Last night was the deadline for teams to add prospects to their 40 man rosters to protect them from the Rule 5 draft. As expected, the Phillies added RHP Adonis Medina, RHP Edgar Garcia, and SS Arquimedes Gamboa. The additions bring their roster to 38, though it is functionally 37 with Justin Bour reportedly put on waivers. The Phillies will also probably clear a few spots when the non-tender deadline comes on November 30 and they have to make decisions on Aaron Altherr, Adam Morgan, Luis Avilan, Mitch Walding, and Luis Garcia. The only surprise of sorts was that the Phillies were not on the receiving end of a trade or waiver claim using up some of their roster spots.
As for the three players added, is clearly the best prospect and will be an attraction when he takes the mound in Spring Training. He will start in AA and maybe will see time in the bullpen to end 2019 if the Phillies need him, but his development is unaffected by his 40 man status. Arquimedes Gamboa likely had a low chance of being taken, but as a borderline top 10 prospect in the system the Phillies were probably smart not to risk losing him. He will need a good spring to open in AA, but he is still a while away from joining the Phillies in a major league role. Edgar Garcia has quietly made Phillies top 50 prospect lists for a while now. The 22 year old Dominican RHP has a fastball that sits 91-95 and a slider that is one of the best in the organizations. Despite his youth, he now jumps to the top of the reliever call up pile for the 2019 season. His upside is probably similar to what Victor Arano gave the Phillies this year, a solid high leverage reliever, but probably not a closer type.
As for who the Phillies left exposed, there are some notable names, but probably not anyone that will be topping Rule 5 watch lists like Carlos Tocci a year ago.
Daniel Brito is the best prospect left unprotected. He is a great defender at second base, but his hitting has been the real question. He struggled in Lakewood in 2017 and to open 2018, and didn’t make it to Clearwater until the end of the season. He has the potential for a plus hit tool with average or better power, but he is also only 20 and super skinny. He also comes with a lot of approach issues, and some ugly swing mechanics early in 2018. With teams running 13 man pitching staffs, it is difficult to see a team stashing Brito.
Deivi Grullon is a glove first catcher with plus raw power. He put up a breakout season with Reading, hitting 21 home runs and the EL Home Run Derby. While improved in 2018, his plate discipline is highly suspect, and he is never going to draw walks. Unless he cleans up the approach, he profiles as a defensively oriented backup. It was a bit of a surprise the Phillies left him unprotected given their lack of catching depth, but they must feel that other teams aren’t going to take a backup catcher in the Rule 5 draft.
Jose Pujols had a career saving 2018 season, dramatically cutting his strikeout rate, while walking more and tapping more consistently into his monstrous raw power. Pujols’ future potential is still as intriguing as ever thanks to his raw power and great bat speed. Unfortunately, he is still not a great right field defender (despite a plus plus arm) and a dramatically cut strikeout rate was still over 30% in hi-A. It was a career saving year for Pujols more than one that made him a top prospect. He still has multiple years of development left and a team taking him in the Rule 5 would need to commit to a wasted roster spot in 2019 before then sending him back down to AA in 2020 at age 24. If Pujols was two years younger, or had more than 26 games in AA under his belt you could talk a team into taking him, but right now there is still way too much risk for the reward.
Luke Leftwich is a near MLB ready right handed middle reliever. If a team wants competition for the last spot in their bullpen, he is the type of player that could go in the second round of the draft. His lack of upside, coupled with teams emphasizing that their middle relievers be optionable, makes him an unlikely pick.
Tyler Gilbert looks like an ideal Rule 5 pick on the surface. He is a left handed reliever with good numbers in AAA. The addition of a cutter, which helped him really have success, has been more of a weapon against righties than lefties. He still is better against lefties than righties overall, but his lack of dominance makes him less appealing in a space where teams are looking for shutdown LOOGYs. He might still get drafted for his handedness, especially if a team is making a second pick, but like Leftwich, he doesn’t have big enough upside that keeping him in a bullpen all year is very intriguing.
As we get closer to the Rule 5 draft (Thursday December 13 9am), we will know more about who might be available should the Phillies participate and if there are more Phillies prospects getting some buzz.