Houston Astros: Top Four Players to Protect in Rule V Draft

The Houston Astros want to avoid mistakes with Rule V

Joe Musgrove Photo Credit by Tammy Tucker

The Houston Astros have something that most teams want, which is an overabundance of minor league talent. Many teams are looking at the Astros as a possible prospect infusion into through trades, but important decisions will have to be made by Friday to prevent teams from stealing talent away. The deadline to protect players from the annual Rule V draft is today at 11:59 EST time and the Astros 40-man roster sits at 34 players following yesterday’s moves. That gives the Astros flexibility to protect 3-4 of the 11 Rule V draft eligible players.

The Astros lead the league with the 11 players who are eligible for the Rule V draft. The team(s) most prospects eligible are the Twins, Cardinals, Royals, and Marlins all tied at eight apiece. To put it another way, about 37% of the Astros top 30 prospects are eligible to be selected by the 29 other teams. The good news is, unlike last season, none of the Astros Rule V eligible is in the MLB Pipeline‘s Top-100 prospects.

Last year, the Astros lost several players in the Rule V draft including Delino DeSheilds Jr. and Jandel Gustave, with Gustave returning to the Astros later in the season because he was offered back because he couldn’t be kept on the 40-man roster. Deshields went on to help the Texas Rangers win the American League West.

Let’s look at the top four prospects that need to be protected and give some reasons why they are worthy of a roster spot on the Astros 40-man roster.

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