Blue Jays Select Abdiel Mendoza in MiLB Rule 5 Draft, Lose 2 Prospects
While the 2021 Winter Meetings and MLB Rule 5 Draft were axed because of the MLB lockout, the minor league portion of the draft carried on Wednesday.
The Blue Jays selected pitcher Abdiel Mendoza from the Texas Rangers and lost a pair of prospects, OF Tanner Kirwer and RHP Curtis Taylor.
A 5'10" right-hander, Mendoza pitched 36.1 innings with seven starts and three relief appearances for Texas' Single A affiliate last year, allowing a 4.95 ERA. He struck out 40 batters and walked 16, touching the low-90s with his fastball and flashing a strong curveball.
Mendoza was acquired by the Rangers in a 2018 swap that sent reliever Cory Gearrin to the Oakland Athletics. He spent parts of three seasons in the Rangers' lower minors, pitching out of the pen and starting some games—never reaching more than 85.2 innings pitched in a season.
Like all minor-league Rule 5 picks, Mendoza can be placed at any minor league level and moved during the season without consequence. The Blue Jays will pay the Rangers $24,500 for the selection but come out of the draft cash positive after losing two players of their own.
Selected by the Seattle Mariners in the draft's opening round, Kirwer played 83 games for Toronto across High A and Double A in 2021. After a strong 170 plate appearances for Vancouver (.895 OPS) the 25-year-old posted a .658 OPS in 47 games with New Hampshire.
One of the Washington Nationals' four picks in the draft, former Toronto minor league arm Taylor pitched 34.2 innings of relief in the Jays' upper-minors in 2021. Taylor ranked 29th in the latest update of the Blue Jays' Top 30 MLB Prospects, per MLB.com, but struggled to a 5.71 ERA and 1.529 WHIP this past season. A native of British Columbia, Taylor was one of two pitchers acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for Eric Sogard in 2019.
Mitch Bannon is a baseball reporter for Sports Illustrated covering the Toronto Blue Jays and their minor league affiliates.Twitter: @MitchBannon