FutureSox article on the Rule 5 40-man deadline

[WestEddy]

https://www.futuresox.net/2025/11/06/chicago-white-sox-40-man-roster-decis-2/

[DirtySox]

 

 

[SoxAce]

1 hour ago, DirtySox 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. 

Edited December 3 by SoxAce

[DirtySox]

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 December 3 by DirtySox

[GreenSox]

The Marlins, of all teams, have pitching they had no room to protect?
I'll go with the hitter from the Jays.

[DirtySox]

James says a pitcher is likely for the Rule 5 selection. Probably the correct decision. Lots of interesting arms available. 

Edited December 6 by DirtySox

[Autumn Dreamin]

Yohendrick Piñango continues to get Rule 5 hype

[Bob Sacamano]

1 hour ago, Autumn Dreamin said:

Yohendrick Piñango continues to get Rule 5 hype

I’m sold. Take him second round pick if he’s there

Edited Monday at 02:18 AM by Bob Sacamano

[BamaDoc]

I count roster at 34 before Kay so 35.  Take two players in rule 5?   

 

[Bob Sacamano]

8 minutes ago, BamaDoc said:

I count roster at 34 before Kay so 35.  Take two players in rule 5?   

 

Might as well. Heck, at one point last year we had 3 on the active roster.

[DirtySox]

Happy Rule 5 day.

 

[DirtySox]

BA on Baumler.

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Carter Baumler, RHP, Orioles
Over the last five years, injuries have limited Baumler to essentially one fully-healthy season. That came this year after he missed the second half of 2024 and the first month of the 2025 season recovering from a shoulder injury. Baumler worked regularly out of the bullpen throughout the season. However, he didn’t pitch on back-to-back days and tended to see 4-7 days of rest in between outings. That is likely to be a disqualifier for a team looking to select him, but he still has some interesting traits to discuss.

Baumler’s 2025 second half was outstanding, as he allowed just one run across his final 17.1 innings spanning 14 outings. In fact, post-promotion to Double-A Chesapeake, Baumler didn’t allow a run in his six appearances in the Eastern League spanning 7.2 innings. Over his strong second half, he struck out 25 batters while allowing six walks and seven hits. Batters hit just .125 against him during that stretch, and he ran a groundball rate north of 40%.

Beyond Baumler’s performance this season, his stuff has also made a full recovery. He mixes three pitches in a four-seam fastball, slider and curveball. His four-seamer sits 95-96 mph, touching 98 with elite vertical break, over 10 inches of armside run and an extremely flat vertical approach angle of -4.12. Baumler creates only fringy extension, but his lower arm slot and 5-foot-7 release height allow the plane on his fastball to play up.

Baumler’s primary secondary is his curveball. It sits 83-85 mph—plus velocity for a true curveball—with heavy two-plane break. He generates whiffs at a rate of 32% while running a 39% chase rate against the pitch. It’s a solid one-two combo of pitches that should consistently get results.

 

[caulfield12]

mlb.com picks Palette as Sox specific player most likely to get drafted by another team

one listed from each org

 

White Sox: Peyton Pallette, RHP (No. 14)
A move to the bullpen last July has done wonders for Pallette, who posted a career-high 12.0 K/9 this season (86 in 64 1/3 innings) between Double-A and Triple-A. His fastball sits 94-96 mph and he combines it with a high-spin curveball (consistently north of 3,000 rpm) that falls off the table and a mid-80s changeup (50.8% whiff rate at Triple-A in 2025). A second-round pick in the 2022 Draft, the 24-year-old fits the prototypical mold (with the level pedigree to match) of a Rule 5 selectee that a club could plug and play into its bullpen.

Edited Wednesday at 04:35 PM by caulfield12

[Bob Sacamano]

Just now, caulfield12 said:

mlb.com picks Palette as player most likely to get drafted by another team

 

White Sox: Peyton Pallette, RHP (No. 14)
A move to the bullpen last July has done wonders for Pallette, who posted a career-high 12.0 K/9 this season (86 in 64 1/3 innings) between Double-A and Triple-A. His fastball sits 94-96 mph and he combines it with a high-spin curveball (consistently north of 3,000 rpm) that falls off the table and a mid-80s changeup (50.8% whiff rate at Triple-A in 2025). A second-round pick in the 2022 Draft, the 24-year-old fits the prototypical mold (with the level pedigree to match) of a Rule 5 selectee that a club could plug and play into its bullpen.

I don’t get how he wasn’t protected

[DirtySox]

9 minutes ago, Bob Sacamano said:

I don’t get how he wasn’t protected

For what it's worth, he's listed under the "Potential Picks but without any Significant Buzz" section on the Baseball America Rule 5 hub.

Edited Wednesday at 04:27 PM by DirtySox

[bmags]

I'm sorta in the 'only grab a pitcher' camp of rule 5. Arms randomly shoot up, and can be useful even when bad. There have been some decent hits on fielders, but just not worth it to me.