Nats Lose One, Pick Up Two in Rule 5 Draft

A year after picking up the immortal Philip Walby, and two years after snagging the inimitable Zach Cox, the Washington Nationals went hog-wild in the AAA phase and selected two (2) players to round out the organization’s rosters in AA and AAA.

Jacob Wilson went in the first round, a 27-y.o. UT who was taken in the 10th round of the 2012 Draft by the Cardinals. Last summer, the 27-y.o. slashed the Texas League at a .248/.337/.417 clip in 127 games for St. Louis’s AA affiliate.

In the second round of the AAA phase, RHP Kaleb Fleck was selected from the Diamondbacks. The 28-y.o. (turns 29 in January) was signed as an NDFA after the 2011 season (and the requisite TJ surgery) and has logged 289⅔ IP as a reliever over the past six seasons, the last three at AAA. He’s averaged 10K and 4.2BB per 9IP but has also given up nearly a hit per inning (278).

As the headline notes, LHP R.C. Orlan was selected by Cleveland in the first round of the AAA phase. The Nats’ 2012 30th-Rd. pick out of UNC split time in 2017 between Potomac and Harrisburg, compiling a 3-4 record with five saves in 51IP (44 appearances).