Omar Cruz in 2019 pitching for Fort Waynr. Photo: Brad Hand.
While the big moves from the Padres’ organization have yet to be finalized, the Padres did add a player to their 40-man roster on Wednesday, selecting right-handed reliever Stephen Kolek out of the Seattle organization in the major league portion of the Rule 5 draft.
Kolek, 26, was originally drafted in the 11th round by the Dodgers in 2018. He pitched two seasons in the Dodgers organization, working as a starter before being traded to Seattle in a minor league trade in 2021. He spent the 2022 season in Double-A where he worked as a starter, throwing a career-high 143.2 innings in 27 starts. The results were mixed; he pitched to a 4.51 ERA, walking 66 batters and plunking 18 more.
Kolek opened last season in the bullpen back in Double-A with encouraging results. He allowed just one hit in 7.1 innings in five outings, walking two and striking out 11. The excellent work resulted in a promotion to Triple-A Tacoma, where he went 4-2 with a 4.23 ERA in 44 games in relief.
While the overall numbers aren’t great, the underlying results can justify the Padres’ selection. In 61.1 innings, he allowed just 51 hits – an impressive mark in the Pacific Coast League. The numbers get better when you focus on the second half of the season. Over his last 36 games, Kolek pitched to a microscopic 1.00 ERA. He walked 14, struck out 44, and didn’t allow a homer. During that stretch, opposing batters hit just .161 against him.
From a stuff perspective, Kolek uses a four-seam fastball that routinely sits in the mid-90s, topping out at 97 occasionally. He pairs that with a mid-80s slider. Both pitches help him keep balls out of the air. Among pitchers who threw at least 50 innings in the PCL, his 57.5% groundball percentage ranked second in the league.
With his addition to the major league roster, the Padres have 32 players on the 40-man roster as of press time.
How the Rule 5 Draft Works
The Rule 5 draft breaks down into major and Triple-A league phases. In the Major League phase, a team pays $100,000 to the drafted player’s original team. That player has to be immediately added to the 40-man roster and must stay on the active big league roster all season. To remove the player from the 26-man roster, he must first clear waivers and then be offered back to the original team. The original organization can take him back and return $50,000 of the original fee, or let him stay with the organization that drafted him. Rule 5 players can be traded but the roster rules still apply.
After the major league phase is completed, the minor league phase begins. Teams can protect an additional 38 players on their Triple-A reserve list, cutting the pool of options significantly. Players selected in this phase face no restrictions on where they can play the following year.
Players who signed at 18 or younger in 2019 and players layers who had turned 19 by June 5 prior to signing a contract in 2020 were eligible to be drafted this year.
Triple-A Phase
After a total of 10 players were selected in the major league phase of the Rule 5 draft, the Padres selected two players in the minor league phase.
With their first pick, the Padres plucked infielder Clay Dungan from the Kansas City organization. The 27-year-old was the 9th-round pick in 2018 by the Royals, who selected him out of Indiana State.
Last season, the Terre Haute, Indiana native played for Triple-A Omaha, where he has spent the last two seasons. Overall, he hit .273/.386/.365 – good for a wRC+ of 98. He walked in a career-high 15.2% of his plate appearances. Dungan was announced as a second baseman but he appeared at second, shortstop, and third base for the Storm Chasers last year.
In a 2022 write-up for FanGraphs, Eric Longenhagen reported that Dungan has “40-grade bat speed but great hand-eye coordination.” Given his defensive versatility, he should be a valuable depth piece for the Chihuahuas in 2024.
With their final pick in the Triple-A phase of the Rule 5 draft, the Padres selected a familiar name for readers of our site: left-handed pitcher Omar Cruz.
Cruz, now 24, was part of the Padres’ international signing class in 2017, but was part of the Padres prospect package the club sent to Pittsburgh to acquire Joe Musgrove.
In 2023, Cruz appeared in 27 games (one start) for Double-A Altoona, where he went 1-4 with a 3.94 ERA. In 48 innings, he walked 30 batters and struck out 44. In his time with the Padres organization, he worked primarily as a starter.
In 2020, I ranked Cruz #28 in my personal top 30 going into the 2020 season. At that time, Cruz featured a fastball that sat in the low 90s, a slow curve, and a changeup. While the velocity didn’t flash elite, he did manage to strike out 31% of hitters in the then-Single-A Midwest League. His command began to suffer as he moved up with the Pirates but perhaps a return to his former organization could unlock the potential he showed several years ago.
With the acquisition of Cruz, the Padres have two players they traded for Musgrove in the organization. Earlier in the off-season, they claimed infielder Tucupita Marcano off waivers from the Pirates. The Padres also moved Joey Lucchesi, outfielder Hudson Head, righty Drake Fellows, and all-star reliever David Bednar in the deal.
Neither Cruz nor Dungan have roster requirements, so they are officially in the Padres’ system. Kolek will need to stay on the roster for all of 2024, otherwise, the Padres will have to offer him back to the Seattle organization.
Rule 5 notes
The Padres did not lose any players in either portion of the Rule 5 draft – the first time since 2018 that another organization did not pluck a player from their system. Last year, they lost three players, including righty Brandon Komar and outfielder Agustin Ruiz.
Only 10 players were selected in the major league portion of the Rule 5 draft. Per J.J. Cooper of Baseball America, this is the fewest players taken in the MLB phase since 2013, when just nine players were selected. Only three players made it through the season to fulfill eligibility.