The 20 most significant MLB Rule 5 draftees

Today Roberto Clemente is one of the most well-known names in Major League Baseball history, both for his accomplishments on the field and off of it. The Puerto Rican-born right fielder made 15 all-star teams, won 12 Gold Glove awards, was an MVP, a World Series MVP, and led the Pirates to two championships. He was an obvious selection to the Hall of Fame and the waiting period was actually waived due to the unfortunate circumstance surrounding his death. But without the Rule 5 Draft, Clemente's career would have been way different. He originally signed with the Dodgers in 1954, and nine months later, Pittsburgh made him the first overall selection in the draft. 

Hack Wilson made his big league debut nearly 100 years ago--all the way back in 1923--and while it's unlikely anybody reading this ever saw him play, for a prolonged period back in the 20s he was one of the best hitters in baseball. Wilson led the Majors in homers four times, and RBI twice--including his MLB single-season record 191 that he accomplished in 1930. Wilson played for four teams during his 11-year career but his best days came as a Cub after Chicago selected him in the Rule 5 draft, and he went into the Hall of Fame with a Cubs hat in 1979. 

The next player on this list came even before Hack Wilson's time, as Christy Mathewson first debuted for the New York Giants in 1900. His path to becoming one of the best pitchers in baseball history wasn't linear, however, as shortly after that, he was picked by the Reds in the Rule 5 draft and then subsequently traded back to New York. The righty would go on to win two World Series titles and throw two no-hitters amongst a laundry list of other accomplishments. He went into baseball's Hall of Fame in 1936 on his first ballot. 

Outfielder Jose Bautista enjoyed a 14-year Major League career that came with plenty of huge moments--most of which came for Toronto. As a Blue Jay, Bautista qualified for six all-star teams, won three Silver Sluggers, and led the Majors in homers twice. He finished his career in 2018 with 344 bombs and 975 big -eague RBI. But long before he became a star, Bautista was a middling prospect in the Pittsburgh system when he was selected by the Orioles in the Rule 5 draft in 2003. He then spent most of 2004 bouncing around the big leagues, spending brief amounts of time with the O's, Royals, Devil Rays, Mets, and then back to the Pirates. At the time, he became the first Major Leaguer to appear in a game for five teams in a single season. 

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays made uber-talented Josh Hamilton the first pick in the 1999 draft, but unfortunately, personal demons derailed his tenure with Tampa. Hamilton failed several drug tests in the minor leagues and as a result received multiple suspensions from the league. His career appeared over when he was out of baseball for over three years, but in '06 he attempted to make a comeback. The Rays left him off their 40-man roster ahead of the December Rule 5 draft but were somewhat surprised when the Cubs selected him and then flipped him immediately to Cincinnati. It was with the Reds that he became one of baseball's humanitarian success stories, but he became a star the next season as a member of the Rangers. Before his career was over Hamilton had played in five all-star games, won a batting title, an RBI title, and was the 2010 AL MVP. The Rangers put him in their Hall of Fame in 2019.  

Southpaw Johan Santana won two Cy Young awards, made four all-star teams, and threw the first no-hitter in New York Mets history in 2012. But before he became a household name, Santana was in the Houston Astros system, where they couldn't decide if he should be a pitcher or a center fielder. Houston decided to convert him to pitcher full-time in 1999, a move he didn't agree with at the time. Following that season, the Astros left him unprotected in the Rule 5 draft, and he was selected by the Marlins who had already brokered an agreement with the Twins to immediately trade him to Minnesota. And the rest is history. 

Ryan Pressly is one of the best relievers in baseball today. He's a two-time all-star closer, just won the World Series with Houston, and currently owns the MLB record for most consecutive scoreless appearances with 40. But long before emerging as the dominant shutdown late-inning reliever he is now, Pressly was in the Red Sox system and was selected away from Boston by the Twins in the 2012 Rule 5 draft. He spent five and a half seasons as a good reliever in Minnesota but since moving to Houston midway through the '18 campaign he's taken it to a completely different stratosphere. 

Bobby Bonilla was one of the most polarizing players of his era. The switch-hitter had a seriously colorful personality and played for eight different big-league teams between 1986-2001. The beginning of his career was a little challenging particularly for a young player, when as a Pittsburgh minor leaguer he was selected by the White Sox in the Rule 5 draft and then traded back to the Pirates just a few months later. When Bonilla's career was over, he had racked up over 2,000 big league hits, crushed 287 homers, and drove in just under 1200 runs. Young fans might know his name best now for the high-profile deferrals in his contract with the Mets, who are still paying him annually even though he last played with New York in 1999. 

George Bell is one of the most notable players in Blue Jays franchise history, but his career could have taken a much different path. The Dominican-born outfielder was originally signed by Philadelphia in 1978, and the Phillies have to consider him one of the ones that got away. They left him unprotected in the Rule 5 draft and watched him get snatched away by Toronto and go on to become a three-time all-star and an American League MVP. Bell drove in over 1,000 runs in the big leagues and was inducted into the Toronto Blue Jays Level of Excellence. 

Today Nestor Cortes Jr. is one of the better pitchers in the American League and along with Gerrit Cole has formed quite a 1-2 punch for the Yankees. But his path to where he is now has been circuitous. Drafted by New York late in the 2013 draft, Cortes was left unprotected in the Rule 5 draft and was subsequently selected by Baltimore but was then returned to the Yankees early in the 2018 season. The Yankees then traded him to Seattle the next winter, only to bring him back for a third stint in the Bronx as a minor league free agent a year later. The Yankees have to feel like it was worth the wait though, after the southpaw has now delivered back-to-back sub-3.00 ERA campaigns. 

In his prime as a member of the Orioles side-arming righty Darren O'Day was quite possibly the best relief pitcher in the American League, but before getting to that point several teams had a chance to have him in their relief corps. O'Day signed with the Angels as an undrafted free agent in 2006 and two years later was selected by the Mets in the Rule 5 draft. O'Day got off to a good start for New York but two weeks into the season with the Mets needing to add starting pitcher Nelson Figueroa to their active roster, he was DFA'd and selected by Texas. He was tremendous for the Rangers in '10 but not so much in '11, causing Texas to place him on waivers. That's when the Orioles claimed him and got to reap the benefits of his heyday. 

Second baseman Dan Uggla played nearly all of his 1346 big league games in the NL East, starting for both the Marlins and Braves before finishing his career in Washington. But he needed a small break to become the player he ultimately blossomed into. As a 25-year-old in the Diamondbacks system, Uggla was not close to a big league promotion. But the Marlins took a gamble on him in the Rule 5 draft and were rewarded handsomely. The University of Memphis product went on to crush 30 or more homers five times and was selected to three all-star teams. 

As a minor leaguer in the San Diego system Joakim Soria assuredly had aspirations of becoming a shutdown closer a la Padres great Trevor Hoffman. And while it didn't happen for him in SoCal, Soria took full advantage of the opportunity that presented itself when Kansas City took him in the 2006 Rule 5 draft. Soria became the Royals' closer as a rookie and for a while was as good as anyone in the American League. The righty made two all-star teams and while he went on to pitch for quite a few other teams, he finished his career third on the Royals all-time saves list with 162. 

Odubel Herrera's career is seemingly at a crossroads at the moment, but let's not forget that he quite possibly was the best Rule 5 pick in Philadelphia Phillies history not named Shane Victorino. Philly took Herrera out of the Rangers system in 2014 and he immediately became a regular in center field in the City of Brotherly Love. Herrera spent seven mostly productive seasons in Philadelphia before being released this past summer, a culmination of sliding performance and fan backlash over a domestic violence suspension.

Speaking of the Phillies and Rule 5 picks, let's talk about another center fielder, Shane Victorino. The 'Flying Hawaiian' was actually selected in the Rule 5 draft on two separate occasions. The Padres first plucked him out of the Dodgers system in December of 2002 but ultimately returned him to LA the following May. The Phillies selected him two years later and this time, it stuck, and Victorino's career was off and rolling. He would go on to star for Philadelphia for eight seasons and helped bring the city its first World Series championship in almost three decades. He'd later win a second ring with the Red Sox in 2013. 

Right-hander Mike Morgan is one of only 29 MLB players to appear in a game in four different decades, beginning his career with the A's in 1978 and finishing it in '02 with the Diamondbacks. Morgan was a known journeyman and was actually nicknamed Nomad because he moved around so much and played for 12 different big league clubs. But let's talk about the reason he's on this list. After pitching parts of two seasons with Oakland in the late 70s Morgan did not appear in the Majors in 1980 or 1981 before resurfacing as a Yankee in '82. After just one season in the Bronx he was traded to Toronto who then left him unprotected in the Rule 5 draft the following season. This allowed the Mariners to select him with whom he would spend three seasons before continuing his journey around the big leagues. 

R.A. Dickey ultimately became a Cy Young award winner and one of the easiest to root for guys in baseball, but the beginning of his career came with overwhelming challenges. After being drafted by the Rangers and offered a signing bonus of almost a million dollars, Texas later retracted their offer after discovering Dickey's elbow did not have a UCL. The righty pitched unspectacularly for Texas for parts of five seasons and then was a member of the Brewers Triple-A team in '07. And then it got interesting. He signed with Minnesota as a minor league free agent but was quickly picked by the Mariners in the Rule 5 draft. Attempting to perfect a knuckleball Dickey struggled through the next few years before landing with the Mets in 2010 and suddenly he put it all together. the Nashville, TN native was magical in Queens for three straight years culminating with his 2012 Cy Young campaign. 

Current Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano has been one of the most dominant late-inning relievers in baseball for three years running, but Toronto almost lost him before his career even started. The 'Jays took the hard-throwing righty in the 10th round of the 2014 draft but early in his minor league career he needed to undergo Tommy John Surgery which is part of what led to him being unprotected in the Rule 5 draft four years later. The White Sox plucked him from Toronto's system that December but immediately traded him to the Rangers with whom he spent spring training within 2019. Romano failed to make Texas' opening day roster, though, and was returned to the Blue Jays where fans north of the border have watched him blossom. 

Righty Jason Grilli was the 4th overall pick in 1997 draft by the San Francisco Giants, but never ended up throwing a pitch for San Francisco. He was part of the Giants high profile trade with the Marlins to acquire starting pitcher Livan Hernandez at the '99 trade deadline, but his career in Florida did not play out as expected. Grilli appeared in only seven games as a Marlin before needing Tommy John Surgery which led to him being exposed to the Rule 5 draft where he was selected by the White Sox. From there his career was off and running and he would go on to appear for 10 big league clubs. His best season came in 2013 when he made the all-star team and converted 33 of 35 save chances for the Pirates. 

Scrappy second baseman Fernando Vina was drafted by the Mets in 1990 and would go on to have quite a distinguished career--just not in Queens. Prior to reaching the Majors, Vina was selected away from the Mets by the Mariners in the Rule 5 draft, and made his big league debut for Seattle in 1993. Unfortunately, later that summer a roster crunch made it unfeasible for them to keep him in the big leagues, and they were forced to return him to New York where he spent the strike-shortened '94 season. Vina's career didn't really begin to blossom though until he was traded to Milwaukee ahead of the '95 season. He'd spend four seasons in Milwaukee including his all-star campaign in 1998 before moving on to St. Louis where he's perhaps best known. The Arizona State product won two Gold Glove awards with the Cardinals and retired in 2004 with a lifetime slash line of .282/.348/.379.