List of Prospects Needing Rule 5 Draft Protection

The New York Yankees have been involved heavily with rebuilding their team and their franchise for not only the 2015 season but beyond. It's a sight for sore eyes, and it's frustrating to others at times, but the Yankees are placing the emphasis on the future and their farm system finally. The problem with stockpiling prospects is Major League Baseball has rules protecting the player, and that number one rule is the Rule 5 Draft. By my unofficial count the New York Yankees have six notable prospects that they will either have to protect from the draft by placing them on the 40 man roster or they can leave them unprotected and available to the rest of the 29 players in MLB.

James Pazos was one of the names mentioned by GM Brian Cashman when the Yankees let Matt Thornton and his contract head to Washington in a August waiver claim. Pazos is a hard throwing left-handed reliever that could take advantage of the injury to Jacob Lindgren to get on the 40 man roster as soon as this September. 

Johnny Barbato was acquired in the deal with the San Diego Padres when the Yankees sent them relief pitcher Shawn Kelley. Barbato was originally thought to need Tommy John surgery when the deal went down but has put those fears on the back burner as he reached Triple-A this season. Barbato could be the next right-handed power arm to come out of the Yankees farm, via the Padres farm obviously, and help the bullpen. 

Speaking of trades and the Washington Nationals the Yankees acquired middle infielder Tony Renda before the season for depth . Renda sits behind Jose Pirela and Robert Refsnyder on the depth chart and has never been above Double-A in his career so he may be sitting on the line between being protected and left unprotected. 

Ben Gamel fits the mold of about 15 other prospects in the Yankees system this season, left-handed soft hitting speedy and defensive first outfielder. The Yankees already sent Ramon Flores to the Seattle Mariners after fitting that mold and sent Mason Williams to the 60 day DL. Gamel is leading off for the RailRiders and has been absolutely on a tear so he may be too good to simply leave unprotected. 

Jake Cave fits the same mold as Gamel and while both are pretty good prospects Gamel is clearly the better of the two. Cave is likely to be left unprotected and is likely to be chosen unfortunately. Whether he sticks all season or not with a new team remains to be seen. 

Rookie Davis is a guy I have personally followed for a long time now, he's a great kid and he has the perfect baseball name. Davis finally seems like he put it all together making it all the way to Double-A this season showcasing strong strikeout numbers and a live arm along the way. Davis likely won't be protected in my opinion but I can't seem him being drafted either.