The Oakland A’s might’ve come up short in the draft lottery this week, but at least they held onto the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s Rule 5 Draft.
Ranked in reverse order of standings, the Rule 5 Draft took place in Nashville just as the Winter Meetings wrapped up on Wednesday morning.
At No. 1 overall, the A’s selected former New York Yankees’ 10th-round draft pick, Mitch Spence, a 25-year-old right-hander who had a 4.47 ERA in Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre last year.
The Rule 5 draft allows big league teams to steal minor leaguers from teams who haven’t yet given them a chance. Any player signed at age 18 or younger who isn’t added to the 40-man roster within five seasons is eligible, as is any player signed at 19 or older who isn’t added to the 40-man within four seasons.
Spence was drafted 315th overall in 2019 out of the University of South Carolina-Aiken. At the time, Baseball America reported that he threw a 95-mph fastball with a cutter and an average breaking ball.
He has since spent most of his time in Double-A and Triple-A. Overall, he has a 4.35 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and a strikeout rate of one batter per inning in the minor leagues.
It was a weird Rule 5 Draft this year, given the nature of the prospect pool having missed a year due to COVID-19, and only 10 players were taken. It was the second-lowest number of Rule 5 selections this century, according to Baseball America. There were only nine players taken in 2013.
Most players drafted in 2020 or earlier lost a key year of development when the minor leagues shut down during the pandemic in 2020, and that’s no different for Spence, who threw just 28 innings in his first season in the minors in ‘19 before the world shut down.
The A’s selection of Spence put a bow on their lackluster Winter Meetings that will be remembered for their poor luck in the draft lottery. Despite having the best odds to receive the No. 1 pick (18.3%), the A’s fell all the way to No. 4 overall. It’s the second straight year that’s happened; they fell to No. 6 overall last year.
A’s general manager David Forst told reporters in Nashville that he’s in a weird spot, trying to build a roster without knowing where the team will play after the lease at the Coliseum runs out following the 2024 season, and not knowing how much revenue the team can expect in the coming years. It sounds like the A’s don’t plan to be much of a factor in free agency – no surprise there – but Forst said he’s hoping to make some additions via other avenues before spring training.
Manager Mark Kotsay told reporters he’s trying to recruit free agents by offering them playing time.
“I think there’s opportunity for a free agent to come in and have an impact immediately,” he said. “I think there is an opportunity for any free agents, especially pitching, to come in here to mentor, but also have an opportunity to in one year possibly build a résumé going forward.
“There’s opportunity here to put yourself back on the map if you have had a down year or coming off an injured season to go out and earn that chance to put up numbers really. If I was a free-agent pitcher and I was looking at a team that I felt gave me the best opportunity for success, Oakland would be that. Really. The ballpark is a great ballpark to pitch in. We’re young. We’re going to be athletic.”