Pitcher added in draft
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — It will not appear this way on the transaction wire, but the Giants effectively completed a trade Thursday that netted them hard-throwing Colorado relief prospect Julian Fernandez while they lost swingman Albert Suarez to Arizona.
The Giants used the second pick of the Rule 5 draft Thursday to select Fernandez from the Rockies. He is a 22-year-old right-hander who routinely throws over 100 mph and, though a long shot to make the 2018 club, could provide the strikeout stuff the Giants seek for their bullpen.
Fernandez struck out 57 hitters in 58 innings for Class A Asheville, N.C., in the Sally League in 2017.
“He probably could have pitched at a higher level last year,” general manager Bobby Evans said. “He has a plus-plus fastball. His breaking stuff is not as consistent, but has upside.”
Fernandez is the Giants’ first Rule 5 selection since pitcher Steven Johnson in 2009.
To participate in the draft of minor-leaguers not protected on 40-man rosters, the Giants had to have an open spot on theirs. To clear the spot, they made Suarez a free agent Dec. 1 by not tendering him a contract.
The Giants re-signed Suarez to a minor-league deal hoping he could remain in the organization but knowing his big-league experience would make him a Rule 5 target. Evans said he told Suarez’s agent that he expected Suarez to be taken.
Suarez provided valuable long-relief innings during his two seasons with the Giants, but Evans said he was not a fit for 2018.
This draft is a low-risk and usually low-reward gamble on players who are not viewed as elite prospects. Occasionally an Odubel Herrera, George Bell, Johan Santana or, in one of the great all-time steals, a Roberto Clemente, slips through the cracks. (The Dodgers left Clemente unprotected. The Pirates snatched him.)
The Giants have to pay $100,000 for Fernandez, who must remain on the 25-man roster all season or be offered back to the Rockies for $50,000. That means he would have to win a job out of spring training, which is rare following a season in A-ball.
If Fernandez does not make the team and the Rockies do not want him back, the clubs can swing a trade allowing the Giants to keep him and assign him to the minors.
Tyler Rogers, a Pacific Coast League All-Star for the Giants’ Triple-A Sacramento team last year, was eligible to be drafted, but was not taken.