The Toronto Blue Jays had a busy Rule 5 Draft.
Toronto selected right-handed pitcher Elvis Luciano, 18, from the Kansas City Royals on Thursday.
Luciano spent time in the Appalachian and Pioneer league last season. He finished with a combined 5-5 record in 12 starts and had a 4.16 ERA with 70 strikeouts and a 1.254 WHIP in 67 innings pitched.
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Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said he didn't plan to make a selection in Thursday's draft, but Luciano was too good for him to pass on.
"Elvis is an exciting young arm that we've done a lot of work on," Atkins said. "[I] feel that anytime you can acquire someone that has the chance to be a major league starting pitcher, or a significant chance to be that based on our projections (and) based on our scout looks...these types of attributes are hard to acquire."
The Dominican Republic native signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks as a non-drafted free agent in 2016. The Diamondbacks traded him and another prospect to the Royals for Jon Jay in June.
The selection costs the Blue Jays $100,000 and requires Luciano to be on the 25-man roster for the entirety of the 2019 season. If he is not on the 25-man roster, the Blue Jays surrender Luciano back to the Royals for $50,000.
When asked if the Blue Jays could keep him on the roster long-term without having to place him on the 25-man roster, Atkins answered: "we wouldn't have taken him if we didn't think he had the stuff to do that."
Toronto lost two players in the draft. The Chicago White Sox selected right-hander Jordan Romano and the San Francisco Giants selected left-hander Travis Bergen.
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Romano spent most of 2018 with the Blue Jays' Double-A affiliate, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. He had an 11-8 record in 25 starts and had a 4.13 ERA. Romano also made one start with Toronto's Triple-A affiliate, the Buffalo Bison.
Bergen also pitched for the Fisher Cats in 2018, making 27 relief appearances. He had a 0.50 ERA in 35.2 innings pitched.
Toronto also selected RHP David Garner of the Chicago Cubs in the minor league portion of the draft. Garner did not pitch in 2018 due to a 100-game suspension for a drug violation. The suspension was the third drug violation suspension for the 23-year-old.