Seattle Mariners: Rule 5 pick Will Vest big part of M’s bullpen turnaround
Joe Swenson
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The Rule 5 Draft
One of the longest traditions in baseball, the Rule 5 draft predates the existence of the American League. In 1892 the first Rule 5 Draft happened. It’s an interesting process that has only produced one Hall-of-Famer (Roberto Clemente). Some of the more famous Rule 5 picks are Jose Bautista, Johan Santana, and Bobby Bonilla. Every December, teams select between 10 and 20 players.
The Rule 5 Draft is designed to prevent teams from stockpiling minor league talent. Each draftee costs his new team $100K. There is a caveat; the draftee must stay with the team that selects him for the entire Major League Season. Should the draftee not make the opening day roster, then the team that drafted the player can option him back to the original club for $50K.
Mariners Rule 5 recent history
Seattle Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto is a big fan of the Rule 5 Draft. In 2017 the Mariners drafted Mike Ford from the Yankees, but he did not make the opening day roster, and the M’s sent him back to The Bronx. Here’s a bit of irony though, in 2019, Ford hit his first multi-home run game against the Seattle Mariners.
The following year Seattle took Branden Brennan as the second to last selection of the draft. He stayed on the major league roster for the entire 2019 season and became Mariners’ property. He pitched in five games with the Mariners in 2020 and is currently at the alternate site/minor league camp.
In 2019 the Mariners chose Yohan Ramirez from the Astros organization. He had a fantastic 2020 in the Emerald City with a 2.61 ERA in 16 games. While the ERA was fantastic, Ramirez’s control was not. He walked nearly as many batters as innings pitched. Like Brennan, the flame-thrower is at the M’s alternate site.
This brings us to the 2020 Rule 5 draft, where the Seattle Mariners drafted Will Vest with the 10th overall pick. He was a bit of surprise, and while the future is unknown for most Rule 5 draftees, Vest has had some strong results to start the 2021 season.