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Blue Jays select Sparkman in Rule 5 Draft
- Updated: December 8, 2016
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The Blue Jays struck gold during last year’s Rule 5 Draft, so they decided to take another low-risk gamble on Thursday morning to see what they could come up with.
Toronto selected right-hander Glenn Sparkman with the 13th overall pick of the Rule 5 Draft. Sparkman returned from Tommy John surgery last season and posted a 5.22 ERA over 16 starts for the Royals’ organization.
• 2016 Rule 5 Draft results
Sparkman has the ability to hit the mid-90s with his fastball, and he also possesses a breaking ball and a changeup. He has been a starter in the Minor Leagues, but the Blue Jays will give him an opportunity to make the team out of Spring Training as a reliever.
“Over the course of the last few weeks, it was clear that he was the guy that we would like to select if he was available,” said general manager Ross Atkins, who picked setup man Joe Biagini in last year’s Rule 5 Draft. “We saw the upside to him potentially as a starter, but he’ll try to make our team out of the ‘pen.
“[I] feel like there might be some upside in the stuff there, as well. Good scouting reports, really good objective information. Looking at all of the information, it was clear he was the first pick for us. So the fact that he got to us, we were …
