2015 Rule 5 Draft Picks That Need To Be Protected

The New York Yankees have eight players that will need to be added to the 40 man roster to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft this winter. The list includes Tyler Austin, Jose Pirela, Kyle Roller, Branden Pinder, Pat Venditte, Nik Turley, Danny Burawa, and Mark Montgomery.

I cannot see a scenario where Austin is not protected this winter. It is unlikely that he would stick on a 40 man roster in a normal scenario but a team like the Miami Marlins, Houston Astros, Colorado Rockies, etc. would easily stash him away on the bench to get his talent on the team.

Burawa was left unprotected last season and nobody took the right hander and may not be protected this season either. Burawa's very inconsistent and has bounced back and forth between Triple-A and Double-A this season. Pirela looks to be no better at this point in his career than Zelous Wheeler which may keep him off the 40 man and may force him to head to free agency for the first time in his career. Turley spent most of the season on the disabled list and has not looked great since coming off the disabled list which means he will likely be unprotected as well.

Players on the fence are Mark Montgomery who has been demoted to Double-A to try and cut down on his walks and work on mechanics. I can't see a scenario where Montgomery could stick on a 25 man roster all season in 2015. Pinder is heading to the Arizona Fall League and has basically jumped Montgomery and Burawa both but still may be left unprotected this winter if his AFL numbers don't shine. Roller is 27 years old so he should be leading the Yankees minor league players in home runs but will his home run numbers alone garner some interest from other clubs? Honestly I can't tell since Roller does strike out a little more than you would like and also has defensive question marks.

Finally, I can see the Yankees letting Venditte go unprotected and get taken. Venditte has pitched well in the second half and has held left handers down at an impressive rate but the Yankees don't seem to take the switch pitcher seriously. If the team did then we would have never seen Rich Hill or Josh Outman.