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FutureSox article on the Rule 5 40-man deadline


WestEddy

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  • 4 weeks later...
19 minutes ago, SoxAce said:

Ah this was one of the guys the Jays got back in that Pearson deal. I thought I recognized the name. Former top 20 Cubs prospect. That would be an interesting get. 

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Yohendrick Piñango, OF, Blue Jays
Piñango is one of the best available hitters in the Rule 5 draft. He has an excellent combination of solid upper-level production—.258/.361/.430 with 14 home runs between Double-A and Triple-A—with nearly impeccable analytical data. He hits the ball as hard as almost anyone in the minors—92 mph average EV and a 109 mph 90th EV—and he does it with well-above-average contact rates and solid swing decisions.

Piñango is a left fielder only, and he’s a fringy defender there. That’s a profile that doesn’t get picked all that often, but there are few 23-year-old lefthanded hitters like this in the Rule 5 draft.

He's interesting. Snipped from the top 35 Rule 5 prospects at BA. I fully expect a pitcher selected though. Listed a few arms below.

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Matt Pushard, RHP, Marlins
Pushard fits the Rule 5 target profile as a late-blooming, Triple-A-tested righthander coming off his age-27 season. He logged a 3.61 ERA with 73 strikeouts to 23 walks over 62.1 innings and held steady with a fastball that sat 94-96 mph and touched 97 while producing a 34% miss rate and 42% chase rate. He leans on a sweepy slider and a curveball with occasional changeups and cutters mixed in.

Pushard ended his year on a high note with 11.1 scoreless innings during Jacksonville’s run to a Triple-A title, reinforcing his appeal as a plug-and-play relief option. 

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Zach McCambley, RHP, Marlins

McCambley’s raw stuff is modest, but his performance in the upper minors in 2025 could prompt a club to consider him for an early 2026 look.

The 6-foot-2 righty, a 2020 third-round pick from Coastal Carolina, turned in a 2.90 ERA with 83 strikeouts and 22 walks over 62 innings, including a 3.32 ERA in 40.2 Triple-A frames. His mid-80s slider was the centerpiece, showing sweep and producing a 51% miss rate with a 34% chase rate, while a high-80s cutter added another bat-missing option with a 34% whiff rate. He also mixed in a four-seam fastball that reached 97 mph but typically sat 93-95 with limited carry. McCambley’s 33.1% strikeout rate was a career high while his 8.8% walk rate marked the lowest since the 26-year-old’s debut season in 2021.

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Hayden Mullins, LHP, Red Sox
In a pitching-rich Red Sox system, it’s easy for talented pitchers to slide under the radar. In Mullins’ case, the organization’s depth may have kept him off the 40-man roster.

Drafted out of Auburn in the 12th round in 2022, Mullins dealt with a litany of injuries as an amateur. He had Tommy John surgery in 2022 and returned to the mound in August 2023. He dealt with shoulder fatigue in May of this year but returned and remained on a regular schedule. Mullins made 18 starts with Double-A Portland, pitching to a 2.44 ERA, 3.79 FIP and 27.7% strikeout rate. 

Mullins meets several benchmarks of pitchers taken in the Rule 5 draft based on production. Additionally, his stuff is above-average with a good blend of unique characteristics. Mullins generates 6-foot-7 average extension—an outlier number for his 6-foot frame. This allows him to create a flat vertical approach angle on his fastball and more ride than expected from his arm slot. Hitters struggled against Mullins’ fastball, running a 35% whiff rate against the pitch in 2025.

His secondaries consist of a higher-spin low-80s gyro slider, a high-spin upper-70s sweeper and a changeup with good vertical separation from his fastball. It’s a well-rounded arsenal that can drive lots of whiffs. 

Mullins ticks the extension checkbox that Bannister seems fond of.

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/2025-rule-5-draft-preview-top-players-to-know/

Edited by DirtySox
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