10 intriguing names for the Rule 5 Draft

The 2016 Winter Meetings officially begin in a week. While what happens in terms of free agent signings or trades remains a mystery, there is at least one certainty: The four-day event concludes with the annual Rule 5 Draft on Thursday morning in National Harbor, Md.

MLB.com and MLB Network will have wall-to-wall coverage of the 2016 Winter Meetings from the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center outside Washington, D.C. Fans can catch live streaming of all news conferences and manager availability on MLB.com, as well as the Rule 5 Draft on Thursday at 9 a.m. ET.

All 30 teams made 40-man roster decisions by Nov. 18, giving them ample time to examine who is eligible to be taken in the Rule 5 and if they feel anyone is worthy of a selection.

Players who first signed at age 18 had to be added to 40-man rosters within five seasons or they become eligible to be drafted by other organizations through the Rule 5 process. Players signed at 19 years or older have to be protected within four seasons. Clubs pay $50,000 to select a player in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 Draft. If that player doesn’t stay on the 25-man roster for the full season, he must be offered back to his former team for $25,000.

For this year, that means an international or high school Draft pick signed in 2012 — assuming he was 18 or younger as of June 5 of that year — has to be protected. A college player taken in the 2013 Draft is in the same position.

Many who were up for protection are on team Top 30 prospects lists, a total of 144 to be exact. There were 84 who were added to rosters, thus protecting them. Any of the remaining 60 could hear their name called on Dec. 8 and get a chance to stick on a 25-man roster.

Of the 16 players taken in the Major League phase a year ago, 10 saw big league time for the team that acquired them. Among those were right-hander Matt Bowman, who was a reliable cog in the Cardinals’ bullpen, (3.46 ERA, 1.17 WHIP in 67 2/3 innings) and Joe Biagini, who posted a 3.06 ERA in 60 regular season appearances for the Blue Jays then went on to pitch 7 1/3 scoreless frames in six postseason games, with a 0.55 WHIP and .120 average against.

There undoubtedly will be more Major League contributors taken on Dec. 8. There is still a ways to go for teams to make decisions, making it a bit tough to figure out who the most likely draftees will be. But using that list of 60 Top 30 prospects as a guide, here are 10 intriguing names — a pitching-heavy list in alphabetical order since arms tend to be the hottest commodity in the Rule 5 — to keep an eye out for:

Osvaldo Abreu, SS/2B, Nationals’ No. 19: Abreu didn’t have a great year in the Carolina League, but he’s a middle infielder who has experience at both shortstop and second and has good tools, most notably his plus speed.

Calten Daal, SS, Reds’ No. …

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