Rule 5

I didn't get through them all but I did anazlyze the first round. I'll try and point out the exceptional picks that came after Round 1

1 – Santa Fe: William Millner (B-) Millner has had a pretty below average season for the #1 Rule 5 pick. However he is only 22 so his upside is pretty good. The real grade should probably be an I for incomplete as long as Santa Fe is patient enough to see how he pans out.
2 – Pawtucket : Omar Espinoza (B) Good numbers although he did strike out a bunch. He is also young and seemed to benefit by the move to the outfield.
3 – Fargo: Johnny James (A) 25, 91, .332 and all in under 400 AB’s. He is a DH so but he can mash and deserves the A that he gets. A solid part of Fargo’s squad one would think.
4 – Tacoma: Jim Pittinger – Given back to Texas, in AAA
5 – Philadelphia: Benji Walker (C-) Offered back and claimed by Cleveland. His 7.11 ERA for Cleveland make this pick below average.
6 – Cleveland: Eddie Duran (B) A decent backup catcher that may mature. Cleveland banks against his future by putting him in the bigs and waiting on his improvement.
7 – Washington: Lyle Darling (C+) A decent inning eater but at 5.37 his ERA was pretty high. His upside is limited at this point in his development.
8 – Honolulu: D’Angelo Delfonzo – Offered back and claimed by Tucson. His 5.28 ERA was not great but he is 22. We’ll give him a (C+) but that grade goes to Tucson and could be a better grade if he improves next year!
9 – Scottsdale: Bill Harper (C ) Continues the trend of GM’s picking younger pitchers with upside and sticking them on the roster. His numbers are also not great but it does appear that he is another player that could get better.
10 – Austin: Wayne Borders (D+) His 5.96 ERA is nothing to write home about…….
11 – Cincinnati: Danny Houston (B+) Offered back and claimed by Texas. The grade goes to Texas as he was a nice snag. He put up some good numbers with a 4.37 ERA and a good strikeout number as well.
12 – Santa Cruz: Freddy Prince (A-) Freddy put up great numbers while hounded by rumors that he was sleeping with Sarah Michelle Gellar. In limited AB’s he had 10 HR 57 RBI and hit .307.
At this point I am skipping to just pointing out exceptional picks!
15 – Atlanta: Julio Martin (A-) A really nice pickup at 15. His 3.88 ERA and 1.26 WHIP were outstanding in middle relief!
20 – Colorado: Kevin Wang (A) Wow, what a pick with power and average. This guy should have been one of the top 5 R5 picks.