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.