Teams protected 59 prospects on 40-man rosters two weeks ago but left several others up for grabs in the annual Rule 5 Draft. That draft will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 11, at 2 p.m. ET at the Winter Meetings in Dallas.

Any player who turned pro at age 18 or younger in 2020 or at age 19 or older in 2021 is eligible for selection in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 Draft if he isn't on a 40-man roster. Clubs who take a player in that phase must pay his former team $100,000 and keep him on their active big league roster throughout the following season. The player can't be sent to the Minors without first clearing waivers and then getting offered back to his original organization for half his draft price.

Teams chose 10 players in the Major League phase of the 2023 Rule 5 Draft and six of them stuck with their new organizations: Mitch Spence (Athletics), Anthony Molina (Rockies), Nasim Nuñez (Nationals), Ryan Fernandez (Cardinals), Justin Slaten (Red Sox) and Stephen Kolek (Padres).

Who might be changing addresses in Dallas? Below, we identify a potentially tempting Rule 5 possibility from each organization.

Jump to: AL East | AL Central | AL West | NL East | NL Central | NL West

AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST

Blue Jays: Dasan Brown, OF (No. 23)
Brown’s bat is a major question mark, especially when it comes to power, and he’s played only 32 games above the High-A level, so it’s not hard to see why Toronto left him unprotected. But his 80-grade speed and plus glove could absolutely play in the Majors right now, and with the added emphasis on wheels in recent years, that could be enough to get him on the end of an MLB roster. Brown has swiped at least 20 bags in four straight seasons and topped out at 35 in 2024.

Orioles: Alex Pham, RHP (No. 25)
Almost exclusively a reliever over four years at the University of San Francisco, Pham joined the Orioles as a 19th-round pick in the 2021 Draft. He got the chance to start for the first time in 2023 and had some success, reaching Double-A, returning there for all of the 2024 season and finishing third in the Eastern League with 138 strikeouts and in the top 10 in ERA (4.24), WHIP (1.24) and BAA (.221). He was up to 95 mph with his fastball as a starter last year and can miss bats with an array of secondary offerings, the best of which might be his 86-88 mph cutter.

Rays: Evan Reifert, RHP
Anyone who saw Reifert strike out 25 in 11 2/3 scoreless innings in the 2022 Arizona Fall League might be surprised he hasn’t snuck onto a 40-man roster by now. Right-shoulder inflammation limited him to 7 2/3 innings last year, and he posted a 1.96 ERA and 0.92 WHIP with 65 K’s in 41 1/3 frames for Double-A Montgomery in 2024. The 25-year-old righty is slider-dominant, throwing the 82-85 mph offering 52 percent of the time per Synergy Sports. It’s easy to see why: he generated whiffs on 70 percent of swings against the pitch in the Southern League. His 94-97 mph fastball is a little less impressive, so Rule 5 clubs willing to love heavy breaking-ball usage will take a hard look.

Red Sox: Yordanny Monegro, RHP (No. 25)
Signed for $35,000 out of the Dominican Republic in 2020, Monegro sports one of the best curveballs in Boston's system and sets it up with a low-90s fastball. He may be more reliever than starter and missed the first two months of last season with shoulder issues, but he came back to post a 2.73 ERA, .176 average-against and 82 strikeouts in 66 High-A innings.

Yankees: Zach Messinger, RHP (No. 17)
Messinger also looks more like a reliever than a starter, but he misses a lot of bats with a mid-80s sweeper and uses his 6-foot-6 frame to create deceptive angle and extension. A 13th-rounder out of Virginia in 2021, he also has a 92-94 mph fastball and topped the Double-A Eastern League in average-against (.207) and WHIP (1.11) while finishing second in ERA (3.06) and fanning 136 in 150 innings.

AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL

Guardians: Ryan Webb, LHP (No. 26)
Cleveland protected one upper-level lefty with good breaking stuff in Doug Nikhazy but couldn't find room for another in Webb. The latter was a 2021 fourth-round pick out of Georgia despite having Tommy John surgery that spring, led the Arizona Fall League in strikeouts (36 in 22 2/3 innings) in 2023 and logged a 2.80 ERA with 151 whiffs in 141 1/3 frames between Double-A and Triple-A. His fastball averages just 91 mph but he can get outs with his low-80s slider and changeup as well as his upper-70s curveball.

Royals: Chandler Champlain, RHP (No. 16)
Champlain has a full five-pitch mix (four-seam, curveball, slider, sweeper, changeup) that he put to use at Triple-A Omaha in 2024, and he was an innings eater with 275 2/3 frames the past two seasons. (No one else in the Kansas City system had more than 236 in the Minors.) Those are his Rule 5 bona fides. But the Royals left him unprotected because he didn’t find consistent success at the Minors’ top level (5.61 ERA, 1.56 WHIP in 104 1/3 innings), and his four-seamer got pounded there. For him to crack through next week, it’ll take a team willing to let him be a swingman out of the bullpen or in dire need of back-end rotation help.

Tigers: Gage Workman, 3B/SS (No. 29)
A fourth-round pick in 2020, Workman struggled with major contact issues early on in his Detroit career before abandoning switch-hitting and steadying the ship as a lefty-only this summer, posting a .280/.366/.476 line with career highs in homers (18) and steals (30) for Double-A Erie. His 27.5 percent K rate was still on the high side but a marked improvement over a 38.8 mark at the same level in ‘23. Long lauded for his glovework and arm strength on the dirt, Workman got experience at third and short this summer, and those tools and versatility could be what gets him a shot at being a utility infielder.

Twins: Kala’i Rosario, OF (No. 19)
Rosario was the Twins’ final pick in the shortened 2020 Draft, taken out of the Hawaii high school ranks. He earned Midwest League MVP honors in 2023 and showed off his power that year in the Arizona Fall League. He missed two months this past season with an elbow injury and wasn’t as productive in Double-A when he came back, but got back on track with a return engagement in the AFL. It’s a corner outfield profile with plenty of raw power that he’s shown he can get to when he’s in a groove.

White Sox: Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa, RHP
Acquired from the Rangers in a May trade for Robbie Grossman, Hoopii-Tuionetoa is a reliever with a mid-90s fastball that touches 99 mph and a mid-80s slider that features two-plane depth at its best. He recorded a 4.30 ERA, .223 average-against and a 47/17 K/BB ratio in 46 innings between Double-A and Triple-A.

AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST

Angels: Ryan Costeiu, RHP (No. 15)
A strong year in the Arkansas bullpen led to the Angels selecting Costeiu in the seventh round of the 2021 Draft. He pitched well as a reliever after signing, then got the chance to start with High-A Tri-City during his first full season, but an elbow injury cut short that experiment in July and Tommy John surgery knocked out his 2023 season. He pitched well over 18 starts back with Tri-City in his return in 2024. Costeiu has four pitches, but a team taking him would likely return him to the 'pen and let his stuff tick up in shorter stints.

Astros: Alex Santos II, RHP
The Astros' top pick (supplemental second round) in 2020 as a New York City high schooler, Santos' stuff and control has regressed since he turned pro and he missed most of last season with elbow problems. But he bounced back to top the Fall League in strikeouts (26 in 17 2/3 innings) while showcasing a mid-90s fastball, upper-80s cutter and a low-80s slider.

Athletics: Cooper Bowman, 2B (No. 20)
Originally a fourth-round pick of the Yankees in 2021, Bowman was sent to the A’s in 2022 in the Frankie Montas deal. He’s had two solid, albeit unspectacular, full seasons since the trade, reaching Triple-A and hitting a combined 12 homers with 43 steals in 2024. He’s primarily a second baseman, but saw a good amount of time last season in center field, where his easily plus speed is an asset, giving him the kind of positional flexibility that teams often look for in a Rule 5 selection.

Mariners: Jason Ruffcorn, RHP
The Phillies drafted Ruffcorn, the son of former big leaguer Scott Ruffcorn, in the eighth round in 2021, then sent him to the Mariners in March. Now 26, the reliever spent most of the year with High-A Everett but did touch both Double-A and Triple-A, striking out 10.0 per nine innings in 2024. He got hit in the Fall League but used a four-seamer, cutter and sweeper to whiff 13.8 per nine over 13 2/3 frames.

Rangers: Bryan Magdaleno, LHP
Magdaleno dominated at the top three levels of the Minors, compiling a 1.27 ERA and 68 strikeouts in 42 2/3 innings. Among full-season relievers who worked at least 40 frames, he finished third in both opponent average (.132) and strikeout percentage (41 percent). Signed for just $10,000 out of the Dominican Republic in 2019, he confounds hitters with a mid-90s fastball and mid-80s slider coming out of a low, wide arm slot.

• Subscribe to the MLB Pipeline Newsletter

NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST

Braves: Luis De Avila, LHP (No. 15)
De Avila has already been taken once in the Rule 5 Draft, when the Braves nabbed him in the 2021 Minor League phase from the Royals. He both missed bats and got ground-ball outs at the lower levels of the system in 2022 and 2023, then was fairly effective in Double-A last season. The strikeout rate dropped, but he still got a lot of weak contact on the ground. He doesn’t have plus stuff, but he does have a pretty solid resume of getting outs.

Marlins: Anderson Pilar, RHP
The Marlins don't have any prime Rule 5 candidates but Pilar has had success at the upper levels and can get swings-and-misses with a 92-95 mph fastball with natural cut and an 83-85 mph slider. Signed as a Minor League free agent from the Rockies in December 2023, he rose from High-A to Triple-A this year while posting a 2.64 ERA, .214 average-against and 71/13 K/BB ratio in 58 innings.

Mets: Dom Hamel, RHP (No. 15)
Hamel struck out 124 in 124 2/3 innings this summer at Triple-A Syracuse, but that’s about as positive as the numbers got. He also posted a 6.79 ERA and 1.75 WHIP while allowing 23 homers in 27 starts. Rule 5 clubs will have to put that aside and focus on the quality of his stuff, particularly his spin rates. There were 65 Triple-A pitchers who threw at least 400 sliders in ‘24, and Hamel’s average spin rate of 2,623 rpm was ninth-highest and his 12.6 inches of average gloveside movement was 10th. Throw in a 92-94 mph fastball with good ride and a bridge cutter, and there’s something to work with here.

Nationals: Kevin Made, SS (No. 25)
The Nationals took an impressive defensive shortstop with major power questions in the Rule 5 Draft last year in Nasim Nuñez and let him stick. They’ve left another unprotected this time around in Made. The latter is maybe a touch below Nuñez when it comes to the glove, and he has only 21 games of Double-A experience, making his stickiness unlikely. But it’s still a risk to leave any prospect vulnerable, and considering Made is still only 22, a Rule 5 club might be willing to roll the dice in the short term to get a decent infield option in the long run, much like Washington did a year ago.

Phillies: Griff McGarry, RHP (No. 21)
This would be a huge roll of the dice, but the pure stuff of the 2021 fifth-rounder might be worth it. A move to the bullpen didn’t help with his command, as he walked 36 in 31 2/3 Triple-A innings during the season then 8.3 per nine in the Fall League. But he doesn’t get hit (career .182 BAA) and he still has a terrific fastball (up to 97 mph) and misses a lot of bats with his cutter/slider, so it’s easy to think he can get big leaguers out as a reliever if he can find the zone.

NATIONAL LEAGUE CENTRAL

Brewers: Coleman Crow, RHP (No. 30)
Crow knows what it’s like to move around, having been with the Angels, Mets and Brewers since the start of 2023. He hadn’t actually pitched as a Milwaukee prospect until this year’s Fall League due to Tommy John surgery, allowing eight earned runs in nine innings as he was still getting his feet under him. He still needs his velocity to return after sitting 89-91 mph with his fastball, but his mid-70s curveball remains the star of the show. An MLB club could bring him along slowly as he still builds back up in the aim of getting a backend starter by the end of the year.

Cardinals: Darlin Saladin, RHP (No. 20)
The 21-year-old righty enjoyed a breakout 2024 season with a 2.71 ERA and 134 strikeouts in 123 innings between Single-A and High-A. Without upper-level experience, he was left unprotected this winter but there are interesting traits here to play with – namely a 92-94 mph fastball with a virtually flat vertical approach angle. It’s the type of heater pitchers can lean on heavily without issue and might play up with additional velo in shorter spurts.

Cubs: Christian Franklin, OF (No. 21)
One of the best athletes in the 2021 college crop, Franklin went in the fourth round out of Arkansas but missed his entire first full pro season after tearing the patellar tendon in his left knee in Spring Training. He features plus raw power (though it's mitigated by his extreme rate of hitting ground balls), solid speed once he gets going and arm strength to match. He batted .268/.398/.366 with five homers and 34 steals in 98 Double-A games while providing capable defense at all three outfield spots.

Pirates: Sammy Siani, OF
Siani was scuffling and stuck in High-A Greensboro when he changed his swing and flattened his bat path this season. A .965 OPS over 20 games led to a bump up to Double-A where his production was more modest, but he held his own. Then he hit .375/.457/.550 in the Fall League. He runs well and can handle all three outfield spots defensively, so he could be a fourth or fifth outfielder.

Reds: Jose Acuna, RHP
Acuna came to the Reds with Hector Rodriguez in return for Tyler Naquin and Phillip Diehl in 2022. A flexor strain shelved him for all but 39 innings in 2024, though he pitched well at Double-A and reached Triple-A when he was healthy. He made up for some lost innings in the Fall League and missed a ton of bats (11.1 K/9) while holding hitters to a .170 average-against, though he had trouble finding the strike zone consistently. His fastball, which touches 96 mph, could play up in shorter stints, and he has a slider and changeup which can miss bats as well.

NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST

D-backs: Kristian Robinson, OF
The former Top 100 prospect is one of the most notable names left unprotected this year. Robinson played his first true full season this summer since 2019 following a 2020 arrest stemming from mental health concerns and subsequent visa issues, and he hit .214/.337/.350 with 11 homers, 10 steals and a 35.8 percent K rate in 110 Double-A games. Normally, that’d make him an easy skip in Rule 5, but Robinson enjoyed a much better Fall League, where he looked like a potential power-speed threat. There’s still enough ceiling here for a team to consider making a pick next week.

Dodgers: Ryan Ward, OF
Ward repeated Triple-A this year and slashed .258/.317/.543 while ranking second in the Minor Leagues in homers (33) and fifth in extra-base hits (62), total bases (257) and RBIs (101). A 2019 eighth-rounder from Bryant, he's pretty much a one-tool guy but his power has translated into 110 homers in four full pro seasons and he could be the slugging lefty half of a corner outfield platoon.

Giants: Ryan Watson, RHP
Watson doesn't have a huge prospect pedigree, signing with the Orioles as a nondrafted free agent out of Auburn in 2020 and going to the Giants in a straight cash deal this August. He found more success in 2024 after becoming a full-time reliever and leaning more heavily on his low-80s slider. He also generates good carry on his low-90s fastball and logged a 2.83 ERA, .205 average-against and 36 strikeouts in 35 innings, mostly between Double-A and Triple-A.

Padres: Brandon Valenzuela, C (No. 12)
Valenzuela was set to become a free agent this offseason but has returned to the organization on a Minor League deal, though that still leaves him vulnerable to Rule 5. The 24-year-old is considered a plus defender behind the plate with good receiving skills and an above-average throwing arm -- something that might interest anyone looking for a backup catcher. He hasn’t slugged above .374 in the past three Minor League seasons, however, and his bat still needs work to provide the thump needed for an everyday role. A solid turn in the Mexican Winter League might have helped his chances in that regard.

Rockies: Yujanyer Herrera, RHP (No. 29)
The Rockies got Herrera from the Brewers, who had signed him for just $10,000 in 2019, in the 2024 deal for Nick Mears. He topped 100 IP for the first time and threw well (3.04 ERA), mostly at High-A. He has a starting pitcher’s package with a solid three-pitch mix and the guess here is the Rockies felt it was worth the risk leaving him exposed because he hasn’t gotten out of A ball yet. But a team could shorten him up and see if there’s more stuff to tease from him coming out of a big league bullpen.