Blue Jays: Top Prospects and the Rule 5 Draft

The Blue Jays will have some tough choices going into the Rule 5 Draft as they have nine different players that are currently ranked in their MLB Top 30 Prospects List, including a top 10 prospect that if they are not put on the 40-man roster they will be exposed for the draft.

The 26-man and 40-man roster can be a little confusing to the casual fan, so here is a quick explanation of the two.  The 26-man roster is your active roster that are players eligible day-to-day, they are the players that are in the bullpen and dugout each day.  The remaining 14 players are those that a major league team is eligible to call up from their minor league teams.  A team can only call up these players and if they want to promote a player that is not on this 40-man roster, they need to remove someone to put that player on it.  Once a player is removed from the list, a few things can happen, but most often a player moves on from the organization.

The Rule 5 Draft are for players who have been signed with a franchise for a specific amount of time and are not on a 40-man roster.  Each team has to choose to put these players on their 40-man roster or risk having them exposed during the Rule 5 Draft.  If a player gets claimed in this draft, they need to stay on the claiming teams 26-man roster for the duration of the season and after one full season on the 26-man roster, they can be moved onto the 40-man roster.  If a team decides not to keep them on the 26-man roster, they are returned to the original team.  The reason for this draft is to avoid a team from hoarding prospects who may get a major league opportunity elsewhere.

To see the Top 10 Blue Jays Rule 5 selections in team history click on this link.  One name on the Blue Jays roster who was claimed during the Rule 5 Draft was closer Jordan Romano, but he went the other way.  Romano was exposed back in 2018 and claimed by the Chicago White Sox, then immediately traded to the Texas Rangers.  During Spring Training in 2019, he Rangers decided Romano would not make their 26-man roster and he was returned to the Blue Jays.

There is the potential that the Blue Jays could lose a significant prospect in the upcoming MLB Rule 5 Draft

As stated, the Blue Jays have nine players rated in their Top 30 prospects that have the potential of being left exposed, so let’s have a look.