MLB Rule 5 Draft 2022: Date, Start Time, Format and Top Prospects

The Rule 5 draft gives Major League Baseball teams a chance to uncover a diamond in the rough, and it gives prospects who might have otherwise been blocked an opportunity to prove themselves at the MLB level.

Generally speaking, the draft is a crapshoot, with teams often gravitating toward players with one loud carrying tool in the hopes everything else clicks, or a well-rounded player with limited upside who could fill the last spot on the bench or in the bullpen.

After the 2021 Rule 5 draft was canceled amid the lockout, there is a deeper crop of talent available this year than we've seen in the past, and there have been enough recent success stories for the final big event of the annual winter meetings to be worth paying attention to.

Boston Red Sox right-hander Garrett Whitlock is the most notable recent Rule 5 success story, while Johan Santana (MIN), Shane Victorino (PHI), Dan Uggla (FLA), Joakim Soria (KC) and Josh Hamilton (CIN) stand out as others worth mentioning over the years.

Ahead, we'll take a look at the pertinent details of this year's draft, including the date, time and draft order, before highlighting a few notable prospects to keep an eye on.

Date: Wednesday, Dec. 7

Time: 5 p.m. ET

Format

Here are the pertinent rules, courtesy of MLB.com:

• Clubs draft in reverse order of the standings from the previous season.

• Players who signed with their current club at age 18 or younger and have played professionally for at least five years are eligible to be selected, as are those who signed at 19 or older and have at least four years of professional experience.

• Not every club will make a selection, but those that do pick a player must pay $100,000 to the club from which that player was selected.

• Rule 5 picks are assigned directly to the drafting club's 26-man roster and must be placed on outright waivers in order to be removed from the 26-man roster during the upcoming season. Should the player clear waivers, he must be offered back to his previous team for $50,000 and can be outrighted to the minors only if his original club does not wish to reacquire him.

That last part is important, as it essentially means any player selected in the Rule 5 draft will have to be part of the team's active MLB roster for the entire 2023 season. Otherwise, he has to be placed on waivers and then offered back to his original team before he can be optioned to the minors.

It's also worth mentioning that only teams with an open spot on their 40-man roster at the time of the draft are allowed to select a player, so any roster maneuvering has to be done ahead of time.

As mentioned, teams will choose in reverse of the 2022 standings, leaving this year's Rule 5 draft order as follows:

1. Washington Nationals
2. Oakland Athletics
3. Pittsburgh Pirates
4. Cincinnati Reds
5. Kansas City Royals
6. Detroit Tigers
7. Texas Rangers
8. Colorado Rockies
9. Miami Marlins
10. Los Angeles Angels
11. Arizona Diamondbacks
12. Chicago Cubs
13. Minnesota Twins
14. Boston Red Sox
15. Chicago White Sox
16. San Francisco Giants
17. Baltimore Orioles
18. Milwaukee Brewers
19. Tampa Bay Rays
20. Philadelphia Phillies
21. San Diego Padres
22. Seattle Mariners
23. Cleveland Guardians
24. Toronto Blue Jays
25. St. Louis Cardinals
26. New York Yankees
27. New York Mets
28. Atlanta Braves
29. Houston Astros
30. Los Angeles Dodgers

Right-hander Nic Enright doesn't have high-octane stuff, but he has a solid track record of success in the upper levels of the minors, and might be the safest bet of any of this year's Rule 5 eligible arms to step right into a middle relief role in the majors and succeed.

A 20th-round pick in the 2019 draft, the 25-year-old split the 2022 season between Double-A and Triple-A, posting a 2.88 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and an 87-to-14 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 65.2 innings while tallying 11 saves in 48 appearances.

Enright has good life on his low 90s fastball that helps the pitch play up, and he pairs it with a plus slider that generates enough swings and misses to offset his lack of elite velocity.

In terms of 2022 production, outfielder Corey Julks was as impressive as any hitter from the 2022 Rule 5 draft pool. But, at 26 years old, he's also on the older end of the prospect scale and has limited upside.

An eighth-round pick in 2017, he hit .270/.351/.503 with 21 doubles, 31 home runs, 89 RBI, 100 runs scored and 22 steals in 27 attempts in 130 games with Triple-A Sugar Land last year, and his 21.7 percent strikeout rate doesn't raise any huge red flags in today's game.

Julks has played the corner outfield spots primarily, but there has been some sporadic center field work sprinkled in, giving him the potential to serve as a versatile fourth outfielder and a right-handed bat off the bench.

With 130 strikeouts in 97 innings of pro ball since going in the fourth round of the 2019 draft, left-hander Erik Miller has shown plenty of bat-missing ability, but he has also had a tough time staying healthy and consistently throwing strikes.

The 24-year-old made the full-time move to pitching in relief in 2022 and ended up getting an invitation to the Futures Game on his way to logging a 3.54 ERA with 62 strikeouts and 31 walks in 48.1 innings.

Miller has a big fastball that touches 98 mph, and he backs it with a hard slider and a swing-and-miss changeup. That kind of power stuff from the left side is always in short supply, and his upside should be enough for some team to overlook his command issues and injury history.

All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference.