Rule 5 Draft Review

The Alfonso Soriano trade did not become official prior to the Rule 5 Draft yesterday, so the Nationals had a full 40-man roster. Therefore, they did not select anyone in the major league portion of the Rule 5 Draft. However, they did lose one person, RH RP Chris Booker, to the Philadelphia Phillies (through the Detroit Tigers). Booker did not play in the Nationals farm system in 2005, he was signed as a minor league free agent from the Reds at the end of the 2005 season. In 65IP in Triple-A, he had a 2.49 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 12.6 K/9IP, 3.9 BB/9IP, and 0.3 HR/9IP. He's another of the many faceless RH RP and the $50,000 payment from Philadelphia is probably better. In the Triple-A portion of the draft selected mostly organizational-type players. The rules for the Triple/Double-A portions of the draft are different. The players have no requirement to remain at any level so expect the following three guys to be shuttled back forth when necessary in 2006:

• Kansas Royals minor league 2B, Brandon Powell - The 25-year old LH 2B hit 287/339/511 with a 97/28 K/BB ratio and 18 HR in High A. 25-years old for High-A speaks volume for his expectations. He's likely to be utility type player with Harrisburg.
• San Francisco Giants minor league RHP, Jose Sanchez - In 133IP in Low-A (on loan to the Mets), the 24-year old had a 4.20ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 5.9 K/9IP, 2.5 BB/9IP, and 1.2 HR/9IP. He was too old for Low-A. He's likely to start in Potomac, perhaps in Harrisburg if he's transferred to the bullpen.
• Arizona Diamondbacks minor league RHP, Josh Perrault - In 78.1IP in High A, the 23-year old had a 2.09 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 7.2 K/9IP, 2.2 BB/9IP, and 0.5 HR/9IP. He also was really old for the level so those numbers needed to be taken with a grain of salt. I'd guess he'll start the season at Harrisburg.

The Nationals did not participate in the Double-A portion of the draft.