by Bill Moriarity / A’s Farm Editor
December 10, 2020
A great many things were quite different in the baseball world this season. But some things have remained the same – like baseball’s Rule-5 draft. The annual process took place on Thursday, and the A’s picked up a pair of players in the major league portion of the draft as well as a couple of players in the minor league portion.
In the major league portion, Oakland selected outfielder Ka’ai Tom from Cleveland and right-handed reliever Dany Jimenez from Toronto. And in the minor league portion, the A’s took right-handed pitchers Zach Jackson from Toronto and Brett Graves from Miami. The A’s originally made Graves their 3rd-round pick in the 2014 amateur draft but then lost him to the Marlins in the Rule-5 draft three years ago. The only player the A’s lost in the draft on Thursday was right-handed reliever Seth Martinez who pitched for Stockton and Midland in 2019 and was taken by Houston in the minor league portion of the draft.
The players taken in the major league portion of the draft must remain on the A’s major league roster all season or be offered back to their original organizations, but the players taken in the minor league portion are now full-fledged members of the A’s system with no such requirements.
You can find out much more about the A’s recent Rule-5 pickups below…
Ka’ai Tom (OF)
(2019 AA/AA: 554 PA / 23 HR / 64 BB / 126 K / .290 AVG / .380 OBP / .532 SLG)
The 26-year-old lefty-swinging outfielder was Cleveland’s 5th-round pick in the 2015 draft. With Robbie Grossman departing via free agency, the A’s have been looking for a left-handed hitter to take his place in the outfield. Seth Brown appeared to be the top internal candidate to replace Grossman, but the A’s are now hoping that Tom will provide another potential piece in their outfield picture. Some evaluators believe that the 5-foot-9 outfielder has been somewhat overlooked due to his size, but he’s compiled an .804 OPS over 1,714 at-bats in his minor league career. The Hawaii native is known as a line-drive hitter with a little speed and surprising pop, but his .360 career on-base percentage is his real calling card. Tom’s ability to draw walks and get on base undoubtedly helped put him on the A’s radar, and his ability to play all three outfield positions should only help him in his quest for a spot in the A’s outfield mix in 2021.
Dany Jimenez (RHP)
(2020 MLB: 1.1 IP / 1 H / 1 ER / 3 BB / 1 K / 6.75 ERA / 3.00 WHIP)
(2019 AA/A+: 59 IP / 45 H / 17 ER / 21 BB / 93 K / 2.59 ERA / 1.12 WHIP)
This is the 26-year-old right-handed reliever’s second trip through the Rule-5 draft. San Francisco selected him last year, but returned him to Toronto after he made just two relief appearances for the Giants last season. The hard-throwing Dominican has been known to hit 98 mph on the radar gun and has averaged an eye-popping 11.7 K/9 in his minor league career. Jimenez has struck out 8 over 5 scoreless innings for Licey in the Dominican Winter League this year. And with the A’s in need of relief arms, Jimenez will certainly be given every opportunity to compete for a spot in the major league bullpen this spring.
Zach Jackson (RHP)
(2019 AAA: 68 IP / 56 H / 30 ER / 34 BB / 68 K / 3.97 ERA / 1.32 WHIP)
The 25-year-old right-handed reliever was Toronto’s 3rd-round draft pick in 2016. He notched 68 strikeouts in 68 innings for Triple-A Buffalo in 2019 and, prior to that, struck out 17 in 13 1/3 innings during a stint in the Arizona Fall League in 2018. Jackson has averaged 10.5 K/9 in 145 relief appearances over his minor league career. The big 6-foot-4 righty can be a little wild at times, but he adds another hard-throwing reliever into the mix for Oakland. Jackson has been assigned to the A’s Triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas, where he’ll have the chance to try to pitch his away into his first major league opportunity with the A’s.
Brett Graves (RHP)
(2019 AA/AAA: 62.1 IP / 39 H / 18 ER / 31 BB / 73 K / 2.60 ERA / 1.12 WHIP)
The A’s made the 27-year-old red-headed right-hander their 3rd-round pick in the 2014 amateur draft before they lost him to Miami in the Rule-5 draft three years ago. He posted a 5.40 ERA in 33 1/3 innings over 21 relief appearances for the Marlins in 2018. The Missouri native then pitched very well in the minors in 2019, averaging 10.5 K/9 over 45 relief appearances for Double-A Jacksonville and Triple-A New Orleans. Graves has been assigned to Triple-A Las Vegas and, if he performs well for the Aviators, he could become a potential bullpen option for the A’s in 2021.
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