The Minnesota Twins once again passed on taking a player in the Major League phased of the Rule 5 draft, something they haven’t done since 2017. Though they didn’t take anybody in the MLB phase, they did add four prospects in the Minor League phase of the draft.
Minnesota selected left-handed pitcher Rafael Marcano with the 20th overall pick Wednesday. Marcano was most recently with the Phillies’ High-A Jersey Shore BlueClaws of the South Atlantic League. The 23-year-old lefty posted a 3.95 ERA in 93.1 innings pitched in 20 starts last season.
The Twins also selected catcher Rafael Escalante in the second round, infielder Angel Del Rosario in the third round and right-handed pitcher Sheldon Reed in the fourth round.
Escalante comes from the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he was most recently with the Pirates’ Florida Complex League team. The 22-year-old catcher batted .256/.409/.367 with two homers and 16 RBI in 2023.
Del Rosario finished up 2023 with the Blue Jays’ Single-A team after starting the season in High-A. In 211 plate appearances, Del Rosario hit five home runs, drove in 29 runs and hit for a .280 batting average.
Reed is a 26-year-old lefty the Twins selected from the Cubs organization. He posted a 3.38 ERA in 53.1 inning pitched out of the bullpen for the Cubs’ High-A squad.
The last time Minnesota selected a player in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 draft was in 2017 when they took Tyler Kinley with the 13th overall pick. Kinley posted a whopping 24.30 ERA in four appearances before being offered back to the Marlins.
