Five players the Blue Jays could lose during the Rule 5 Draft this offseason

RHP Graham Spraker

Drafted by the Blue Jays in the 31st round of the 2017 MLB Draft, Graham Spraker has quietly authored some outstanding numbers over the course of his minor league career. Beginning as a starter and spending all last season as a reliever, Spraker has accumulated a 2.82 ERA through 95 games with 252 strikeouts, a 1.4142 WHIP, and 11 saves through four seasons. The right-hander recently put together one of his strongest campaigns, spending most of the year with the Fisher Cats in AA and posting a 2.74 ERA through 30 relief appearances.

The right-hander also played in the Arizona Fall League this past month and continued to pitch well, finishing with a perfect 0.00 ERA through 11.0 innings of work with 17 strikeouts and only allowing four hits. Teams looking to gamble on some relief pitching help could take a chance on Spraker given the 2021 season he just put forward.

OF Samad Taylor

Ranked at #17 on the Blue Jays top prospect list, outfielder Samad Taylor was one of the top players in in AA last season that could have a few teams looking to take a chance on him during the Rule 5 Draft this year. With the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, Taylor compiled a .294/.385/.503 slash line with 16 home runs, 52 RBI, and 30 stolen bases on his way to a .888 OPS. The one caveat to Taylor’s game is his strikeouts, where he amassed 110 K’s through 87 games last season.

The Blue Jays are probably hoping the swing and miss in his game is what will make clubs think twice about selecting him but considering Taylor has started to expand his game on the defensive side of the ball, now playing multiple infield positions as well as in the outfield, a team looking for a versatile player could roll the dice with the California product.