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Rule V Primer: Slayden Might Be Gone

The Rule V draft occurs in a few weeks. There, teams can claim unprotected minor league players from other teams.

Under the draft rules, players signed at 19 or older are protected for three years, while players signed at 18 or younger are protected for four years. Thus, you have to be 22 to be selected. Players off the 40-man roster are eligible.

So, looking at the Phillies system, that means the most appealing players for Rule V are, initially (thanks, Phuture Phillies):

Brett Harker, RHP
Jeremy Slayden, OF
Clay Harris, IF
Pat Overholt, RHP

Once-eligible Carlos Carrasco was added to the 40-man roster. In my upcoming top 25 prospect list, you’ll find Slayden is among the considered. Of all prospects, he’s the most likely to be selected — a power-hitting fifth-outfielder type who can contribute to a major league team in 2009 (he hit a game-winning home run to put the AFL Mesa Solar Sox in the finals). Most prospect trackers agree on this. He’d have to spend an entire season on a team’s 25-man roster to be kept; otherwise, the Phils will have a chance to reclaim him.

Tim Malcolm

Tim first found the Phillies as a little infant at Veteran’s Stadium, cheering on a Juan Samuel game-winning home run in his very first game. With the pinstripes in his blood, he witnessed Terry Mulholland’s 1990 no-hitter, “Steve Carlton Night” at the Vet, game three of the 1993 World Series, countless games during the charmed 2008 championship season and various road excursions. Since November 2007 Tim’s been writing about them daily at Phillies Nation, becoming one of the world’s most popular Phillies scribes. You can catch him on Twitter and Facebook, as well. When he’s not talking about the Phils he’s relaxing with a St. Bernardus ABT 12 or one of his many favored brews.