Some Mets farmhands available in the Rule 5 Draft

Recently, the annual crunch of the 40-man roster came to a close as teams across baseball had to choose which players were valued by organizations and which had to go. The Mets found themselves in a position where they had only 5-6 spots to play. In the end, Noah Syndergaard, Cory Mazzoni, Hansel Robles, Gabriel Ynoa, Akeel Morris, and Jack Leathersich were placed on the roster while Jeff Walters was taken off. There were five players that Sandy Alderson and Co. had left off and each of them holds a significant amount of value. The main point of protecting the best eligible players is because the players left off the roster that were drafted at/before 2010 will be eligible for the infamous Rule 5 draft. If a player is picked in this draft, they have to stay on the 40-man roster for the entire season or they will be returned to the original team. Many will overlook this draft, but some notable players selected in this draft include Jose Bautista, Johan Santana and Roberto Clemente. Here are the five players eligible for the Rule Five draft and the likeliness of being picked.

Dustin Lawley (3B/LF):

Lawley is an interesting specimen. He clearly holds power potential that very few in the system have. After hitting a solid 26 homeruns and knocking in 96 during his age twenty-four 2013 season, he was placed in AA Binghamton due to the depth of the AAA Mets. Unfortunately for the slugging right-hander things did not go as planned. Lawley’s batting average dipped by almost 30 points as his OBP fell below .300. He still hit a respectable 20 homeruns and almost 30 doubles, but he struck out 134 times and only stole 4 bases compared to his 14 during last season. Through all of this, the power is still clearly present as he could project to be a utility player for a struggling organization (Chris Carter). Even with his limited potential he still has only 21 AB’s above AA and there is a small chance that a team will find enough value in him to stay on their 40-man roster all season.

Chance of getting picked: 10%

Daniel Muno (2B, 3B, SS):

Considering the lack of middle infielders on the 40-man roster, it would have made sense that either Muno or T.J. Rivera would have found their way onto the team. However, Alderson works in interesting ways as he has let both be exposed to the Rule 5 draft. Muno was very solid this past season posting a career high with 14 homeruns and a .418 slugging percentage. In addition, he walked 60 times and scored 74 runs. Overall he seems to be one of those players who is hated by sabermetricians but loved by managers. He grinds out at-bats, plays solid defense, and sets the table for rallies.
Chance of getting picked: 20%

T.J. Rivera (2B, 3B, SS):

Rivera has been consistently undervalued by this organization since his debut in 2011. Spending the better part three seasons in St. Lucie while he figured his stroke out, he has developed into quite the young hitter. Unlike Muno, Rivera has extremely efficient numbers to back up the debate for a potential call-up. Rivera has never struck out more than 73 times in a season while maintaining a solid walk rate, he hits a ton doubles and has a career batting average of .317. Rivera’s two biggest problems are his lack of true power and lack of experience above AA. He profiles as a utility man more than anything else, but he could certainly start on a team desperate for a shortstop.

Chance of getting picked: 5%

Logan Verrett (RHP):

Verrett is an interesting name to include here considering that many believed him to be placed on the 40-man roster. Verrett was drafted during the Alderson era and has pitched fairly well since then. In 2012, he posted a 2.70 ERA in 103.1 innings through 17 starts. He followed this by leading the dominant Binghamton Mets in wins, innings, and strikeouts. Verrett was then put in the dreaded band box we call Las Vegas. Even though his numbers took a hit, he finished the season quite strong over his final six August starts (2.84 ERA). Verrett projects to be a 4th/5th starter in the major leagues, but he could put up 2nd/3rd starter numbers in his prime. Unfortunately for the Mets, they will never see the day when he takes the mound in a Met uniform because of the massive appeal he has to teams in need of cheap starting pitching.

Chance of getting picked: 95%

Jeff Walters (RHP):

As mentioned before, the former dominant AA closer was taken off the 40-man roster in order to make room for one more player. Walters had come off of an absolutely splendid 2013 season in which he saved 38 games, pitched to a 2.09 ERA, and had a 3.75 SO/BB ratio. Unfortunately 2014 did not go as planned and the original intention of making the majors diminished with the unfortunate reality of a Tommy John rose. There may be some appeal to Walters as he could still project to be a solid relief pitcher, but it remains unlikely that a guy coming off Tommy John Surgery will be placed on a 40-man roster all season.

Percent chance of getting picked: 2%