some memorable Rule 5 picks.  While this year's class of Josh Rodriguez, Jose Flores, Nathan Adcock and crew may seem pretty underwhelming now, the Rule 5 draft has produced some pretty nice results over the years.  Recent years have produced reigning AL MVP Josh Hamilton, 2-time Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana, and All-Stars Dan Uggla (who made the AS team the year he was selected), Joakim Soria, Shane Victorino, and Jose Bautista.  Of course, the greatest Rule 5 selection of all time was Hall of Famer, and the pride of Puerto Rico, Roberto Clemente.