Just an hour after opening up a 40-man roster spot, the Royals have made their selection in this year’s Major League portion of the Rule 5 draft. They’ve selected RHP Matt Sauer from the New York Yankees organization. Sauer was a prospect covered earlier this offseason in our Rule 5 Preview. He will turn 25 in January and spent the majority of his 2023 season pitching at the Double-A level.

For the Somerset Patriots, Sauer owned a 6-4 record on the year. Over 68.1 innings pitched, he had a 3.42 ERA and a 4.30 FIP. Sauer has a three-pitch mix, featuring a fastball, slider, and changeup. He sits around 92-93 with his fastball but has good secondary options to lean on. That mixture allowed Sauer to strike out more than 10 batters per nine innings last season. His strong K% of 29.5% and sound 10.3% BB% highlight a good mix of control and stuff that could lead him to be successful at the next level. His 19.2% K-BB% at Double-A was impressive.

That mark ranked tenth among all arms (min. 60 IP) in the Yankees farm system last season. His swinging strike rate was 13.1%, which would’ve ranked just ahead of Paul Splittorff Award Winner, Mason Barnett (12.3%). Sauer will now have to spend the entirety of the 2024 season on the Royals 26-man roster, save for injury. If not, the Royals will be forced to subject him to waivers or send him back to the Yankees.

Sauer becomes an immediate depth option for both the bullpen and major league rotation. More likely, he will start his big league career as a reliever, much like Brad Keller before him. If he can show an ability to get major league hitters out, the team could always transition him to the rotation if the need arises. This pick is a strong addition to the pitching-needy Royals. MLB Pipeline ranks Sauer as the Yankees’ 25th-best prospect.