Results of the 2021 Rule 5 Draft

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The 2021 minor league portion of the 2021 Rule 5 draft concluded with no Phillies being selected by the other teams.

The Phillies included 37 protected players on their Lehigh Valley roster.  They were entitled to one selection and chose a RHP from the San Francisco organization.

Matt Seelinger pitched for Double-A Richmond.  He posted a 3.07 ERA in 36 relief appearances.  He had 5 holds and no saves in zero save opportunities.  He faced 180 batters in 41.0 innings.  He walked 31 (6.8 BB9, 17.2 K%) which was a huge spike above his 2019 and career marks.  He struck out 69 (14.0 K9, 35.56 K%) which is pretty good.

Hopefully, the Phillies’ Pat Robles has the same success with Seelinger as he has with some other young Phillies’ pitchers.

Here’s a breakdown of the draft.

Twenty-five teams took part in the draft.

Arizona, Tampa Bay, Minnesota, Kansas City, and Texas did not participate.  Their Triple-A rosters were maxed at 38 players.

Fifty-one players were selected. Miami made the most selections – five.  San Francisco lost the most players – six.

Twenty-four organizations lost players:

  1. San Francisco – 6
  2. San Diego – 5
  3. Kansas City – 4
  4. Texas – 4
  5. Arizona – 3
  6. Houston – 3
  7. Tampa Bay – 3
  8. Colorado – 2
  9. Los Angeles Dodgers – 2
  10. New York Mets – 2
  11. Pittsburgh – 2
  12. Seattle – 2
  13. Toronto – 2
  14. Atlanta – 1
  15. Chicago Cubs – 1
  16. Cinncinati – 1
  17. Cleveland – 1
  18. Detroit – 1
  19. Miami – 1
  20. Milwaukee – 1
  21. Minnesota – 1
  22. New York Yankees – 1
  23. Oakland – 1
  24. St. Louis – 1

Philadelphia, the Chicago White Sox, Baltimore, the Los Angeles Angels, Washington, and Boston were the six teams that did not lose a player.

With space available, the Chicago Cubs, Colorado, Chicago White Sox, and Milwaukee passed in the second round.  Once a team passes, it is out of the draft rotation.  Detroit and Oakland passed in the third round.  Pittsburgh and Seattle passed in the fourth round.  Atlanta passed in the fifth round.

Pitchers made up the bulk of the selections (35).

  • RHP – 26
  • LHP – 9
  • OF – 8, 3 were announced as CF
  • 7 INF, 5 were announded as middle infielders (mostly SS), 1 1B, 1 3B
  • 1 catcher

As should be expected, most players were from Double-A teams.  Few of the Single-A selections were differentiated among levels (some were announced as advaced, one as low, most as just A).  Surprisingly, 2 selections came from Rookie teams (that’s Complex level).

  • Double-A – 37
  • Single-A – 12 (3 as Advanced, 1 as Low)
  • Rookie – 2

The only name I recognized was RHP Carson Fulmer from the Cincinnati Double-A affiliate, Chattanooga.  Fulmer was the Chicago White Sox’ first round pick in 2015 out of Vanderbilt, the eighth pick overall.

Fulmer pitched for Triple-A Louisvillelast season, but must have been moved down to Double-A before the Rule 5 roster freeze.  He had been brought up to the big leagues each season from 2016, accumulating 15 big-league starts among 74 appearances.  During the past two seasons, he has been with Detroit, Baltimore, and Cincinnati.

 

5 thoughts on “Results of the 2021 Rule 5 Draft”

  1. Well, normally you’d feel good about not losing a player… but then realize that 24 teams lost at least one, to put even more of spotlight on the teams farm.

    1. I think this in part reflects that we chose not to protect or resign a number of 6-year Minor League free agents, several of the better of whom have already signed with other teams and well might have been chosen had we placed them on the LHV 38 man squad. That does not obviate that fact that our farm is weak and without the kind of depth that would create desirable unprotected players.

  2. “1 of the six teams that did not lose a player.” << being a longtime fan of the Phillies minor leagues is like a continual punch in the nuts. I don’t know why I do it to myself.

  3. .

    Round 1, Pick 16: Philadelphia Phillies – Matt Seelinger, RHP, San Francisco Giants

    Seelinger is a 26-year-old journeyman righthander with a big vertical fastball that has plus hop and an average velocity of 90 mph. He technically deploys a four-pitch mix, but his cutter and changeup are rarely used. Instead, he relies on his four-seam fastball with a cutter-like axis, above-average spin, and nearly 19 inches of induced vertical break. His slider is a slurvy gyro offering in the mid-70s that induces whiffs at a near-50% rate. Now with his fourth organization, Seelinger provides a low-leverage relief ceiling with a unique fastball look.

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