Five Rule 5 Picks the San Francisco Giants Should Consider

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Last week, the San Francisco Giants were required to put players on their roster to protect them from the Rule 5 draft.

Most notably, they left outfield prospect, Sandro Fabian, unprotected. Other teams had the same dilemmas, so here are five rule five picks the San Francisco Giants should consider.

The Rule 5 draft is one of the great, weird things about the MLB offseason. The rules? If you draft the player for the major league portion of the draft, they must remain on your big league roster, unless injured. What players are eligible?

Any player who was 19 years or older when they signed their big league contract, has three years to make it to the 40-man roster of that team. If they don’t, they are eligible to be picked. If they are 18 or younger, they have 4 years. It’s supposed to keep teams from stashing big league level players in their farm system for years upon years.

Last year, the San Francisco Giants selected Julian Fernandez, a wild flamethrower from the Colorado Rockies. He didn’t make it through Spring Training and landed on the 60-Day DL and out for the year with Tommy John surgery.

The Rule 5 draft garners a lot of attention. This article is an example. But the reality is, most of the time, teams don’t make the picks because they are forced to keep the player on their big league roster for the entire season. However, we’d be remised if we didn’t highlight a few players available in the draft who might be able to help the San Francisco Giants. So let’s dive in!

MESA, AZ – FEBRUARY 22: Richie Martin #68 of the Oakland Athletics poses for a portrait during photo day at HoHoKam Stadium on February 22, 2017 in Mesa, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

Richie Martin, SS, Oakland Athletics

The San Francisco Giants are lacking some depth at the middle infield spots. Alen Hanson is nice, but can’t quite play short-stop consistently. They don’t need a crazy consistent short-stop, but the ability to have a right hander step in for Crawford every now and then, AND play solid defense would be beneficial.

According to MLBPipeline’s report on Martin, he was always glove first and didn’t really have the bat come around until this season. In AA last year, Martin hit .300 with an .807 OPS, with 43 XBH and 25 stolen bases. MLBPipeline has his glove and arm grades at a 60, which is well above average. A strong defensive backup that has speed and a knack for gap-to-gap hitting? Sounds good to me!

Martin was a first round pick by the A’s in 2015, the year after Zaidi left. So there isn’t that connection there. However, why should we be shocked if Zaidi was to raid one of his former employers given that he knows how they evaluate talent and such.

I’ve always thought the Giants needed to employ 7 infielders with the limitations to some of the backups. Hanson is a nice “jack of all trades” piece, but his glove leaves a bit to be desired, and his bat doesn’t provide much of a different approach when he backs up Crawford. Hence, Martin could make some sense for them in this case.

And now, for raiding another former employer of Zaidi, our second option.

LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 25: A detailed view of the Los Angeles Dodgers logo in the outfield prior to game two of the 2017 World Series between the Houston Astros and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on October 25, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

Cristian Santana, 1B/3B, Los Angeles Dodgers

This one is less likely of a pick on the Giants end. Santana is an intriguing prospect just because he smashed 24 homers in the CAL-League last year, and he’s 21 years old. This one would be fun because they really don’t have another corner infielder in the system that’s even remotely close to making it to the big leagues.

Santana has a really strong arm at third, with a 60 grade. The big question is, whether or not the Giants would believe in him enough to take him on the squad instead of Pablo Sandoval. The answer there is very likely a no. He hasn’t played above the A+ level yet and he still has massive strike-out issues. Calling him in to play/learn at the big league level over Pablo would be the equivalent of Dumping Brandon Belt in 2016 for Chris Shaw.

So why did we bring it up? Because honestly, who knows what Zaidi wants to do. He was around the farm system when Santana was there. He’s also played at all four positions in the infield for the Dodgers, as his arm and footwork speed allow him to play almost anywhere. A power bat that has the ability to provide some major pop? Sign me up…if he had at least had a year under his belt at AA. Honestly, that’s probably why he didn’t get protected.

So while Santana is a legitimate prospect, the Giants likely won’t take him because they’d be forced to play a guy who hasn’t played above the CAL-League. Not a good idea unless Zaidi is going to burn the whole thing down and rebuild from scratch.

KANSAS CITY, MO – JULY 02: Baseballs on the field before the game between the Cleveland Indians and the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on July 2, 2018 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Brian Davidson/Getty Images) /

Art Warren, RHP, Seattle Mariners

Warren would be like signing an older Julian Fernandez. No joke. He’s a flame throwing right hander who has a decent second and third offering. Most people believed he’d make it to the big leagues this season, but he didn’t. Injuries kept him out of most of 2019.

He’s almost a sure fire pick in this draft as teams will be willing to take a chance on him. MLBPipeline has his Fastball grade at a 70, with a plus slider and average curveball. At least three plus offerings, Warren is destined to be a legitimate reliever if he’s healthy. In 15.2 innings this year, he struck out 22 but walked 14. That was all at the Double-A level.

The 25 year old would be an interesting pick as he’s one of the guys in this draft that’s most likely ready to jump straight onto a big league roster. The problem for the Giants here is that Melvin Adon and Art Warren could virtually be the same thing, and Adon is already in house, not on the 40 man, and they can give him time to develop. Adon struck out 21 in 12 innings and only walked three during his 2018 Fall League debut, and was one of the best relievers in the 2018 AFL.

Adon’s presence on the roster, and already having two young, promising bullpen guys in Reyes Moronta and Ray Black, might be a deterrant to the Giants picking Warren. Regardless, Warren is an intriguing option as a reliever.

1 Apr 1996: View of the Chicago Cubs logo during a game against the San Diego Padres at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois. The Cubs won the game 5-4. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Daniel /Allsport /

Trevor Clifton, RHP, Chicago Cubs

Clifton has had success at both the AA and AAA level within the Cubs organization. He could easily be used as a long reliever or spot starter. He’s the 17th ranked prospect in the Cubs system and has a plus fastball, and average offerings all around. His only below average trait is his control.

In 2018, he made 12 starts in AA with the Tennessee Smokies, going 56.2 innings and striking out 45 while walking 23. After making the jump to AAA he walked 29 and struck out 56. Clifton’s biggest knocks are his command, obviously, as he walked 52 in 126 innings pitched. Surprisingly, he doesn’t strike a lot of guys out despite the solid fastball.

If Clifton were to come in, you’d see a very similar pitcher to Ty Blach, except he’d have a little more on his fastballs. Clifton obviously has talent, and has pitched above the AA level, which is big, meaning his “shock” in jumping to the big leagues wouldn’t be as great. While he showed improvements in his command, it’s still probably not big league level yet. Think more along the lines of Tyler Beede, except you didn’t waste a high draft pick on him.

Clifton is intriguing mainly because of his ERA and opponents average at levels above AA. The intrigue isn’t their in terms of a high ceiling though, and that’s usually why teams pick players in this draft. Clifton wouldn’t be good enough to be on the 40 man roster in the Giants organization, so I wouldn’t expect them to pick him. However, he could turn out to be a more diamond in the rough pick if they were to go the rebuilding route.

JUPITER, FL – FEBRUARY 20: Junior Fernandez #98 poses for a portrait during St Louis Cardinals Photo Day at Roger Dean Stadium on February 20, 2017 in Jupiter, Florida. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

Junior Fernandez, RHP, St. Louis Cardinals

This right here is quite intriguing, and again reminds me of a Julian Fernandez type pick, not just on the name. The Cardinals prospect moved to the bullpen in 2018 and saw a good start to his year in A+ ball. He throws 98-99 with good life to his fastball, and has an average changeup to follow. The problem is he has no third pitch, and his control is rough.

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After earning a promotion to Springfield, the Cardinals AA team, he struck out 17 in 25 innings, but walked 16. His ERA was in the “fives” and his WHIP had ballooned. He’s got a lot of work to do on the control end of things, but is a really intriguing prospect due to the sheer fact that he throws 100.

The Giants could easily take a gamble like they did with Julian Fernandez last year. I don’t think there is a big problem with selecting them, then offering them back to their big league team if he can’t figure it out in Spring Training.

That was probably their M.O. with Julian last year, and it could be their M.O. this year. Junior Fernandez will be really intriguing though and is a good candidate to get picked. However, I think the Giants steer clear of him.

Julian Fernandez at least had some success with control in his early minor league appearances. Junior, has really none, and the K/9 rate just isn’t high enough to outweigh all the walks he’ll rack up. He’s nowhere near big league ready, and the Giants bullpen is still pretty well stocked. An intriguing pick, yes. But a good one? Likely not.

Next.

The Rule 5 draft will conclude the Winter Meetings on December 13th, 2018. Stay tuned to Around the Foghorn all offseason as we bring you the latest on rumors and transactions throughout this offseason.

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