He Made the Big Leagues at 19. It Ruined His Career. | Baseball Bits

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Elvis Luciano was a Rule 5 Draft victim. Or, maybe Elvis Luciano was the luckiest ballplayer on the planet. Either way, he was just age 19 when he made his Elvis Luciano MLB Debut for the Toronto Blue Jays. The Blue Jays had selected him the Rule 5 Draft the previous December because of a contract loophole.

That loophole meant Elvis Luciano would reach MLB very young. In fact, becoming the youngest MLB player in 25 years. Was he prepared? No. But the Blue Jays knew that. They just wanted his services long term. He wasn’t the first player this happened to. It happened to Wei Chung Wang with the Brewers, as well as Allen Cordoba and Luis Torrens with the Padres.

Since that 2019 season, Luciano’s career has stalled. He’s now training with the Yomiuri Giants of Japan’s NPB. He hasn’t been able to join the Rule 5 draft success story ranks with players like Roberto Clemente, Johan Santana, and Anthony Santander. I hope you’ll enjoy this episode of Baseball Bits, a Foolish Baseball production.

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Outta Here Baseball on the Rule 5 Draft: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODZ4UizLJ1Y
Elvis pitching intersquad 2024: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXW9hfDseLw

Music by William Kage: https://williamkage.com/