The Cubs have simply 31 gamers presently on the 40-man roster.
Thus, it appears fairly possible that they are going to choose somebody in the Rule 5 Draft, which comes up on Wednesday. That’s very true given the proven fact that they’ve made Rule 5 choices in previous years once they didn’t actually have room, or a necessity — like final 12 months, once they chosen Gage Workman, who performed in 9 video games for the Cubs earlier than they despatched him to the White Sox for money concerns. Eventually Workman wound up again in the Tigers group, the place he began.
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The finest Rule 5 picks in Cubs historical past are, for my part, Willie Hernandez (1976, from the Phillies), Jody Davis (1980, from the Cardinals) and Hector Rondón (2012, from Cleveland). The Cubs may need added Trevor Megill (2019, from the Padres) to that listing — if that they had simply stored him. He’s develop into a stable nearer for the Brewers.
Here’s a list of every Cubs Rule 5 pick over the last 50 years.
With Jed Hoyer’s entrance workplace normally fairly good at figuring out helpful reduction pitchers, and that being a necessity for the 2026 Cubs, in the event that they choose somebody I believe it will likely be a reliever (or a minor league starter who the Cubs assume will be helpful out of the bullpen).
I requested Josh for some ideas and he despatched me six names of eligible pitchers. To that I’m including yet another who was talked about by somebody in the feedback not too long ago. Here are the seven pitchers and what they’ve performed in the minor leagues, in alphabetical order.
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RHP Blake Burkhalter (Braves)
Burkhalter was the Braves’ second spherical pick of Auburn in 2022.
He’s been (largely) a starter (33 begins in 51 video games) in the Atlanta system, with respectable outcomes (3.21 ERA, 1.269 WHIP, solely seven HR allowed in 179.2 innings). He turned 25 in September.
Here are his numbers from Prospect Savant.
RHP Chris Campos (Dodgers)
Like Burkhalter, Campos is 25. He was the Dodgers’ seventh spherical choose in 2022 out of St. Mary’s (CA).
Also like Burkhalter, Campos has been largely a starter in the Dodgers system (59 begins in 82 appearances). He has but to pitch above Double-A and has a profession 4.13 ERA and 1.234 WHIP in the minors, with good Ok and BB charges.
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Here’s some video of Campos pitching early in 2025:
RHP Dylan DeLucia (Guardians)
DeLucia, additionally 25, was Cleveland’s sixth spherical choose in 2022 out of the University of Mississippi. He missed the 2023 season as a result of Tommy John surgical procedure and in two years in the Guardians system has a 3.25 ERA and 1.085 WHIP in 37 video games (35 begins). Here’s some video of him in A ball in 2024.
RHP Griff McGarry (Phillies)
McGarry is the oldest of this group, as he’ll flip 27 in June. He was the Phillies’ fifth spherical choose in 2022 out of the University of Virginia.
In 103 minor league video games (40 of these in Triple-A) he has posted a 4.14 ERA and 1.338 WHIP. He strikes out so much of guys (33.9 %) but in addition walks so much of guys (16.3 %).
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Here’s more on McGarry’s struggles with command.
LHP Hayden Mullins (Red Sox)
Mullins is 25 and was the Red Sox’ twelfth spherical choose in 2022 out of Auburn (thus, a university teammate of Burkhalter).
He’s the solely left-hander on this listing. That alone may make him engaging to the Cubs.
He had a fairly good 12 months in 2025 (2.21 ERA, 1.111 WHIP in 22 video games, 21 begins), but in addition missed a while with a shoulder situation.
Here’s a six-strikeout outing he had in June:
RHP Peyton Pallette (White Sox)
Pallette is the youngest of this group, as he turned 24 final May. He was the White Sox’ second spherical pick of the University of Arkansas in 2022.
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He started his minor league profession as a starter however threw completely in reduction in 2o25, putting out 86 with simply 28 walks in 64.1 innings.
RHP Tyler Vogel (Giants)
Vogel is 25 and was the Giants’ twelfth spherical pick of Jacksonville University in 2022.
Unlike most of the others on this listing, he’s been used virtually completely in reduction in the minor leagues (102 video games, solely two begins). In 2025, he had a 25.4 % strikeout charge however a ten.2 % stroll charge in 40 reduction appearances.
Here’s some video of him from this previous season.