We should know going in – it should be baked in as an assumption to this post! – that the odds of any Cubs big league Rule 5 selection sticking long-term in the organization is very unlikely. Rule 5 pick Gray Fenter probably ends up a trivia question answer and not a significant contributor, but what’s the fun in pointing out the realities? And, hey, the Cubs did pick him for a reason, right?
I find it more fun to go through the process of attempting to reverse engineer the Cubs fascination with the Orioles prospect. What drew them to spend $100,000 to select him? Unfortunately, just three of Fenter’s 2019 appearances were captured on MiLB.tv video (and, of course, none in 2020), giving me a small video “scouting” sample. But I did watch them all, and those 45 batters faced did provide some insight on Fenter’s strengths and weaknesses.
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The Orioles concluded the 2020 virtual Winter Meetings by adding two intriguing right-handed pitching prospects and losing two others during the Major League phase of the Rule 5 Draft on Thursday. Baltimore selected Mac Sceroler from the Reds and Tyler Wells from the Twins, while losing Zach Pop to the D-backs and Gray Fenter to the Cubs.
As Rule 5 Draft selections, Sceroler and Wells must remain on the Orioles active roster for the entire 2021 season, or else be offered back to their respective clubs for $50,000. The selections each came with an initial cost of $100,000 for Baltimore. Sceroler and Wells will report to Spring Training with the chance to win big league jobs, likely as bullpen depth.
It’s not uncommon for me to have little working knowledge of a player the Chicago Cubs select in the Rule 5 Draft. The players are, by their very eligibility for the draft, not necessarily top prospects. But usually I recognize a name. I gotta tell you … I do not recognize this name.
Today, the Cubs took 24-year-old righty Gray Fenter from the Orioles’ organization, and I’m gonna have to do some quick legwork to get up to speed. It’s all the more difficult when there wasn’t a minor league season, of course.
First, the minor league stats for the 2015 7th rounder:
If there is one aspect of the Winter Meetings that isn’t hampered at all by the lack of actual meetings, it’s the Rule 5 Draft. Major League teams enter today with the knowledge of both whether or not they will make a pick, as well as who their selection would be. With a 40-man roster containing only 34 names, and a front office history of giving the Rule 5 the old college try, my bet is that we
do see the Chicago Cubs make at least one selection today.
Below this introduction, I’m live-blogging the draft as it rolls on.
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With a lack of a 2020 Minor League season, or even an Arizona Fall League, the general feeling ahead of Thursday’s Rule 5 Draft was the annual event that typically ends with the Winter Meetings would be relatively quiet.
Turns out, that feeling was wrong.
A total of 18 players were taken in the Major League phase, tying the 2016 and ‘17 Drafts for the most selections since 19 were taken back in 2010. The Minor League phase was extremely active, with 56 players taken. The total of 74 players selected was the most since 79 picks were made in the 2004 Rule 5 Draft. A total of 15 of the 18 players taken in the Major League phase were right-handed pitchers, while two outfielders and a shortstop were also selected.