Tag Archives: Taylor Featherston

RULE 5 DRAFT

The last day of the Winter Meetings is when the annual Rule 5 Draft is held and on Thursday there were eight recent California League players taken in the Major League and AAA phases. The Rule 5 Draft involves players who were unprotected by their parent clubs being eligible for selection by the other major league clubs. (Check MLB.com’s “About” page HERE)

According to the protocol, the players selected in the major league phase, four of them having played in the California League since 2012, will be on their new clubs’ major league active roster for the duration of the 2015 season. If not, they will be forfeited to their previous organizations.

If you’ve paid attention to the major league phase of the Rule 5 Draft, you know that the big-name success stories who have come out of this draft’s history include Johan Santana and Josh Hamilton. But, for the most part, these are players who weren’t placed on their organizations’ 40-man rosters within the stipulated four or five years of signing due to the fact that they haven’t had the hoped-for performance over time in the minors.

It’s another chance to get the career going for talented players who, for whatever reason, haven’t climbed their organizational ladder in a timely manner.

The major league phase of the draft included the following:

# NEW CLUB PLAYER OLD CLUB
3 RANGERS OF Delino DeShields Jr. Astros LAN ’12, ’13
7 CUBS SS Taylor Featherston Rockies MOD ’13
11 BRAVES RHP Daniel Winkler Rockies MOD ’13
12 MARINERS LHP David Rollins Astros LAN ’12, ’13

Players drafted in the AAA phase do not have to be placed on the active roster of the selecting club. Players with Cal League ties in this year’s AAA phase:

# NEW CLUB PLAYER OLD CLUB
1 DIAMONDBACKS RHP Timothy Crabbe Reds BAK ’11, ’12
6 WHITE SOX RHP Peter Tago Rockies MOD ’14
12 BRAVES C Steven Rodriguez D-Backs VIS ’13, ’14
22 MARLINS 1B Harold Riggins Reds MOD ’13, BAK ’14

ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE FINAL GOES SATURDAY

AFL_newThe Arizona Fall League will crown a champion on Saturday when the final takes place starting at 1:08 MT. The Salt River Rafters (17-11-4) will take on the Peoria Javelinas (15-14-3) in a meeting of East vs. West division champions.

The two teams break down to major league affiliations this way:

SALT RIVER RAFTERS – Diamondbacks, Rockies, Astros, Marlins, Twins
PEORIA JAVELINAS – Braves, Indians, Royals, Cardinals, Rays

So, only the Salt River club has Cal League ties at this point. Here are the starting lineups for Saturday’s finale, with the recent Cal League players linked to their AFL stat page:

SALT RIVER
8 Marzilli (VIS ’13, ’14)
D Sclafani
7 Rosario
2 O’Brien
9 Kepler
6 Bohn
3 Casteel (MOD ’13)
5 Drury (VIS ’14)
4 Featherston (MOD ’13)
1 DeSclafani

PEORIA
6 Mondesi
4 Valera
9 Salcedo
D Stanley
5 Dozier
2 O’Conner
3 Wilson
8 Starling
7 Carter
1 Almonte

MLB Network goes live with the Championship Game at 3PM ET. Here’s one more chance to see these elite prospects in action prior to 2015’s Spring Training.

Check back here for a look at how some of the recent Cal Leaguers did in the AFL.