A's Select St. Louis Cardinals Right-Hander in Rule 5 Draft

Jason Burke | 21 Hours Ago

Apr 15, 2019; Milwaukee, WI, USA; A cap rests on the dug out wall with the number 42 on the hat in honor of Major League Baseball s Jackie Robinson Day. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images / Michael McLoone-Imagn Images

The Athletics selected right-hander Noah Murdock from the Kansas City Royals in the Major League portion of the Rule 5 Draft, meaning that he will have to remain on the A's 26-man roster throughout the season or be offered back to the Royals. In the minor-league portion of the Draft, the A's also took right-hander Henry Gomez from the St. Louis Cardinals.

Gomez just turned 23 in October, converted to a relief pitcher in 2022, and has spent the past two seasons in Palm Beach playing in A Ball in the Red Birds' organization. These were also his first two seasons playing full season ball, spending the first years of his career in the Dominican Summer League.

As a 21-year-old in 2023, Gomez put up a 4.91 ERA (6.18 FIP) and struck out 16.7% of batters he faced while walking 12.5% in 36 2/3 innings. This season he posted a 3.03 ERA (4.09 FIP) in 62 1/3 innings and struck out 15.9% of hitters while walking 9.4% while earning 12 saves in 16 chances.

He appears to be a pitcher on the rise with the lowering of his walk rate, and was only tagged for one home run all of last season. The main factor for why the A's took him however has to be his ground ball rate, which sat at 54.5%. While he is still a few rungs down the ladder in the minors, if the Athletics see a future for him in the big leagues, then he's likely going to be pitching in Sacramento at some point.

Since the front office is unsure of how Sutter Health Park will play at this time, they have been targeting pitchers with high ground ball rates this offseason, a trend that continued with Murdock in the ML portion of the Draft. Murdock held a ground ball rate of 62.1% across 38 1/3 innings in Triple-A last season, which included a 70% ground ball rate on his devastating sinker.

Gomez has spent two seasons in the Florida State League, but in his first year in the A's system, he's likely headed for a higher level, be it High-A Lansing or Double-A Midland. He's also a prime candidate to receive an inning or two in big-league camp during Spring Training to give manager Mark Kotsay and his staff a look at what he can do.

One thing that will have to be improved upon before he reaches the A's roster will be his splits. Against righties he was pretty solid, posting a .213 batting average against with a 1.11 WHIP in just over 39 innings. However, against lefty bats he allowed a .326 average with a 1.90 WHIP in 22 2/3 innings.

As he continues to climb the organizational ladder, those splits will be easier to exploit, especially in late-game situations. This could need an adjustment, such as different pitch sequencing, or perhaps the addition of a new pitch to attack lefties with.

The Cardinals originally signed Gomez out of Venezuela in July of 2018.