The Rule 5 draft on December 11th will conclude the Winter Meetings in Dallas, and it’s entirely possible the Orioles won’t draft a player for the second straight year.
Last month, they added minor league left-hander Luis González and right-handers Kade Strowd and Brandon Young to their 40-man roster so they wouldn’t be taken.
According to Roster Resource, there are 36 players eligible to be drafted, and since they must be kept on a team’s major league roster for a full season, it seems plausible they won’t lose any players, either.
Let’s look at the players who have been left unprotected with comments about some of the more noteworthy players.
Starting Pitchers: Justin Armbruester, Carter Baumler, Kyle Brnovich, Daniel Federman, Daniel Lloyd, Ryan Long, Juan Nuñez, Zach Peek, Alex Pham, Jean Pinto, Edgar Portes, Carlos Tavera, Peter Van Loon
A year ago, Armbruester looked to be a rising star, but after an impressive stint in major league spring training, he had a 7.54 ERA at Triple-A Norfolk.
Baumler was the Orioles’ fifth-round pick in the truncated 2020 draft, but due to injuries he’s only pitched in 21 games.
Brnovich came to the Orioles along with Kyle Bradish, and after recovering from Tommy John surgery, he was 6-2 with a 3.96 ERA at Bowie in 75 innings.
Nuñez is the Orioles’ eighth-ranked prospect, and was acquired in the deal that send reliever Jorge López to Minnesota in August 2022, but he’s never pitched above High-A Aberdeen, where he started seven games in 2024.
Pham is the Orioles’ 25th ranked prospect and seemed to have a chance at being added to the 40-man roster. He was 7-4 with a 4.24 ERA in 27 starts. He struck out 138 batters in 119 innings.
Pinto is an interesting pitcher who came to the Orioles for infielder Jose Iglesías in 2020. He was 3-2 with a 3.10 ERA in 22 games for Bowie and Aberdeen, striking out 101 batters in 81 1/3 innings.
Relief Pitchers: Raul Alcantara, Tyler Burch, Juan De Los Santos, Keagan Gillies, Dan Hammer, Dylan Heid, Logan Rinehart, Houston Roth, Kyle Virbitsky
Alcantara was signed last month from the Seattle organization.
Burch, who was acquired from Philadelphia at the trade deadline in July 2021 for infielder Freddy Galvis. He pitched only 9 1/3 innings due to injuries this year, and had an impressive four-appearance stint in the Arizona Fall League.
Gillies was an occasional extra pitcher during spring training last year, and the 6-foot-8, 255 lb. right-hander was 1-3 with a 4.94 ERA in 47 innings for Bowie.
Virbitsky, who came from Oakland along with left-hander Cole Irvin, was 7-2 with a 3.43 ERA in 41 games for Aberdeen and Bowie last season.
Catchers: Maverick Handley, Connor Pavolony
Handley was the Orioles’ sixth-round draft pick in 2019, the same year the Orioles selected Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Kyle Stowers, infielders Joey Ortiz and Darrel Hernaiz and reliever Connor Gillaspie, who have all played in the majors. Strowd was the Orioles’ 12th round pick that year.
Handley wasn’t drafted the first two years he was unprotected, and after he hit .202 in Norfolk this year, he seems unlikely to be taken this year.
Pavolony was the team’s seventh-round pick in 2021, and he’s Rule 5 eligible for the first time.
He hit .147 in 58 games for Bowie, and .297 with Norfolk, and with Blake Hunt and René Pinto already on the 40-man roster and Creed Willems making good progress, he seems blocked with the Orioles and not likely to be taken by another team.
Infielders: TT Bowens, Colin Burns, Shayne Fontana, Julio Herrera, Jeremiah Jackson, Noelberth Romero, Anthony Servideo, Luis Valdez
Bowens, who was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2020, made it to Norfolk in 2024, but the big first baseman hit just .155 in 24 games.
Jackson, who played in the New York Mets organization, was recently signed by the Orioles.
Servideo was the Orioles’ third-round pick in the 2020 draft, but has been a disappointment, hitting just .175 in his minor league career.
Valdez has terrific speed and stole 32 bases in 49 games across four minor league levels in 2024.
Outfielders: Hudson Haskin, Elio Prado, John Rhodes, Reed Trimble
Haskin was the Orioles’ second-round pick in 2020, but his progress has been stopped by injuries. He hit .213 in 90 games for Norfolk.
Prado and Romero were acquired from the Orioles in July 2019 from Boston in the Andre Cashner trade and has yet to reach Double-A.
Rhodes, who was the Orioles’ third-round pick in 2021, hit just .202 for Bowie this season while Trimble, who was taken a round before Rhodes, hit .263 in 65 games in four levels.
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