Season 36 Rule 5 Draft: The Great Roster Reshuffle

Season 36 Rule 5 Draft Recap

The Rule 5 draft always brings a mixture of excitement and organizational stress as teams attempt to navigate roster limits while protecting their best young talent. This year, the focus was squarely on a few massive shifts in personnel, most notably the aggressive strategy employed by the Santa Fe Snowbirds.

Under the leadership of owner dannick, Santa Fe was the clear outlier in terms of volume. While most teams picked up one or two players to fill specific holes, the Snowbirds secured nine players from the draft pool. This massive influx of talent suggests a major retooling of the organization's middle-infield and bullpen depth.

Santa Fe's draftees include a collection of high-athleticism infielders like Ken Butler, who leads the draft class with a 92 range. They also prioritized sure hands by taking Benito Gonzales, who brings an 88 glove to the mix. The Snowbirds also targeted several pitchers, adding the high-octane arm of Juan Delgado (91 velocity) and high-control options like Keith Whitaker (84 control) and Daniel Hitchcock (79 control). By selecting nine players, Santa Fe has completely revamped its organizational depth for the upcoming season.

On the other side of the ledger, the Atlanta Rainmakers and Salem Warlocks were the league's primary talent exporters. Atlanta lost five players, including high-potential prospects like Kimera Stevenson and Nick Mercedes. Salem also saw five players depart, losing key depth pieces like Madison Shields and relief command specialist Brandon Rose. Organizations like the Hartford Barking Spiders and Colorado Springs Black Star also felt the draft's impact, losing top-tier starters like Bartolo Gomez and defensive anchors like Alonzo Palmer.

Other organizations were also active on the gain side. The Pawtucket Tridents added four players to their roster, including staff stabilizers like Travis Hellweg and the versatile Kimera Stevenson. Rochester also made significant additions, picking up four players including Patrick Mercer and Santiago Siqueiros.

To highlight the standout biological traits found in this year's class, we have issued the following Rule 5 awards:

1. The Radar Gun Trophy for hardest thrower: Juan Delgado. Selected by Santa Fe at pick 59, Delgado features an elite 91 velocity that should overpower hitters in late-inning roles.

2. The Vacuum Medal for best range: Ken Butler. Drafted 283rd overall by Santa Fe, Butler possesses a generational 92 range that makes him an immediate defensive asset.

3. The Precision Prize for best command: Brandon Rose. Acquired 38th overall, Rose features a 99 projected control rating, the highest of the draft class.

4. The Iron Glove Award for best hands: Benito Gonzales. Taken by Santa Fe at pick 187, Gonzales features an 88 glove, one of the highest marks available in the entire draft pool.

5. The Workhorse Medal for starting endurance: Bartolo Gomez. Selected 6th overall, Gomez is the premier starter of the class with a 100 projected stamina foundation.

6. The Iron Man Award for durability: Ken Butler. In addition to his range, Butler provides elite reliability with a 91 durability rating.

Season 36 Rule 5 Draft Results:

Pick 1: Hunter Pavlik, P, 25, to Austin from St. Louis

Pick 2: Kimera Stevenson, 2B, 22, to Pawtucket from Atlanta

Pick 3: Stefen Watson, 1B, 33, to Wichita from Atlanta

Pick 6: Bartolo Gomez, P, 22, to Kansas City from Hartford

Pick 7: Dan Lawley, P, 25, to St. Louis from New Britain

Pick 10: Erubiel Perez, CF, 24, to Pittsburgh from Hartford

Pick 11: Madison Shields, LF, 23, to Nashville from Salem

Pick 13: Alonzo Palmer, CF, 23, to Madison from Colorado Springs

Pick 15: Dorian Affeldt, P, 22, to Las Vegas from Cincinnati

Pick 17: Patrick Mercer, DH, 22, to Rochester from New Britain

Pick 18: Nick Mercedes, P, 23, to Toronto from Atlanta

Pick 20: David Wells, P, 22, to Tampa Bay from Colorado Springs

Pick 27: Nathan Bard, P, 22, to Santa Fe from Atlanta

Pick 32: Austin Redman, 2B, 27, to Hartford from Los Angeles

Pick 33: Jose Nunez, C, 24, to Austin from Arizona

Pick 34: Hulk Christman, SS, 22, to Pawtucket from Pittsburgh

Pick 38: Brandon Rose, P, 22, to Kansas City from Salem

Pick 39: Simon Fischer, SS, 26, to St. Louis from Hartford

Pick 43: Elmer Little, RF, 24, to Nashville from Rochester

Pick 47: Howard Barney, LF, 22, to Las Vegas from Jackson

Pick 49: Raul Tarraga, 1B, 23, to Rochester from Colorado Springs

Pick 50: Alexander Boyle, P, 25, to Toronto from Salem

Pick 59: Juan Delgado, P, 26, to Santa Fe from Los Angeles

Pick 66: Travis Hellweg, C, 22, to Pawtucket from Atlanta

Pick 70: Pat Wang, P, 22, to Kansas City from Santa Fe

Pick 81: Santiago Siqueiros, SS, 25, to Rochester from Salem

Pick 91: Keith Whitaker, P, 25, to Santa Fe from Salem

Pick 98: Dioner Melendez, C, 26, to Pawtucket from Kansas City

Pick 102: Carlos Beltran, P, 22, to Kansas City from New Britain

Pick 113: Billy Kinney, P, 25, to Rochester from Santa Fe

Pick 123: Daniel Hitchcock, P, 25, to Santa Fe from Wichita

Pick 134: Al Cubillan, P, 23, to Kansas City from Tampa Bay

Pick 155: Vic Nix, P, 22, to Santa Fe from Boston

Pick 187: Benito Gonzales, SS, 25, to Santa Fe from St. Louis

Pick 219: Tony Infante, 3B, 22, to Santa Fe from Pittsburgh

Pick 251: Kenn Stoddard, SS, 24, to Santa Fe from Colorado Springs

Pick 283: Ken Butler, SS, 22, to Santa Fe from Cincinnati