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

Over the years, the Rule 5 Draft has helped the Toronto Blue Jays out quite a bit. This avenue has brought future All-Stars and even the club's first ever AL MVP Award winner as well.

Here is a quick refresher on what exactly the Rule 5 Draft is. The very long story short is that if a player with a certain amount of professional experience is not added to their respective club's 40-man roster by a specific time, they will be offered up to all other big league clubs. The only caveat is that any claiming team must keep said player on their active roster all season long or they will be forced to return the player to their original club.

Let's take a look back in time at the five best Rule 5 Draft selections the Blue Jays have ever made.

No. 5 RHP Joe Biagini

I'd be lying if I said that I thought Biagini would crack this list heading into it. After spending the first handful of years of his professional career in the Giants organization, the club allowed him to be exposed to the Rule 5 Draft and the Blue Jays struck.

Biagini functioned in a variety of different roles for the club in what turned into a four-year tenure, including starter, middle reliever and long reliever. He burst onto the scene in 2016 with a 60-game showing as a relief pitcher. He struck out 62 while walking 19 and allowing just three home runs in over 67 innings.

He was forced into the starting rotation once injuries began to arise during 2017 Spring Training and while he showed brief glimpses of promise (highlighted by a seven-inning scoreless outing where he struck out 10 against the Orioles), he was shuffled up and down between the majors and minors and couldn't seem to stick in one specific role thanks to his overall misuse by management.

2017 and 2018 were down years for Biagini but once he ditched starting for good, he returned to form as a full-time reliever. In 2019 he was a solid middle relief option, posting a 121 ERA+ which puts him 21 percent above league-average on the year, and found himself traded to the Astros with Aaron Sanchez in exchange for ... Derek Fisher.

The overall mood from Jays fans towards Biagini is in a negative light, but he had some bright spots over the years and did enough to warrant his inclusion on the list over other candidates for the No. 5 spot like Jim Acker or Jim Gott.

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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. 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.