There is a cast of hundreds available in Wednesday’s Rule 5 Draft for teams to pick over. There are 28 picks ahead of the Phillies, so some of the talent will be picked over before the Phillies even get a chance to call a name. Most teams look at finding a young arm that they can stash in the bullpen and bring into comfortable situations to pitch throughout the season so they can keep him on their roster. (Remember, a team taking a player in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 Draft must keep him on their active roster for the entire season or offer him back to the team he was selected from.)

Other types of players who teams look to take have position flexibility that will allow them to put them into different spots on the field when needed to give them more opportunities to get playing time. Obviously, the more experience in the upper minors that a player has is also a great calling card that teams look for.

So, let’s run down some of the names that may be selected in the Rule 5 Draft’s Major League Phase. Whether or not they’re available is another question. We have listed the players loosely by position.

After the players who are tempting to other teams we will look at players that the Phillies may lose in this year’s draft.

Brayan Castillo, Colorado Rockies (RHP) – Castillo reached Triple-A last season and mastered the level with a 2.94 ERA, a .184 batting average against, 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings, and 9 saves. He has a mid-90s fastball and a hard slider in the 86-87 mph range. On the downside his control can get spotty at times with 4.5 walks per nine innings last season.

Zach McCambley, Miami Marlins, (RHP) – McCambley pitched at both Double and Triple-A in 2025 (11 games at AA, 35 at AAA) in the Marlins organization. After struggling with control earlier in his career, McCambley showed a lot of progress in 2025 with a 3.2 walks per nine rate. He has a mid-80s slider that produced a 51-percent swing-and-miss rate last season. His cutter is in the upper-80s and has a fastball that he can pump up to 97 mph. His combined numbers for 2025: 2.90 ERA, .208 BAA, 1.097 WHIP, 12.0 K/9.

Ryan Watson, San Francisco Giants (RHP) – Watson went undrafted likely because of the COVID shortened 2020 Draft, but has played well since then. You won’t find many Rule 5 Draft available players with more Triple-A experience; 12 starts, 91 relief appearances. He was probably pushed through the Orioles system too quickly and it has taken him some time to adjust. Last season at Triple-A Sacramento (where he played for former Lehigh Valley manager Dave Brundage), he struck out 11.4 per nine and walked just 2.8 per nine. Watson has good size (6′ 5″) and has a 97 mph fastball and his breaking stuff had a 40-percent miss rate in the PCL last season.

Daniel Susac, Athletics (C) – A lot of folks were surprised when they didn’t see Susac show up on the A’s 40-man roster last month. Susac, 24, was a first round pick in 2022 and played all of last season at Triple-A where he hit: 18-65-.275/.349/.483/.832 in 97 games. Catchers can be tough to keep on the roster, but with the Phillies catching situation, he may be worth taking. What about carrying three catchers? Of course, it’s very probable that Susac is long gone by the time that the Phillies pick.

Cameron Cauley, Texas Rangers (2B/SS/OF) – Cauley has something else that teams value in a Rule 5 Draft; speed. He also has the position flexibility to play at key spots up the middle of the field where teams like to be strong. He played at Double-A in 2025 and has no Triple-A experience. Of course, he did steal 28 bases and hit 15 home runs last season. In his minor league career he has stolen bases at an 87-percent success rate.

Potential Phillies losses

Griff McGarry, RHP – I have to wonder how much debate there was about McGarry among the Phillies front office folks. McGarry has gone from a strong pitching prospect with the Phillies to a guy who they demoted from Triple-A to Double-A because of his struggles. Fact is that he has always struggled at the Triple-A level, which led to his demotions. After going from a starter to a reliever, the Phillies put him back in the starting rotation at Double-A Reading in 2025. McGarry blossomed, but the Phillies brought him to Lehigh Valley for just one start at the end of the season. He pitched well in that start – five innings of one-hit, one-run ball with eight strikeouts – but the Phillies were not impressed enough to put him on the 40-man roster even though they have plenty of spots. (The 40-man roster stands at 33 after re-signing Kyle Schwarber.)

Michael Mercado, RHP – Mercado’s 2025 season was not very good and he was non-tendered by the Phillies, became a free agent, and re-signed with them just a few days later. Mercado has MLB experience over the past two seasons, but also has an 11.81 ERA in eight outings covering 16 innings to show for it. At 26 no matter if he is taken in the draft or not, this will be a big season for Mercado who needs to show consistency that has eluded him the past couple of seasons. The 6′ 4″ right-hander has a mid-90s four-seam fastball, a low to mid-80s slider and a curve in the low-80s. His changeup isn’t much to talk about but it has gotten better.

Saul Teran, RHP – I’m sure there were some disagreements over whether to protect Teran, too. At 23, Teran made it as high as Double-A Reading in 2025. He posted solid numbers (3-1, 3.96, 22 relief appearances) at Low-A Clearwater in 2024, but the Phillies started him there again last season. He moved quickly and was at High-A Jersey Shore by early June and then at Double-A Reading for one outing in July and two more in September. Between the three stops, Teran was 5-1, 1.30 with 15 saves in 16 opportunities. He had a 10.43 K/9 and a 2.98 BB/9 with a 1.01 WHIP for the season. A lack of experience at the upper levels is going to make some teams wary of taking Teran.

Felix Reyes, OF – Reyes has developing power from the right side of the plate – from 8 HR in 2024 to 15 in 2025 – and can hit for average. In fact, he won the Eastern League (Double-A) batting title with a .335 average in 2025 and was also the league’s MVP. He played six games at Triple-A at the end of the season and went: 1-2-.261/.320/.391/.711 with Lehigh Valley. At Reading he slashed: 15-65-.335/.365/.572/.937 this past season. Defensively, Reyes has played at first and third, but is a liability at those two spots, especially at third. He is best as a corner outfielder, and has the arm to play in right field.

Rule 5 Draft: Phillies Prospects at Risk

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