Fifteen players were selected during the 2024 Rule 5 Draft, per MLB.com's Joe Trezza. Of those players, Trezza noted the White Sox's Shane Smith, Miami Marlins' Liam Hicks and Toronto Blue Jays' Angel Bastardo were the only ones to stay with their club for the entirety of the 2025 season.

The Orioles know how to draft. The 2019 class, the first in the Mike Elias era, produced a Rookie of the Year winner and a runner-up with a combined 36.5 bWAR in their careers, plus some key trade pieces.

The White Sox struck Rule 5 Draft gold with righty Shane Smith last year. He threw 146 ⅓ innings with a 3.81 ERA in 2025, and became only the second Rule 5 Draft pick to go to the All-Star Game the next season, joining Dan Uggla. Most Rule 5 Draft picks are middle relievers and bench guys.

Astros projected to take one of the top high school arms in early 2026 mock draft originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Every year, teams try to find some big league help at the Winter Meetings via the Rule 5 Draft. This year’s edition takes place here at 2 p.m. ET on Wednesday and will be streamed live on MLB.com. Thr