Tampa Bay Rays protect two prospects from Rule 5 Draft

With the Rule 5 Draft coming up in December, teams across the league are purchasing contracts of prospects they want to keep with their franchise.

This team is pretty much focusing on their starting pitching and bullpen for the future. After losing James Shields and Matt Garza in recent years. On top of that, we all know that David Price has been involved in multiple trade rumors so far, so a deal has to be coming up very soon.

So any top pitching prospect this team has in their farm system is more valuable than ever, which means purchasing contracts.

First pitching prospect that was saved from December’s draft is right handed Jesse Hahn. Hahn spent this season at High-A Charlotte where he posted a 2.38 ERA and a 122/33 K/BB ratio over 121 innings of work. That’s pretty amazing and will surely make his way up to a higher level next season. He’s not quite ready for the Majors, but he should be within three or four years.

Last guy who had his contract purchased by the top dogs is right hander Kirby Yates. Yates got his first taste of Triple-A ball this season and completely devoured the competition. He posted a 1.90 ERA with 93 strike outs over 61 2/3 innings of work.

Watch out for this guy because he’s more than likely staying with the Major League roster.