The Oakland Athletics selected former New York Yankees prospect Mitch Spence first overall in the 2023 MLB Rule 5 Draft Wednesday afternoon.
Spence, a 25-year-old right-handed pitcher, was originally a 10th-round pick of the Yankees in 2019. He spent 2023 with New York's triple-A affiliate, logging 163 innings with a 4.47 ERA.
He made 29 starts and struck out 153 hitters.
With their 40-man roster at 37, the Toronto Blue Jays passed on their selection in the MLB portion of the draft.
However, in the minor league portion of the draft, the Blue Jays selected Alexis Hernandez, an outfielder and first baseman from the Boston Red Sox's farm system.
Hernandez is a 21-year-old who hit .267/.380/.379 in 46 games with Boston's complex-level and low-A teams. He hit nine doubles, three home runs and stole 13 bases in 174 plate appearances.
He spent most of that time with the low-A Salem Red Sox, where he walked at an 11.5 per cent clip and struck out 21.8 per cent of the time.
The Blue Jays lost two prospects in the minor league phase of the draft, with the Minnesota Twins selecting infielder Angel Del Rosario in the third round and the Philadelphia Phillies taking utilityman Trevor Schwecke in the fourth.
Del Rosario, 20, spent 2023 with both of Toronto's single-A affiliates, slashing .267/.342/.403 in 65 games. He played second base and left field over the course of the season, but has also spent time at third base and short stop in his minor league career.
Schwecke, 25, was originally a 13-round pick of the Blue Jays in 2019 and spent 2023 with double-A New Hampshire and triple-A Buffalo. In 87 total games, he hit .278/.370/.431 with eight home runs and 13 stolen bases. He logged time defensively at first base, second base, third base and in left field.
Ten players were chosen in the major league portion of the draft. Matt Sauer, the Yankees' No. 25 prospect per MLB Pipeline, was chosen second overall by the Kansas City Royals and Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Anthony Molina was selected third overall by the Colorado Rockies.
To be eligible for the draft, players who were signed at 18 or younger must have made the 40-man roster within five seasons and players who signed at 19 or older within four.
All players selected in the MLB portion must remain on their new MLB team's 26-man roster for the entire season or they will be offered back to their original team for $50,000.
