Pittsburgh Pirates: Previewing Rule 5 Eligible Prospects

BOSTON, MA – AUGUST 14: Ben Cherington, general manager of the Boston Red Sox, leaves the pressroom after addressing the media before a game with the Seattle Mariners at Fenway Park on August 14, 2015 in Boston, Massachusetts. John Farrell #53 of the Boston Red Sox will step down to start treatments Stage 1 lymphoma.(Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

The Pittsburgh Pirates have plenty of Rule 5 eligible players, so let’s take a look at every single eligible player in the organization.

The Rule 5 draft is one of the ways that teams can take a chance on a minor league player and potentially find a diamond in the rough. Rule 5 picks are prospects who were signed at 18 years old and haven’t made it to the 40-man roster yet or prospects who were signed at 19 years old and haven’t made it to the 40-man. Most of the time, MLB-ready top prospects are rarely ever in the Rule 5 draft, with most eligible players being organizational depth.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have a handful of notable MLB-ready prospects who will need roster protection for the upcoming Rule 5 draft. Overall, they have many other players throughout the organization who will enter the draft, both prospects worth mentioning and depth players. They’ve built up such a deep minor league system that they might have to make some tough calls.

Today, I want to look at nearly every prospect that the Pirates currently have unprotected. Don’t take this as they should or should not protect all these players, as that would be impossible, but just an examination of the organization and their depth.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have plenty of Rule 5 eligible players, so let’s take a look at every single eligible player in the organization.

Schedule