Whether to protect a player from the Rule 5 Draft is one of the most vexing questions facing major league general managers. Having previously discussed the top two tiers of Rule 5-eligible players in the upper levels of the Cubs system, today we profile five promising Rule 5-eligible Class A pitchers whom the Cubs could regret losing.
While it is not common for teams to select players below the AA level in the Draft given that those players must remain on the active roster for the entire season (or the disabled list with a legitimate injury), it is far from unprecedented.
In fact, twice in recent years, the Cubs drafted players, pitchers David Patton in 2008 and Lendy Castillo in 2011, who had never played beyond the Class A level. Both fizzled, but the point is that rebuilding teams can easily stash green pitching prospects in the back end of the bullpen for a full season and then reassign them to the minor leagues the following year to hone their craft at a more natural pace.
The Cubs might have to err on the side of caution with regard to the following batch of enticing Class A pitchers.
RHP Daury Torrez: A native of the Dominican Republic, Torrez, 22, joined the Cubs organization stateside in 2013 and has been one of the organization’s most effective starting pitchers the last two seasons. In 2014, pitching at the Low A level, the strike throwing machine produced an 11-7 record and 2.74 ERA while walking only 21 batters in 131.1 innings and fanning 81.
Torrez has plied his trade for High A Myrtle Beach this season. Sporting a low- to mid-90’s fastball with great sinking action, an above-average slider and changeup and emerging curveball, he has fashioned a 3.98 ERA in 21 appearances (20 starts). While his hit rate has spiked this season (122 in 115.1), he has reduced his microscopic walk rate even further (1.4/9 to 1.3/9) and increased his strikeout percentage.
RHP Jonathan Martinez: A native of Venezuela, Martinez was acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers last season in the trade for IF Darwin Barney. Like Torrez, Martinez has been a staple in Myrtle Beach’s rotation, and he is probably competing with RHP’s Brad Markey and Ryan Williams for 2015 organizational pitcher of the year honors.
Employing a fastball between 92 and 94 MPH, a slider and a changeup, the 21-year-old hurler has produced an 8-2 record and 2.72 ERA in 21 games (20 starts) covering 109 innings. He has yielded only 78 hits and 23 free passes, which equates to a terrific walk rate of 1.9/9. Martinez pitches to contact, recording only 62 strikeouts.
RHP James Pugliese: Pugliese, selected in the 18th round of the 2011 draft, has arguably been the best relief pitcher in the Cubs’ system since the start of last season. After experimenting as a starter for two-plus seasons, Pugliese enjoyed a breakout campaign pitching in Kane County’s bullpen in 2014.
In 31 outings spanning 54.1 innings, he yielded only 39 hits and 15 walks, produced a sparkling ERA of 1.66 and fanned 56.
There has been little drop off this season for Pugliese in Myrtle Beach’s bullpen. In 30 games covering 55 innings, he has allowed 52 hits and only 13 walks while registering 49 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.62. In 109.1 innings since the start of last season, Pugliese, who attacks hitters with a fastball that peaks in the mid 90’s, a changeup and a devastating slider, has allowed only one homer.
RHP Josh Conway: The Cubs selected Conway, 24, in the 4th round of the 2012 draft fully aware that he would not pitch for the organization that season because he was recovering from Tommy John elbow surgery. Then he missed all of 2013 after slipping on a pitching mound during the offseason and fracturing his throwing arm. However, the talented and resilient Conway has bounced back to put together two solid seasons.
On a strict pitch count last year for half-season Class A Boise, he tossed 36.2 innings in 13 games, allowing only 24 hits and nine walks while establishing a 1.96 ERA. Conway was promoted past the Low A level to Myrtle Beach, where this year he has appeared in 29 games out of the Pelicans bullpen, covering 45 innings and generating a 2.80 ERA.
He has allowed 42 hits, and his walk rate has spiked from 2.2/9 to 5.6/9. Still, Conway, who throws a fastball in the 92 to 94 MPH, a cut fastball, a sharp slider and a changeup, shows great promise.
RHP Jasvir Rakkar: A 26th round selection in the 2012 draft, Rakkar has been steady if not spectacular in the bullpen for several affiliates in the Cubs’ organization. This season for Myrtle Beach, Rakkar has produced an ERA of 2.20 in 33 games covering 41 innings. Opposing batters have produced only 34 hits (no homers) and eight walks against the cerebral pitcher with a low 90’s fastball, mid-80’s slider, changeup and curveball. Rakkar has collected 15 saves and fanned 34.
As we noted previously, the quandary every team faces in regards to the Rule 5 Draft is that there is a limited number of slots on the 40-man roster with which to protect prospects from being plucked away. The alternative to merely hoping that a player does not get selected is to trade him before the Draft to avoid being left bereft of compensation.
While the central focus of the Cubs’ brass is to help the major league squad make the playoffs for the first time since 2008, rest assured there are still plenty of conversations being held deep into the night about the Rule 5 Draft.