Blue Jays: Ranking the top-five Rule 5 Draft selections in franchise history

No. 4 INF Manuel Lee

Incredibly, Lee's claiming by Toronto in the Rule 5 Draft turned into a respectable eight-year tenure. After coming up with the Mets and Astros, Houston chose not to protect him and the Jays brought him aboard. Looking back, he is now one of the more beloved infielders this franchise has ever had.

Lee was never much of a hitter. He never once was at or above league-average with the bat, having his best offensive performance in 1988 when he posted a 96 OPS+ with a .291 average while hitting just 16 doubles and ... two home runs.

Looking back on his game now, it's so fascinating that someone like Lee was able to stick around in The Show for so long. A typical player profile from back in his time was a low-power but high-speed skillset, where it would be common for players to hit 10 home runs or less while stealing 50+ bases and always finding a way to get on base.

That was never Lee. He had no pop, no speed and actually had a pretty poor eye at the plate as well, rarely ever drawing walks. His value came in the form of his defense.

He never was able to secure a Gold Glove for his efforts at second base and shortstop, but Baseball Reference has his career Defensive Wins Above Replacement at 8.0, which is solid for a player who could never hit enough at the game's highest level.

No. 3 1B Willie Upshaw

Selected by the Jays from the Yankees, Upshaw represents the first of three big boppers on the list.

He was selected in the 1977-1978 offseason but did not get a full season of playing time under his belt until 1982. That season was a decent but not great one for Upshaw, although it was only the beginning for an incredible run of five years or so for him in Toronto.

Surprisingly never an All-Star, Upshaw hit 21 home runs with 75 RBI in 1982 before having his breakout season in the bigs in 1983. That year, he played in 160 games and hit 26 doubles, seven triples, 27 home runs and drove in 104. It was also the first and ultimately only time in his career he hit over .300. His 136 OPS+ was one of the best in the league and he was able to secure an 11th-place finish in the AL MVP voting that year.

1984 saw him regress ever-so-slightly at the plate but he continued to be an offensive force, hitting raising his career high in doubles (31) and triples (nine) while hitting 19 home runs and driving in 84. Once again, he earned some AL MVP votes, this time finishing 16th in the race.

Upshaw once again declined a bit in 1985 and then really began to see his performance since in the 1996 season. He played in 155 games as a 29-year-old and managed just 15 home runs and a .244 batting average, good for an OPS+ of just 87. He was acquired by the Cleveland Indians in 1988 and after struggling once again, he decided to retire.

No. 2 INF/OF Kelly Gruber

Another player with an Indians-Blue Jays connection, Gruber was selected by the Jays from Cleveland in the 1983 Rule 5 Draft. He, like Upshaw, took a little bit of time to become a full-time player but once he did, he did not look back.

After first finding his footing in 1988, Gruber played in 158 games that season, hitting 33 doubles, 16 home runs and driving in 81 along the way. He also stole 23 bases and had an impressive OPS+ of 113. The following year, he not only hit the first cycle in Blue Jays history, but he also made his first-career All-Star Game.

The 1990 campaign ultimately went down as Gruber's best in the big leagues, as he rode a 36 double, 31 homer, 118 RBI season to another All-Star Game, a Silver Slugger Award, a Gold Glove and an impressive fourth-place finish in AL MVP voting that year.

Despite the fact that he struggled mightily during the 1992 regular season, Gruber made the postseason roster that year and ultimately won his first World Series championship. He was involved in a controversial but historical game during the World Series in which he appeared to tag Deion Sanders out at third, securing a triple play, but one of the umpires rule Sanders safe even though he was clearly out.

Some how, Gruber tore his rotator cuff on that play but he still managed to come up to bat later in the contest and hit a crucial game-tying home run which helped the Jays come back and win it in walkoff fashion. His career was never the same after that injury, as he appeared in just one more short season for the Angels in 1993 before retiring. He attempted a comeback later down the line but it ultimately did not amount to anything.

No. 1 OF George Bell

As good as Gruber was for a few years, there was never going to be anyone who'd come even close to Bell, who won the first AL MVP Award in franchise history.

Bell, who was selected from the Phillies in the 1908 Rule 5 Draft, didn't get his first taste of full-time big league action until 1984 but once he did, he ran with the opportunity and got better and better every year. After finishing 19th in the MVP voting in 1984, he elevated his game and finished eighth in 1985, winning his first Silver Slugger along the way.

In 1986, he hit 31 home runs and broke the 100 RBI barrier for the first time. He his .309 that year and had an OPS+ of 133. This time, he rose to a fourth-place finish in the voting.

Then, in 1987 as a 27-year-old, Bell hit a whole new tier at the plate. In 156 games, he hit 47 home runs, drove in a league-leading 134 runs, hit .308 and posted an OPS+ of 146. This resulted in his first All-Star Game selection, second Silver Slugger and most importantly, the AL MVP Award.

Bell played three more years in Toronto, making one more All-Star Game appearance while hitting 63 home runs and posting a combined .277 batting average from 1988-1990 before signing with the Cubs in free agency in December of 1990.

Bell's mark on the franchise is a permanent one and it is truly incredible to think that he began his career as a Rule 5 selection. He was elected to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2013 and has a well-deserved spot in the Blue Jays Level of Excellence.