One of the hallmarks at the end of the annual Winter Meetings is the Rule 5 Draft. The 2025 version of the event took place on December 10, and pitching was on the menu for this one. Here’s a look at every single one of the Rule 5 Draft picks taken in the MLB phase.
RJ Petit – Rockies
Traditionally, the first pick of the Rule 5 Draft is a pitcher who can start. Two years ago, the Athletics took Mitch Spence and trotted him out as a starter. Last year, the White Sox picked Shane Smith, which worked out rather well.
This time, it’s a reliever. The Rockies picked RJ Petit, a 14th-round pick by the Tigers back in 2021. Petit was eligible for the draft last year but wasn’t taken. This year, between Double-A and Triple-A, Petit pitched well, as he struck out 79 over 66 innings.
Petit is a hulking figure, listed at 6’8” and 300 pounds. He didn’t have a heavy ground-ball lean — important to note, given Coors Field — but does work with four pitches, including a four-seamer and sinker, both of which were in the mid-90s, as well as a slider and changeup.
That sinker does get downward breaking action.
Alberto & Paez – White Sox
The White Sox took two players in this year’s Rule 5 Draft: Rays farmhand Alexander Alberto and Red Sox pitcher Jedixson Paez.
Paez spent the last two seasons with High-A Greenville in the Boston organization. He spent most of 2025 on the IL.
He’s been mostly a starter throughout his career and has steadily seen spikes in his fastball velocity (h/t MLB Pipeline). Paez also works with a slider and two-seamer. His high-water mark came in 2024 when he struck out 113 batters in 2024 between Low-A and High-A.
As for Alberto, the 24-year-old struck out 64 over 48.2 IP between Low-A and High-A this past season. Heavy ground-ball pitcher.
Griff McGarry – Nationals
The Nationals plucked Griff McGarry, a former top prospect in the Phillies’ organization, and he had an up-and-down tenure in their organization.
A former fifth-rounder out of UVA in 2021, McGarry looked like a slam-dunk prospect a few years ago. He struck out 130 over 87.1 IP in A-ball back in 2022. Then, the command problems came. He walked 50 over 60 innings the following year, worked exclusively as a reliever in 2024, and averaged over a walk per inning that season.
Things changed, though, for McGarry. McGarry struck out 103 over 72 innings in Double-A Reading and was able to (somewhat) limit the walks. He ended 2025 in Lehigh Valley, where he posted a 45% Whiff% in his lone start.
McGarry’s fastball sits in the 92-95 MPH range. While he will occasionally throw a changeup, his main secondary offering is a slider that he uses very often.
Daniel Susac – Twins
The lone position player taken in the Rule 5 Draft was Daniel Susac, a 24-year-old catcher who was a former first-round pick by the Athletics in 2022. However, with Shea Langeliers on the roster, his chance at regular playing time with Sacramento was limited.
The former Arizona product, brother of former Major Leaguer Andrew Susac, isn’t a big power guy by any means. Susac posted a 4.9% Barrel/PA, in Triple-A, which would be MLB-average. However, you have to take into account that the number would likely regress in the Majors.
He’ll often swing-and-miss; he posted a 28.5% Whiff% with Triple-A Las Vegas this past season.
Susac joined a Twins team that has Ryan Jeffers and Alex Jackson on the 40-man roster. Jeffers is the only lock, which gave Susac a road to sticking with Minnesota. However, he was traded to the Giants after the event.
Carter Baumler – Pirates
The Orioles drafted Carter Baumler in the shortened 2020 MLB Draft in the fifth round. At the time, Baumler was a high-upside high school arm from the Midwest who was originally drafted as a starter.
However, injuries kept him off the mound for various stints over the 2020s. The Orioles moved him to the bullpen, and the results were rather good this year. He struck out 38 over 29.1 IP, and didn’t allow an earned run over 7.2 IP with Double-A Chesapeake.
Hard fastball that can test the upper-90s. Also possesses a shortened-up, “death-ball”-like curveball that sits in the low-to-mid-80s.
Baumler was traded to the Rangers after the event.
Ryan Watson – Athletics
Ryan Watson was a former Orioles prospect. However, he bounced around the Orioles and Giants’ organizations over the last two seasons before he was taken in the Rule 5 Draft.
Watson is a 28-year-old right-hander who, despite the 4.26 ERA, pitched very well in Triple-A Sacramento. He struck out 64 over 50 frames for the River Cats.
Four-pitch pitcher: four-seamer that can up to 97 MPH, sinker, curveball, and sweeper-ish slider. Watson also occasionally used a splitter. Fair amount of swing-and-miss on the four-seamer (21.9% Whiff%). More on the slider (39.5% Whiff%).
Matt Pushard – Cardinals
More Triple-A pitchers were taken, as the Cardinals grabbed Marlins farmhand Matt Pushard from the Miami organization. Pushard struck out 73 over 62.1 IP for Triple-A Jacksonville this past season.
Pushard was primarily a three-pitch pitcher with the Marlins: a fastball that consistently sat in the 95-97 MPH range, coupled with a slider, and a low-80s curveball. Also was able to limit walks over the last two seasons.
Roddery Munoz – Astros
Generally speaking, you don’t see a former Major Leaguer taken in the Rule 5 Draft. That happened, as the Astros picked former Marlins reliever Roddery Munoz. Munoz was just recently signed on a Minor League deal by the Reds.
Munoz struggles a lot with putting runners on base. Just this past season, he walked 46 over 66 between the Marlins and Cardinals’ Triple-A affiliates. However, he does throw hard and works with five different pitchers.
Peyton Pallette – Guardians
Perhaps the most interesting name taken was Peyton Pallette, the former second-rounder by the White Sox in 2022.
Pallette was a starter for the beginning of his Minor League career. However, the White Sox eventually pushed him to the bullpen, a move that worked out well for the right-hander, who had UCL reconstruction surgery years ago.
Big fastball that plays up in the zone and can touch the upper-90s. Also has a fairly diverse arsenal for a reliever, not surprising given his past experience as a starter. Pallette will use a slider, changeup, and curveball.
Spencer Miles – Blue Jays
This is one where scouting departments earn their keep. The Blue Jays selected Spencer Miles, a fourth-round pick by the Giants out of Mizzou back in 2022.
Miles has only thrown 14.2 IP career innings, as his career was ravaged by injuries. However, he pitched in the AFL this past year, where he struck out 12 over eight innings with Scottsdale.
Four-seamer that sat in the 95-96 MPH range, coupled with a sinker, cutter, and curveball. Sinker is more of a runner than a riser.
Cade Winquest – Yankees
The Yankees took Cade Winquest, a former eighth-round pick by the Cardinals who spent 2025 split between High-A and Double-A.
Winquest first pitched in pro ball back in 2023 with Palm Beach (A). There, he flashed an upper-90s fastball, which topped out at 100 MPH, coupled with a high-80s changeup and a breaking ball.
The former UTSA product was mostly a starter throughout his Minor League career, including in 2025. Winquest started 23 of the 25 games he pitched in. He struck out 110 combined batters between 106 and walked 39.
Zach McCambley – Phillies
Another Marlins reliever was grabbed in this Rule 5 Draft. Philadelphia selected Zach McCambley, a fifth-round pick by the Marlins out of Coastal Carolina back in 2020.
The 26-year-old struck out 52 over 40 frames with Triple-A Jacksonville this past year.
McCambley’s arsenal includes a 94-96 MPH four-seamer with cut, a slutter, sweeper, and occasional changeup.
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