Abreu and Johansen head list of Nats prospects eligible in Rule 5 draft

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. - This morning the Rule 5 draft will commence, and there are a handful of Nationals prospects that are exposed and eligible to be drafted.

Here are the stipulations to be eligible for the Rule 5 draft:

"Players first signed at age 18 must be added to 40-man rosters within five seasons or they become eligible to be drafted by other organizations through the Rule 5 process. Players signed at 19 years or older have to be protected within four seasons. Clubs pay $100,000 to select a player in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 Draft. If that player doesn't stay on the 25-man roster for the full season, he must be offered back to his former team for $50,000."

The Nationals protected some of their top prospects recently by placing them on the 40-man roster. That list includes: right-hander Austin Voth, center fielder Rafael Bautista, catcher Raudy Read, first baseman Matt Skole and first baseman Jose Marmolejos.

The lone top 30 Nats prospect according to MLB.com that is available to be drafted is shortstop Osvaldo Abreu. Abreu played well in the Arizona Fall League. That league is always scouted well with a lot of different personnel from other teams getting to see his talents in play against top flight competition.

A couple of well-known pitchers in the system are eligible to be a part of the Rule 5 draft: right-hander Jake Johansen and left-hander Bryan Harper. Johansen did well in the AFL, putting together a 2.13 ERA in nine appearances.

Harper is the older brother of Bryce Harper and was rolling this season until forearm stiffness slowed his progress. He was 3-2 with a 2.18 ERA in 40 games. But having to undergo Tommy John surgery in November makes it highly unlikely another team would take a chance on him this offseason.

Outfielder Isaac Ballou is eligible. Ballou played most of last season for Double-A Harrisburg, finishing with a .258 average in 117 games. The speedster connected on 47 stolen bases from 2014-2015. The 26-year-old has a lefty bat and attended Marshall.