History of Brewers' Rule 5 Draft picks

MILWAUKEE -- In 1982, Ned Yost slugged the biggest home run by a backup in Brewers history. Ten days later, another backup, Mark Brouhard, started and delivered three hits to help the Brewers to their only World Series to date.

How did both players wind up in Milwaukee? Via the Rule 5 Draft.

The annual event, staged in recent years on the final day of baseball’s Winter Meetings, offers opportunity for Minor Leaguers on the cusp of the big leagues. If left unprotected by their clubs -- nowadays, a player must be added to the 40-man roster after four seasons if he signed at 19 or older, or after five seasons if he signed at 18 or younger -- such players can be selected for a $100,000 fee and essentially must stick in the Major Leagues for the entire following season or be offered back for half of the original fee.

? History of the Rule 5 Draft

While somewhat rare, there are examples of Rule 5 picks paying huge dividends. Johan Santana, Shane Victorino, Josh Hamilton, Joakim Soria, Dan Uggla all made it to the Majors that way.

Here is the Brewers’ history in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 Draft:

2022: RHP Gus Varland from the Dodgers -- Varland parlayed a spectacular Spring Training -- he struck out 17 of the 35 batters he faced in Cactus League games -- into a spot on the Opening Day roster and started the season well, only to be derailed when a comebacker struck his pitching hand in an April 15 game at San Diego. Two outings into his return in May, he surrendered nine earned runs while recording only two outs at St. Louis, and was returned to the Dodgers after that.

2016: LHP Caleb Smith from the Yankees -- Immediately traded as part of a prearranged deal with the Cubs, who sent Smith back to New York the following March. Smith made it to the Majors in 2017 and has pitched in the Majors every year since, including as a member of Miami’s starting rotation in ’18 and ’19.

2015: IF Colin Walsh from the A’s and RHP Zack Jones from the Twins -- Jones dealt with a Spring Training injury and was returned. Walsh made the Brewers’ Opening Day roster, posted a respectable .317 on-base percentage and led the Majors (minimum 60 plate appearances) with a 23.8% walk rate, but he just didn’t swing the bat. He logged only four hits in 63 plate appearances and had a league-worst .085 batting average. Walsh was returned to Oakland in June when the Brewers needed the roster spot.

2013: LHP Wei-Chung Wang from the Pirates -- One of the most fascinating Rule 5 picks in Brewers history, Wang had never pitched above rookie ball when Milwaukee picked him and carried him on the roster the following season. Wang starred on social media but struggled on the mound. After Wang played four seasons in the organization, the Brewers released him so he could sign in Korea. He returned to the Majors in 2019 with the A’s and Pirates.

2010: RHP Pat Egan from the Orioles -- Returned to Baltimore in March and pitched in the Minors through 2013 but never reached the Major Leagues.

2009: LHP Chuck Lofgren from the Indians -- The Brewers worked out a minor trade with the Indians the following March to keep Lofgren in the Minor Leagues in 2010, but he posted a 5.19 ERA in 131 2/3 innings for Triple-A Nashville. He never made it to the Majors.

2008: RHP Eddie Morlan from the Rays -- Before landing in Brewers Spring Training, Morlan was one of the pieces of the Matt Garza trade between the Rays and Twins. The Brewers returned him to Tampa Bay, then re-signed Morlan after he was released and saw him register a 2.74 ERA and three saves in 32 games at Double-A. He left as a Minor League free agent after that season.

2006: LHP Edward Campusano from the Cubs -- The Brewers got cash from the Tigers to make the pick on Detroit’s behalf. Campusano injured his elbow the following spring and needed Tommy John surgery.

2004: LHP Marcos Carvajal from the Dodgers -- The Brewers got cash from the Rockies to make the pick, and Carvajal did stick in the Majors for Colorado in 2005.

2003: RHP Jeff Bennett from the Pirates -- The most successful of the Brewers’ Rule 5 Draft picks in the Miller Park era, Bennett wore his trademark flat-billed cap for 60 appearances in the Majors for Milwaukee in 2004 with a 4.79 ERA. He logged 13 saves for Triple-A Nashville the following year, underwent Tommy John surgery in ’06 and then came back to pitch in 119 games for the Braves and Rays from ’07-09.

2002: SS Enrique Cruz from the Mets and LHP Matt Ford from the Blue Jays -- Both players stuck with a Brewers team in the throes of rebuilding. Ford had a 4.33 ERA In 25 games but never made it back to the big leagues after that year. Eventually, he became a coach in the Pirates system. Cruz, the first pick in that Rule 5 Draft, proved an example of what can go wrong for a prospect rushed to the Majors. He posted a .085/.145/.099 slash line and struck out in 30 of his 71 plate appearances, never making it back to Milwaukee. Cruz did provide value, however. In May 2006, the Brewers traded him along with cash to the Rangers for reliable lefty reliever Brian Shouse. Cruz resurfaced in the big leagues for one at-bat with the Reds in ’07.

2001: RHP Jorge Sosa from the Mariners and OF Ryan Christenson from the D-backs -- Sosa was one that got away. The Brewers waived him in March, and he was claimed by Tampa Bay, where he started a nine-year Major League career that included a 13-3, 2.55 ERA season for the Braves in 2005. The D-backs declined to take Christenson back, so he stayed in the Brewers’ Minor League system and was a September callup in ’02. He also played for the A’s and Rangers before going into the coaching ranks. Christenson was Oakland’s bench coach in ’20.

1999: LHP Matt Williams from the Yankees -- Not that Matt Williams. This one pitched 11 times for the Brewers during their final season at County Stadium, Williams’ only taste of the Majors, before being sent back to New York.

1995: RHP Ty Narcisse from the Astros -- Offered back to Houston and never pitched above the Double-A level.

1994: RHP Al Reyes from the Expos -- The best Rule 5 Draft pick in Brewers history held right-handed batters 6-for-62 and had a 2.43 ERA in 33 1/3 innings for Milwaukee in 1995, the first of his five years in Milwaukee and 13 years in the Majors. Reyes pitched for the Cardinals in the 2004 World Series.

1993: RHP Jose Mercedes from the Orioles -- Mercedes stuck with the Brewers in ’94 and showed promise with a 2.32 ERA in 19 games, but he didn’t consistently replicate that success in four more years in Milwaukee. The exception was ’97, when he had a 3.79 ERA in 29 games (23 starts).

1992: LHP Graeme Lloyd from the Blue Jays (via the Phillies) and RHP Larry Stanford from the Yankees -- Stanford did not pitch in 1993 and never made the Majors, but Lloyd went on to a solid Major League career for the Brewers, who technically got him from the Phillies in a side trade the day after the ’92 Rule 5 Draft. Lloyd, who stood 6-foot-8 and hailed from Australia, immediately became a key cog in the Brewers’ bullpen with 55 appearances and a 2.83 ERA in ’93. Three years later, the Brewers traded Lloyd with Pat Listach and Ricky Bones to the Yankees for closer Bob Wickman and outfielder Gerald Williams.

1990: RHP Brandy Vann from the Angels -- Vann remained in Milwaukee’s Minor League chain in ’91, but he never got to the big leagues.

1986: RHP Vicente Palacios from the Pirates -- Returned to Pittsburgh and made his Major League debut in ’87. He bounced between the Majors and Mexico throughout the 1990s and pitched seven games for the Padres in 2000 after a five-year big league hiatus.

1984: IF Brian Giles from the Mets -- Not to be confused with the All-Star outfielder who came later, this Brian Giles had been the Mets’ everyday second baseman for most of ’83 but was left exposed a year later. He was Milwaukee’s Opening Day shortstop in ’85 but was returned to New York after 34 games.

1983: C Jamie Nelson from the Mariners -- Nelson had made his Major League debut the season before, and spent ’84 and part of ’85 in the Minors for the Brewers, but he never made it back to the big leagues. He started a coaching career in 1992 that eventually led back to the Majors as a hitting coach with the Rays in the mid-2010s.

1979: OF Mark Brouhard from the Angels -- Brouhard spent six seasons as a part-time player for the Brewers from 1980-85 and is best known for the only postseason appearance of his career: a 3-for-4, four-run, three-RBI day against his former team in Game 4 of the 1982 American League Championship Series. Brouhard led the way to a 9-5 victory in that game, and when the Brewers won again in Game 5, they were headed to the World Series.

1977: C Ned Yost from the Mets -- Yost spent 1978 and ’79 in Milwaukee’s Minor League system before playing in the big leagues from ’80-85 with the Brewers, Rangers and Expos. Then he went into coaching, eventually managing the Brewers from 2003-08 and later the Royals, winning the World Series in ’15. As a player, Yost is best known for his go-ahead home run over the Green Monster in Boston on Sept. 29, 1982, putting the Brewers on the cusp of their first division title.

1970: RHP Lloyd Gladden from the Royals and RHP Aurelio Monteagudo from the Royals -- Both pitchers worked in Kansas City’s system the following year, although Gladden did pitch in the Minors for the Brewers in ’72 and ’73.

1969: OF Roy Foster from the Mets and C Don Bryant from the Astros -- These were picks of the Brewers’ franchise forerunners, the Seattle Pilots. Bryant was returned to the Astros. The Brewers traded Foster to Cleveland, where he hit 23 home runs and finished second to Thurman Munson for the 1970 American League Rookie of the Year Award. Injuries ultimate cut short Foster’s promising career. Both of the veteran players the Brewers got in return, Max Alvis and Russ Snyder, played in Milwaukee in '70 and then didn’t appear in the Majors again.