It's Rule 5 Draft Time - MLB Phase, MiLB Phase, Here Are The Eligible Brewers

[Jim Goulart]

Image courtesy of © Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Discussing the art of the MLB vs. MiLB phases of protection, here's some background via the ultimate Rule 5 guru, JJ Cooper of Baseball America, and we thank him for these insights:

"Any Rule 5-eligible player who is not on a 40-man MLB roster is available to be picked in the MLB phase of the Rule 5 draft, while all players not on the 38-player Triple-A rosters are available to be picked in the MiLB Rule 5 draft. So, when it comes to the MLB Rule 5 draft, players on the 38-player Triple-A rosters are really the only players who get picked. If a player is available for the MiLB Rule 5 draft, it just makes too much sense to wait and pick them in a draft where there are no onerous roster restrictions.

Similarly, MLB clubs move players who are not Rule 5-eligible off of Triple-A rosters in paper transactions once the offseason commences. It makes no sense for the Twins to leave Walker Jenkins (who finished the year in Triple-A) on the St. Paul roster when that spot can be used to protect another player from the MiLB Rule 5 draft. So, Jenkins has been transferred to the Double-A Wichita roster for procedural reasons. There may be some MiLB free agents whose signings have not yet been made public who are Rule 5-eligible but are not included on projected team lists."

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So, these modified AAA rosters are not something that's ever made public by MLB teams or MiLB affiliate pages. The Brewers actual AAA roster for Rule 5 purposes is invisible to us. For Milwaukee, this AAA roster nuance currently affects only one player on Nashville's AAA roster as of its MiLB.com link - LHP Tate Kuehner finished the 2025 season with the Nashville Sounds but is not yet Rule 5 eligible with only three professional seasons under his belt.

The Brewers could place as many as 38 players on the "invisible" AAA roster to keep them from being picked in the minor league phase of Rule 5. In theory, that would only expose two players to the minor league phase. However, it's likely Milwaukee will protect less than 38, perhaps quite a few less.

The first reason for doing so is to allow space for Milwaukee to take players from other organizations in the minor league phase, as the Brewers have often done (Isaac Collins, anyone?). If the team maxed out the 38-player list from the start and didn't lose any player in the MLB phase, there would be no room at all to grab a player like OF Garrett Spain, who the Brewers claimed from Toronto last year at this time, and who remains in the organization.

The second reason a player might be exposed to the minor league phase is in "as a favor" fashion. Going back to 2012, then-General Manager Doug Melvin indicated that infielder Eric Farris had been exposed (and subsequently selected by Seattle) as a professional courtesy in order to provide a better chance at a future career for the player. It's quite possible that of the many players the organization has lost in the minor league phase in the ensuing years, some were left unprotected with similar thinking, though it's rare for a GM to indicate such openly.

The names below are listed by the most recent level in which they saw action. An asterisk next to a player's name indicates that this is their first year of Rule 5 eligibility.

While all these players were certainly reviewed by the Crew's decision-makers when addition to the big-league 40-man roster was considered earlier this fall, only RHP Coleman Crow, on the cusp of minor league free agency, was formally added. Crow was on a list like the one you see here last year at this time, but his injury status had teams wary and (thankfully) he was not plucked by another organization last December. 

There had been speculation that RHP Blake Holub and LHP Brian Fitzpatrick might join Crow on the 40-man this fall. As such, they may be potential targets on Wednesday.

The minor league phase can always lead to unexpected names appearing, both coming and going.

Here's to a productive Winter Meetings for the Brewers, including Wednesday's Rule 5 Draft which concludes the week's events in Orlando.

P.S. The buzz around 40-man roster status and Rule 5 protection and exposure for Crew prospects is going to be over the top insane next year based on the volume and quality of prospects "coming due". There will be plenty of dialogue to rapture us throughout next year's minor league season in preparation for December 2026.

AAA Nashville:

• RHP JB Bukauskas
• RHP Will Childers*
• LHP Brian Fitzpatrick*
• RHP Blake Holub
• INF Eddys Leonard
• INF Ethan Murray
• LHP Thomas Pannone
• LHP Nate Peterson*
• RHP Garrett Stallings
• INF Freddy Zamora

AA Biloxi:

• INF Eric Brown, Jr.*
• INF/OF Eduardo Garcia
• RHP Stiven Cruz
• RHP Nick Merkel*
• C Darrien Miller
• OF Hedbert Perez
• C Ramon Rodriguez
• LHP Russell Smith
• OF Garrett Spain
• UTIL Jheremy Vargas
• INF Zavier Warren
• C Matt Wood*

High-A Wisconsin:

• RHP Patricio Aquino*
• OF Luis Castillo*
• C Blayberg Diaz
• C David Garcia
• INF Daniel Guilarte*
• 1B/OF Tayden Hall*
• RHP Edwin Jimenez
• C Andrick Nava
• OF/INF Kay-Lan Nicasia
• RHP Yerlin Rodriguez
• RHP Will Rudy*
• RHP Cameron Wagoner*

A-Ball Carolina:

• RHP Quinton Low*
• C Edgardo Ordonez*
• LHP Anfernny Reyes*
• LHP Caden Vire*

Rookie Maryvale:

• C Eric Martinez*
• OF Demetrio Nadal*
• RHP Hansel Rincon*

 

View full article

 

[izzi]

Freddy Zamora had a good season in Nashville, and the SS could benefit from what is possibly a "curtesy exposure" to give him a clearer chance somewhere else to get a shot at the majors.

Matt Wood jumps out to me as a possible loss; a catcher who can hit is always coveted.

 

[biedergb]

7 hours ago, izzi said:

Matt Wood jumps out to me as a possible loss; a catcher who can hit is always coveted.

I hope not. I have him higher on the depth chart just after the big top 2, and ahead of Miller and Rodriguez etc.  Wood is the same age as Miller and is better defensively, with a better hit tool.  Miller has great zone discipline and gets a lot of HBP.  The team must like him a bit, but I would rather have Wood as my AA/AAA catcher prospect this season.

[izzi]

12 hours ago, biedergb said:

I hope not. I have him higher on the depth chart just after the big top 2, and ahead of Miller and Rodriguez etc.  Wood is the same age as Miller and is better defensively, with a better hit tool.  Miller has great zone discipline and gets a lot of HBP.  The team must like him a bit, but I would rather have Wood as my AA/AAA catcher prospect this season.

I agree. Just afraid scouts might, too.

[Jim Goulart]

 

[duewizard]

On 12/7/2025 at 11:04 AM, biedergb said:

I hope not. I have him higher on the depth chart just after the big top 2, and ahead of Miller and Rodriguez etc.  Wood is the same age as Miller and is better defensively, with a better hit tool.  Miller has great zone discipline and gets a lot of HBP.  The team must like him a bit, but I would rather have Wood as my AA/AAA catcher prospect this season.

Agreed. For me its very clearly Quero-Dinges-Wood and then everyone else.

[Jim Goulart]

Minor league diehards will hopefully find value in the latest posted draft-related article:

Promotions Within and Expansion of Brewers Scouting Staff

[SoCalBrewfan]

Catchers are hard to stash through Rule 5, and historically there haven't been many to stick, though Liam Hicks worked out well for the Marlins. Maybe a team that genuinely expects their starter to play almost every day could pull it off? Even if there's some risk in losing Wood, it's still the right move to leave him unprotected. Pitchers will always be the most common picks in rule 5, and none of the ones we've left unprotected would be insurmountable losses.

The price of having talent is that you can't keep it all, things like Smith are just going to happen. Be glad the Brewers have depth that they can have a mild setback like that and keep chugging along.

We'll know soon...

[CheeseheadInQC]

The good news on Wood is there are a couple of catching prospects available who are generally rated above him. Honestly I think one of the pitchers is more likely to be taken.

It will be interesting to see if the Brewers take anyone. I doubt he lasts long enough, but I am stuck on Cameron Cauley.

[duewizard]

I'd like us to take a pitcher. See how he does in ST and maybe you strike gold. For every Connor Thomas and Gus Varland there is a Shane Smith or Brad Keller

 

[patrickgpe]

brewers pass in the MLB round of the rule V.

[duewizard]

No picks but no one lost in the MLB phase. We're on to the MiLB

[duewizard]

AAA Roster- 27 players

[duewizard]

TJ Shook to Colorado from the Mets. The Shookster gets a new team!

[duewizard]

Nate Peterson to the Reds :(

[duewizard]

Caden Vire to Boston :(

[duewizard]

Hedbert Perez to Toronto. This is brutal

[duewizard]

Hansel Rincon to NYY

EDIT: Please double check this one. The guy announcing the picks butchered his name so I completely missed it

[duewizard]

Cole Phillips from Mariners AA to the Brewers

[duewizard]

Garrett Spain to the Twins

[duewizard]

Zavier Warren to Cincinnati

 

We are being fleeced!

[nate82]

I think this was expected in the minor league portion of the rule 5 draft.  There just wasn’t enough room to keep all of them.

[duewizard]

Brewers pass round 2.

[duewizard]

Just now, nate82 said:

I think this was expected in the minor league portion of the rule 5 draft.  There just wasn’t enough room to keep all of them.

But there was! AAA was at 27. Limit is 37 I think?

[Joseph Zarr]

Seeing the Yankees select Hansel Rincon...I'm hearing they only narrowed in on the player after reading Jim's elaborate and clarifying Transaction posts.